With the Kitronik Compact Robotics Board, the BBC micro:bit can be used to drive 4 motors (or 2 stepper motors) and 8 servos. Coupled with 17 other I/O expansion points, this means the BBC micro:bit can very easily become the core of a whole variety of robotics projects. The board is small on footprint but big on features and connectivity.
The Robotics Board features 2 Dual H Bridge Motor Driver ICs (capable of driving 2 standard motors or 1 stepper motor each) and 8 servo outputs (capable of driving standard and continuous rotation servos), all controlled from the BBC micro:bit using the I2C protocol via a 16 channel driver IC. Our custom MakeCode blocks make using I2C easy, even for novice users.
The Link header breaks out all the usable pins from the BBC micro:bit, and is designed to allow 2.54mm pitch pin header to be easily soldered into place. The 17 available I/O pins allow other input devices, for example, sensors, or output devices, such as ZIP LEDs, to be added to the board. The I2C communication lines are also broken out (Pins 19 & 20), which means other I2C compatible devices can also be added to the board and controlled by the BBC micro:bit.
Power is provided via either a terminal block or servo style connector. The supply is then controlled by an on/off power switch to the board. There is also a green LED to indicate when the board is turned on. The board then produces a regulated 3.3V supply which is fed into the 3V and GND connections to power the connected BBC micro:bit. This removes the need to power the BBC micro:bit separately. The 3V and GND pins are also broken out on the Link header, which means external devices can also be powered.
To use the compact robotics board, the BBC micro:bit should be inserted firmly into the edge connector, with the LEDs and buttons visible from the front.
Kitronik has produced a set of custom blocks for the MakeCode editor to simplify using the Compact Robotics Board for BBC micro:bit. To add them to the editor, select the cog icon in the top right of the editor. Then, select Extensions from the drop-down menu and in the search bar type and enter Kitronik. Pick the Kitronik robotics Board from the list and the new blocks will be added to the menu in the editor.
