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You're reading from  Learn Robotics Programming - Second Edition

Product typeBook
Published inFeb 2021
PublisherPackt
ISBN-139781839218804
Edition2nd Edition
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Danny Staple
Danny Staple
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Danny Staple

Danny Staple builds robots and gadgets as a hobbyist, makes videos about his work with robots, and attends community events such as PiWars and Arduino Day. He has been a professional Python programmer, later moving into DevOps, since 2009, and a software engineer since 2000. He has worked with embedded systems, including embedded Linux systems, throughout the majority of his career. He has been a mentor at a local CoderDojo, where he taught how to code with Python. He has run Lego Robotics clubs with Mindstorms. He has also developed Bounce!, a visual programming language targeted at teaching code using the NodeMCU IoT platform. The robots he has built with his children include TankBot, SkittleBot (now the Pi Wars robot), ArmBot, and SpiderBot.
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Working with the magnetometer

A magnetometer reads magnetic field strengths in 3D to produce a vector. Code you write can use this to find the magnetic north, in the same way as a compass. In this section, we'll look closer at the device, learn how to get a reading from it, and see what vectors it produces.

It may be useful to have a space with very few magnets present. Let's understand the magnetometer more.

Understanding the magnetometer

A compass measures a heading from the Earth's magnetic field by using a magnetized needle or disk. The following image is of a compass:

Figure 12.19 – A traditional compass

The compass shown in the preceding image has a rotating magnetized disk balanced on a center pin. This variety is a small button compass, which is about 25 mm in diameter.

Our chosen IMU contains a device known as a magnetometer. This electronically senses a magnetic field and can be used as a compass.

Most magnetometers...

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Learn Robotics Programming - Second Edition
Published in: Feb 2021Publisher: PacktISBN-13: 9781839218804

Author (1)

author image
Danny Staple

Danny Staple builds robots and gadgets as a hobbyist, makes videos about his work with robots, and attends community events such as PiWars and Arduino Day. He has been a professional Python programmer, later moving into DevOps, since 2009, and a software engineer since 2000. He has worked with embedded systems, including embedded Linux systems, throughout the majority of his career. He has been a mentor at a local CoderDojo, where he taught how to code with Python. He has run Lego Robotics clubs with Mindstorms. He has also developed Bounce!, a visual programming language targeted at teaching code using the NodeMCU IoT platform. The robots he has built with his children include TankBot, SkittleBot (now the Pi Wars robot), ArmBot, and SpiderBot.
Read more about Danny Staple