1:30: Break
1:40: Arduino Self-Assessment
1:45: Capacitive Sensors
2:00: Sensor fabrication workshop: make a capacitance-based sensor. Discuss appplications and calibration.
1. Make a capacitive sensor to measure a physical quantity with your microcontroller. Avoid the delay()
function; use timers instead.
2. Configure and use another sensor (temperature, microphone, etc.). Include at least one output device (it could just be an LED). Avoid the delay()
function and use the C++ class structure.
3. Include schematics of each sensor.
4. Calibrate each sensor by plotting points on a graph. Discuss the relationship between the signals recorded by your microcontroller and the physical quantities that you're measuring (i.e., it is likely not a linear relationship).
5. Make a plan for the CNC assignment. Consider either 2D DXF files for routing sheet material (like plywood or OSB), or 3D STL files to mill out a (2.5D) shape.
Examples: Dan (thermistor), Silvia (IR phototransistor), Andrew (Hall sensor).
Review SparkFun's pages on Analog to Digital Conversion, Voltage Dividers, Capacitors, and Series and Parallel Circuits.
Read chapters 5 and 6 of Making Things Move
Pulse Width Modulation