Littlebits Arduino Coding Kit User manual

I
ARDUINO®
CODING KIT
INVENTION GUIDE

littleBits Basics
30 Second Quick Start
BIT™INDEX
POWER
p1 power
INPUT
i3 button
i6 dimmer
OUTPUT
o9 bargraph
o11 servo
WIRE
w7 fork
w6 Arduino®Bit
ACCESSORIES
a19 servo hub
a23 mechanical arm
a24 servo mount
a26 mounting board
micro USB cable
02–03
04–07
08–20
08
09–10
11–12
13–15
16–20
ARDUINO®
CODING KIT
INVENTION GUIDE

2
BASICS
ANATOMY OF A BIT
Learn how you can tell top from bottom.A
BOTTOM
TOP
OPEN HARDWARE SYMBOL
& LITTLEBITS LOGO
COLOR-CODED BY FUNCTION
BitsTM are grouped into four dierent
categories, which are color-coded.
B
BUILD DIRECTION BIT NAME
BIT FEET
BITSNAPS
(“X” ICONS)
POWER (BLUE): Power Bits, plus a power
supply, run power through your circuit.
INPUT (PINK): Input Bits accept input
from you or the environment and send
signals that aect the Bits that follow.
OUTPUT (GREEN): Output Bits do some-
thing – light up, buzz, move…
WIRE (ORANGE): Wire Bits connect to
other systems and let you build circuits in
new directions.

3
MAGNET MAGIC!
Bits snap together with magnets. The
magnets are always right – you can’t
snap them together the wrong way.
C
ARROWS SHOULD POINT IN THE SAME DIRECTION
IF THE BITS WON’T SNAP TOGETHER, TRY SPINNING
ONE AROUND AND MAKE SURE THE ARROWS POINT
IN THE SAME DIRECTION
ORDER IS IMPORTANT
POWER BITS always come rst and
INPUT BITS only aect the OUTPUT
BITS that come after them.
D
WITH NO OUTPUT BIT AFTER IT, THE INPUT BIT HAS
NOWHERE TO SEND ITS SIGNAL
THE INPUT BIT AFFECTS THE OUTPUT BITS THAT FOLLOW

4
POWER:
ON
TWISTING THE DIMMER
RAISES AND LOWERS THE
SIGNAL GOING THROUGH
YOUR CIRCUIT.
1BUILD AND PLAY WITH THIS CIRCUIT FIRST.
30 SECOND
QUICK START
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5
2ADD THE ARDUINO®BIT TO YOUR CIRCUIT AND PLAY WITH IT. The Arduino
Bit changes how your circuit works because of the code loaded on it. You can
change what the Arduino Bit does by changing that code.
ADJUSTING THE DIMMER
TELLS THE CODE HOW FAST
TO RAISE AND LOWER THE
SIGNAL GOING TO THE
BARGRAPH.
TRY BOTH MODES:
LEARN MORE ABOUT
THESE MODES AT
LITTLEBITS.CC/ARDUINO
i12 temp.
sensor:
Fahrenheit
mode
i13 light
sensor:
light mode
o11 servo:
swing mode
Makey Makey:
click mode
THE PRE-LOADED CODE ON
THE ARDUINO REPEATEDLY
RAISES AND LOWERS THE
SIGNAL GOING TO THE
BARGRAPH.
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6
LITTLEBITS.CC/ARDUINO
FIND INVENTIONS &
TUTORIALS AT
LITTLEBITS.CC/ARDUINO

7
DIY DRAWING MACHINE.
Use two dimmers to draw
on your computer screen,
just like an Etch A Sketch® .
ONLINE INVENTION 1 ONLINE INVENTION 3ONLINE INVENTION 2
ANALOG PONG. Play Pong
on your computer screen
using two input Bits.
DIY COMPUTER MOUSE.
Control your mouse
(computer, not pet) with
your Arduino Bit!
Learn how to code your Arduino Bit with
one of the many tutorials on the website.
Learn about all of the dierent features
of the Arduino Bit and how you can use
them to add interactivity or complexity
to your inventions.
FIND THESE INVENTIONS ONLINE
CODING TUTORIALS ARDUINO BIT TUTORIALS
//This is a comment! Comments start with
double backslashes on each line
//This is the start of our program
void setup() {
//Set up Serial Communication
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
//See the magic happen!
Serial.println("hello littleWorld!");
}

8
PHONE
CHARGER
p1 POWER MEET THE BIT
Every circuit starts with
power. It provides the juice
that makes your Bits™spin,
buzz, blink, and shine.
The power Bit converts the
9 volts of electricity in the
battery to the 5 volts that
littleBits™circuits run on.
The power Bit also sends a
signal through your circuit.
Manipulating this signal
with inputs is how you
control your circuit.
The p1 power is for use
only with a 9 volt battery.
HOW IT WORKS
REAL WORLD ANALOGIES
SAMPLE CIRCUIT
On light
MODE: on/o
p1 POWER
o9 BARGRAPH
™

9
VIDEO GAME
CONTROLLER
SAMPLE CIRCUIT
MEET THE BIT
The button Bit is a classic:
big, round, and springy for
comfortable pressing! Push
it to turn something on and
release it to turn it o.
The button is like a door.
When you press it, the door
opens, letting the signal
pass through the Bit and on
to the next Bits in the circuit.
The button is a momentary
switch, you must continue
to press it for the signal to
flow. When you release
the button, the door closes,
stopping the signal from
passing on to other Bits.
HOW IT WORKSSAMPLE CIRCUIT
i3 BUTTON
p1 POWER
i3 BUTTON
o9 BARGRAPH
GAME SHOW
BUZZER
ELEVATOR
BUTTON
REAL WORLD ANALOGIES

10
HOUSEHOLD
DIMMER SWITCH
STEREO VOLUME
CONTROL
i6 DIMMER
SAMPLE CIRCUIT
MEET THE BIT
Twist this dimmer back and
forth to control your circuit.
As you twist the knob
clockwise, more signal
goes to the Bits that follow,
brightening lights, speeding
up motors, or raising the
volume on buzzers.
The dimmer is like the
knob on a water faucet.
The more you turn the
knob, the more the water
flows from the faucet. The
dimmer is similar – the more
you twist it clockwise, the
more electrical signal it
lets through.
HOW IT WORKS
REAL WORLD ANALOGIES
SAMPLE CIRCUIT
i6 DIMMER
o9 BARGRAPH
p1 POWER
TWIST

11
MUSIC
VISUALIZER TV VOLUME
o9 BARGRAPH MEET THE BIT
HOW IT WORKS
REAL WORLD ANALOGIES
SAMPLE CIRCUIT
The bargraph shows you
how much signal the Bit is
receiving with a display of
ve light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) in dierent colors.
Try it with a dimmer to
make your own adjustable
lamp.
The bargraph uses ve LEDs
to turn electricity into light.
Each LED on the board
needs a certain amount of
signal in order to light up.
As you increase the signal
sent to the bargraph, more
LEDs will shine.
i6 DIMMER
o9 BARGRAPH
p1 POWER

12
TRUCK CRANE
o11 SERVO MEET THE BIT
HOW IT WORKS
REAL WORLD ANALOGIES
The servo is a motor that
can swing back and forth
or be turned to a specic
position.
There are a few accessories
you can use with the servo
(like the mechanical arm).
You can nd out how to use
those on pages 16–18.
The servo has two modes.
In TURN mode, the input
from other Bits determines
the position of the arm –
try using a dimmer to set
the angle you want. In
SWING mode, the servo
will move back and forth
on its own like a pair of
windshield wipers – the
input signal controls the
speed of the swing.
The arc of the servo’s swing
is about 110 degrees from
one end to the other.
SAMPLE CIRCUIT
i6 DIMMER
p1 POWER
MODE: turn or swing
o11 SERVO
WINDSHIELD
WIPERS
Attach the servo
hub. See pg 16.
CAREFULLY REMOVE THIS POSTER

I
WE INVENT
THE WORLD
WE WANT
TO LIVE IN.
CAREFULLY REMOVE THIS POSTER

II

III
ARDUINO CODING KIT

IV
WE INVENT
THE WORLD
WE WANT
TO LIVE IN.

13
®
MEET THE BITw7 FORK
The fork gives you more
options for connecting your
Bits; it lets you connect a
single Bit to as many as
three others. If you place
an input before the fork, it
will control all three outputs
at once, such as light,
sound, and motion.
The fork takes the incoming
signal and sends it to all
three output bitSnaps.
HOW IT WORKSSAMPLE CIRCUIT
POWER STRIP
FORK IN THE
ROAD
p1 POWER
w7 FORK
o9 BARGRAPH
o11 SERVO
REAL WORLD ANALOGIES
WE INVENT
THE WORLD
WE WANT
TO LIVE IN.

14
w6 ARDUINO BIT MEET THE BIT
BIT BREAKDOWN
The Arduino Bit brings
the power of programing
to your littleBits circuits,
allowing you to create
complex sequences of
actions and explore new
levels of logic and timing.
It also connects your Bits to
programs like Processing
and Minecraft.
®
input bitSnaps:
d0/rx, a0, a1
output bitSnaps:
d1/tx, d5, d9
MODE: analog, pwm
micro USB to
computer
serial status lights:
tx, rx