What it’s about

In this tutorial, you will build tactile switches, called whiskers, on your cyber:bot.  Whisker switches give the cyber:bot the ability to sense its surroundings through touch as it roams around, somewhat like a cat’s whiskers.

Also called bumper switches or touch switches, tactile switches have many uses in robotics. A robot programmed to pick up an object and move it to another conveyer belt might rely on a tactile switch to detect or “feel” the object. Automated factory lines might use tactile switches to detect and count objects, and to align parts for a certain step in a manufacturing process. In each case, switches provide inputs that trigger some form of programmed response.

What you need to get started

These activities are written assuming you are completing the cyber:bot Prerequisite tutorials first and then doing the Main tutorials in sequence.  You should complete through Navigation and Circuits at a minimum first.

For this tutorial you will need:

• Your programming software set up on your computer, with your micro:bit ready to use the cyberbot library modules
• A fully built and tested cyber:bot robot
• Whisker wires, jumper wires, and resistors from your robot kit's Small Robot Electronics Pack

After you finish

Once you are finished, you can learn about other types of sensors that can be used with the cyber:bot and then use them in conjunction with the whiskers.