Category Archives: Arduino

In this video lesson we show you how to calibrate the accelerometers on the MPU6050. You will have to find the min and max accelerometer numbers for your particular board, but I show you how in the video. Below, we show the schematic of how our circuit is connected.

In the lesson we developed the following code. Measure your min and max values of the three accelerometers according to the instructions in the video. Then enter those numbers in the code below, and un-comment out the commented lines. If you run the code as-is below, it should work, but the results will be uncalibrated and not as accurate as possible.

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>
#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Wire.h>
float Ax;
float Ay;
float Az;

// If You want Calibrated results, you must rotate
// your board to all possible orientations, and 
// record your velues of xMax, xMin, yMax, yMin
// zMax, zMin. I show you how to do that in LESSON
// 79 on my youtube channel. Put in your values and then
// uncomment the code below. Don't use my values, you have
// to measure your own for it to work.

// float xMax= 1.03;
// float xMin= -.97;
// float yMax= .98;
// float yMin= -1.01;
// float zMax=.96 ;
// float zMin= -1.08;

// float xOffset = (xMax+xMin)/2;
// float yOffset = (yMax+yMin)/2;
// float zOffset = (zMax+zMin)/2;

// float xScale = 2/(xMax -xMin);
// float yScale = 2/(yMax - yMin);
// float zScale = 2/(zMax -zMin);

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(115200);
  mpu.begin();
  Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");
  mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);
  mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);


}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  sensors_event_t a, g, temp;
  mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);
  Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;
  Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;
  Az=a.acceleration.z/9.81;

//Uncomment these lines of code to do the callibration
//This will only work if you have measured your max
//and min values, and put them in at the top of the code
  // Ax = xScale*(Ax-xOffset);
  // Ay = yScale*(Ay-yOffset);
  // Az = zScale*(Az-zOffset);

  Serial.print("Ax:");
  Serial.print(Ax);
  Serial.print(',');
  Serial.print("Ay:");
  Serial.print(Ay);
  Serial.print(',');
    Serial.print("Az:");
  Serial.print(Az);
  Serial.print(',');
 Serial.print("UL:");
 Serial.print(1);
 Serial.print(',');
 Serial.print("LL:");
 Serial.println(-1);

  delay(50);

}

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>

#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>

#include <Wire.h>

float Ax;

float Ay;

float Az;

// If You want Calibrated results, you must rotate

// your board to all possible orientations, and

// record your velues of xMax, xMin, yMax, yMin

// zMax, zMin. I show you how to do that in LESSON

// 79 on my youtube channel. Put in your values and then

// uncomment the code below. Don't use my values, you have

// to measure your own for it to work.

// float xMax= 1.03;

// float xMin= -.97;

// float yMax= .98;

// float yMin= -1.01;

// float zMax=.96 ;

// float zMin= -1.08;

// float xOffset = (xMax+xMin)/2;

// float yOffset = (yMax+yMin)/2;

// float zOffset = (zMax+zMin)/2;

// float xScale = 2/(xMax -xMin);

// float yScale = 2/(yMax - yMin);

// float zScale = 2/(zMax -zMin);

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {

// put your setup code here, to run once:

Serial.begin(115200);

mpu.begin();

Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");

mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);

mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

sensors_event_t a, g, temp;

mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);

Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;

Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;

Az=a.acceleration.z/9.81;

//Uncomment these lines of code to do the callibration

//This will only work if you have measured your max

//and min values, and put them in at the top of the code

// Ax = xScale*(Ax-xOffset);

// Ay = yScale*(Ay-yOffset);

// Az = zScale*(Az-zOffset);

Serial.print("Ax:");

Serial.print(Ax);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("Ay:");

Serial.print(Ay);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("Az:");

Serial.print(Az);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("UL:");

Serial.print(1);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("LL:");

Serial.println(-1);

delay(50);

}

Arduino

Measure 3 Axis Acceleration on an Arduino with the MPU6050 IMU

July 24, 2025 admin

In this video tutorial we show how the MPU6050 can be used to measure acceleration in the x, y, and z directions, that is, Ax, Ay, and Az. We also introduce the idea of plotting the data to the Arduino Serial Plotter to make visualization of the data easier.

Below is the schematic we are using to access the MPU6050 on the GY-87 module.

Below is the code which we developed in the lesson to measure acceleration in all three axis.

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>
#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Wire.h>
float Ax;
float Ay;
float Az;

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(115200);
  mpu.begin();
  Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");
  mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);
  mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);


}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  sensors_event_t a, g, temp;
  mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);
  Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;
  Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;
  Az=a.acceleration.z/9.81;
  Serial.print("Ax:");
  Serial.print(Ax);
  Serial.print(',');
    Serial.print("Ay:");
  Serial.print(Ay);
  Serial.print(',');
    Serial.print("Az:");
  Serial.print(Az);
  Serial.print(',');
 Serial.print("UL:");
 Serial.print(1);
 Serial.print(',');
 Serial.print("LL:");
 Serial.println(-1);


  delay(50);

}

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>

#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>

#include <Wire.h>

float Ax;

float Ay;

float Az;

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {

// put your setup code here, to run once:

Serial.begin(115200);

mpu.begin();

Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");

mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);

mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

sensors_event_t a, g, temp;

mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);

Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;

Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;

Az=a.acceleration.z/9.81;

Serial.print("Ax:");

Serial.print(Ax);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("Ay:");

Serial.print(Ay);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("Az:");

Serial.print(Az);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("UL:");

Serial.print(1);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("LL:");

Serial.println(-1);

delay(50);

}

Arduino

Add an MPU6050 Accelerometer to your Arduino Project

July 10, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we will show you how to incorporate accelerometers into your Arduino projects. Your Sunfounder kit includes the GY-87 IMU module. This module contains a BMP180 pressure sensor, which we have already used in earlier lessons, and an MPU6050 6 axis IMU. The MPU6050 includes 3 accelerometers and 3 gyros. In today’s lesson, we learn how to use the MPU6050 accelerometers. I will explain how these MEMS bases accelerometers work, and how we can use them in our project.

This is the schematic we use in todays lesson.

For your convenience, the code developed in the lesson is presented below:

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>
#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Wire.h>
float Ax;
float Ay;

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(115200);
  mpu.begin();
  Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");
  mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);
  mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);


}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  sensors_event_t a, g, temp;
  mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);
  Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;
  Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;

  Serial.print(Ax);
  Serial.print(',');
  Serial.println(Ay);

  delay(50);

}

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>

#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>

#include <Wire.h>

float Ax;

float Ay;

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {

// put your setup code here, to run once:

Serial.begin(115200);

mpu.begin();

Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");

mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);

mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

sensors_event_t a, g, temp;

mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);

Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;

Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;

Serial.print(Ax);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.println(Ay);

delay(50);

}

Arduino, Python

Controlling Brightness of Arduino LED Remotely Using PyQt and WiFi

June 25, 2025 admin

In this lesson we will use PyQt5, UDP and WiFi to control the brightness of an Arduino LED circuit remotely. The PyQt generates a constantly updating sin wave, which it plots on a PyQt graph, and then transfers the brightness in real time to the arduino project. This lesson teaches many important skills including UDP, WiFi, PyQt5, Python, Arduino and LEDs.

When using the breadvolt, or any battery power supply on a breadboard project, do not turn the power supply on while the Arduino is connected to USB, as you could generate voltage conflicts. It is an either or. If the USB is connected, the power supply should be OFF. The schematic for the arduino circuit is shown below:

Schematic of our Arduino Uno R4 Wifi connected to an RGB LED

In the video, we develop code for the server, on the arduino, and the client, running in Python on the desktop. We present the code below for your convenience.

This is the Server code for the Arduino:

#include <WiFiS3.h>
#include "secrets.h"
WiFiUDP udp;
int PORT = 12345;
String myString;
String stringArray[10];
String response = "ACK";
int redPin=9;
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(redPin,OUTPUT);
  Serial.print("Connecting to ");
  Serial.println(mySSID);
  WiFi.begin(mySSID, myPASS);
  while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
    delay(100);
    Serial.print(".");
  }
  Serial.println("\nConnected to WiFi");
  Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
  udp.begin(PORT);
  Serial.print("UDP Server started on port ");
  Serial.print(PORT);
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
}
void splitString() {
  int startIndex = 0;
  int indexCount = 0;
  int i;
  int j;
  myString = myString + ':';
  for (i = 0; i < myString.length(); i = i + 1) {
    if (myString[i] == ':') {
      stringArray[indexCount] = myString.substring(startIndex, i);
      indexCount = indexCount + 1;
      startIndex = i + 1;
    }
  }
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  if (udp.parsePacket()) {
    myString = udp.readStringUntil('\n');
    splitString();
    analogWrite(redPin,stringArray[0].toInt());
  }
}

#include <WiFiS3.h>

#include "secrets.h"

WiFiUDP udp;

int PORT = 12345;

String myString;

String stringArray[10];

String response = "ACK";

int redPin=9;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(redPin,OUTPUT);

Serial.print("Connecting to ");

Serial.println(mySSID);

WiFi.begin(mySSID, myPASS);

while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {

delay(100);

Serial.print(".");

}

Serial.println("\nConnected to WiFi");

Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());

udp.begin(PORT);

Serial.print("UDP Server started on port ");

Serial.print(PORT);

// put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void splitString() {

int startIndex = 0;

int indexCount = 0;

int i;

int j;

myString = myString + ':';

for (i = 0; i < myString.length(); i = i + 1) {

if (myString[i] == ':') {

stringArray[indexCount] = myString.substring(startIndex, i);

indexCount = indexCount + 1;

startIndex = i + 1;

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

if (udp.parsePacket()) {

myString = udp.readStringUntil('\n');

splitString();

analogWrite(redPin,stringArray[0].toInt());

}

You will need to open a new tab, and save the following code as “secrets.h” with the program above.

#define mySSID "Your WiFi Name"
#define myPASS "Your WiFi Password"

1 2	#define mySSID "Your WiFi Name" #define myPASS "Your WiFi Password"

On the Python side, this is the Client code:

import pyqtgraph as pg
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *
from PyQt5.QtCore import *
from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication
import sys
from math import sin,pi
import time
import socket
 
# Arduino’s IP address (from Arduino Serial Monitor)
HOST = "192.168.88.120"  # Use Your Arduino's IP. It will print when
                        #You Run the Arduino Server Program
PORT = 12345            # Must match Arduino’s UDP port
 
# Create a UDP socket
mySocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
mySocket.settimeout(5.0)  # 5 seconds timeout for responses

Period = 5
frequency = 1/Period
numPoints = 500
timeStep = Period/numPoints
redData = [0]*numPoints
timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])
window = QMainWindow()
window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")
window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

screens =QGuiApplication.screens()
window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()
window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()
plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")
plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")
plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")
plotWidget.addLegend()
mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):
    t = i * timeStep
    timeData[i] = t
    redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")
tStart = time.perf_counter()
def updateGraph():
    global t,tStart,frequency
    t = t +timeStep
    r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)
    redWrite = int((r*255 + 255)/2)
    myData= str(redWrite)+'\n'
    myDataEncoded=myData.encode()
    mySocket.sendto(myDataEncoded, (HOST,PORT))
    for i in range(numPoints -1):
        redData[i] = redData[i+1]
        timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]
    redData[numPoints - 1] = r
    timeData[numPoints -1] = t
    redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)
    if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:
        measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart
        print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)
        tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()
timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)
timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()
sys.exit(app.exec_())

import pyqtgraph as pg

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *

from PyQt5.QtCore import *

from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication

import sys

from math import sin,pi

import time

import socket

# Arduino’s IP address (from Arduino Serial Monitor)

HOST = "192.168.88.120" # Use Your Arduino's IP. It will print when

#You Run the Arduino Server Program

PORT = 12345 # Must match Arduino’s UDP port

# Create a UDP socket

mySocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)

mySocket.settimeout(5.0) # 5 seconds timeout for responses

Period = 5

frequency = 1/Period

numPoints = 500

timeStep = Period/numPoints

redData = [0]*numPoints

timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])

window = QMainWindow()

window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")

window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

screens =QGuiApplication.screens()

window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()

window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()

plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")

plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")

plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")

plotWidget.addLegend()

mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):

t = i * timeStep

timeData[i] = t

redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")

tStart = time.perf_counter()

def updateGraph():

global t,tStart,frequency

t = t +timeStep

r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redWrite = int((r*255 + 255)/2)

myData= str(redWrite)+'\n'

myDataEncoded=myData.encode()

mySocket.sendto(myDataEncoded, (HOST,PORT))

for i in range(numPoints -1):

redData[i] = redData[i+1]

timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]

redData[numPoints - 1] = r

timeData[numPoints -1] = t

redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)

if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:

measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart

print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)

tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()

timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)

timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()

sys.exit(app.exec_())

Arduino, Python

Plot Live Data in Python Using PyQt5

June 18, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we show you how to plot live data in Python using PyQt5. In this lesson, we generate the data in python on the fly, but in future lessons we will bring the data in from the Arduino Project over WiFi using UDP. For your convenience, the code we developed in this lesson is below:

import pyqtgraph as pg
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *
from PyQt5.QtCore import *
from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication
import sys
from math import sin,pi
import time

Period = 5
frequency = 1/Period
numPoints = 500
timeStep = Period/numPoints
redData = [0]*numPoints
timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])
window = QMainWindow()
window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")
window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

#screens =QGuiApplication.screens()
#window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()
window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()
plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")
plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")
plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")
plotWidget.addLegend()
mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):
    t = i * timeStep
    timeData[i] = t
    redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")
tStart = time.perf_counter()
def updateGraph():
    global t,tStart,frequency
    t = t +timeStep
    r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)
    for i in range(numPoints -1):
        redData[i] = redData[i+1]
        timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]
    redData[numPoints - 1] = r
    timeData[numPoints -1] = t
    redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)
    if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:
        measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart
        print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)
        tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()
timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)
timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()
sys.exit(app.exec_())

import pyqtgraph as pg

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *

from PyQt5.QtCore import *

from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication

import sys

from math import sin,pi

import time

Period = 5

frequency = 1/Period

numPoints = 500

timeStep = Period/numPoints

redData = [0]*numPoints

timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])

window = QMainWindow()

window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")

window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

#screens =QGuiApplication.screens()

#window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()

window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()

plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")

plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")

plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")

plotWidget.addLegend()

mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):

t = i * timeStep

timeData[i] = t

redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")

tStart = time.perf_counter()

def updateGraph():

global t,tStart,frequency

t = t +timeStep

r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

for i in range(numPoints -1):

redData[i] = redData[i+1]

timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]

redData[numPoints - 1] = r

timeData[numPoints -1] = t

redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)

if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:

measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart

print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)

tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()

timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)

timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()

sys.exit(app.exec_())

Technology Tutorials

Category Archives: Arduino

Using Arduino to Calibrate the MPU6050 Accelerometers

Measure 3 Axis Acceleration on an Arduino with the MPU6050 IMU

Add an MPU6050 Accelerometer to your Arduino Project

Controlling Brightness of Arduino LED Remotely Using PyQt and WiFi

Plot Live Data in Python Using PyQt5

Making The World a Better Place One High Tech Project at a Time. Enjoy!