Do your cat enjoy being petted? Do you know where she/he likes or hates to be petted? What if we make a cat with LINKKI that signals where she/he likes or not? In this tutorial, what we can use is a touch sensor.
Actually, human body can store and transmit small amounts of electricity. This means if you connect conductive materials (conductors) to a circuit, you can make the flow of electricity change when the conductor is touched. Based upon this principle, we can use various everyday conductive materials such as aluminum foil, fruits, coins and more to act as touch sensors. Let's make a cat who says hard NO when petted where she/he don't like to be touched!
Material
- - Conductive Tape (Use foil or any conductive material)
- - Alligator Clips x 2 (Add more based on the number of sensors.)
- - Jumper Cables (Female-Male) x 2
- - Microbit x 1
- - LINKKI Basic Kit x 1
- - Motor Kit x 1
Construction & Assembly
Connecting the Sensor - Attach conductive tape to the back of the paper. - Connect one side of alligator clip (1) to Microbit’s pin 2, and the other side to the tape. - Connect one side of alligator clip (2) to Microbit’s G pin, and hold the other side with your hand. - Now, touch the tape with your free hand—it acts as a sensor. Precautions - Make sure the G pin and 3V pin do NOT touch each other. - Larger sensors may increase sensitivity but also cause more noise.
Further reading
How Does a Conductive Sensor Work? A conductive sensor works by completing an electric circuit, allowing current to flow through it. For example, if you connect the GND (ground) pin of the micro:bit to the foil used as a sensor and then touch the foil, current will flow through your hand. This completes the circuit, signaling the micro:bit that your hand is touching the foil. By creating this path for electricity, the sensor can detect your touch and function properly as a sensor. Read more Micro:bit [Conductivity tester] MakeCode official tutorial [Pin Pressed]
