Tag Archives: Accelerometers

In this video lesson we show you how to take the calibrated accelerometer data from the MPU6050 and use it to calculate the tilt of the board. We can calculate tilt in two axis, or the roll and the pitch. This is the schematic for the project:

This is the code we developed in the video to calculate the roll and pitch from the three axis accelerometer data.

#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);

float roll;
float pitch;

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);

  pitch = atan2(Ay,sqrt(Az*Az+Ax*Ax))*360/(2*3.14);
  roll = atan2(Ax,sqrt(Az*Az+Ay*Ay))*360/(2*3.14);

  Serial.print("Roll:");
  Serial.print(roll);
  Serial.print(',');
  Serial.print("Pitch:");
  Serial.print(pitch);
    Serial.print(',');
   Serial.print("UL:");
 Serial.print(90);
 Serial.print(',');
 Serial.print("LL:");
 Serial.println(-90);



//   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);

float roll;

float pitch;

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);

pitch = atan2(Ay,sqrt(Az*Az+Ax*Ax))*360/(2*3.14);

roll = atan2(Ax,sqrt(Az*Az+Ay*Ay))*360/(2*3.14);

Serial.print("Roll:");

Serial.print(roll);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("Pitch:");

Serial.print(pitch);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("UL:");

Serial.print(90);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.print("LL:");

Serial.println(-90);

// 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

Using Arduino to Calibrate the MPU6050 Accelerometers

July 31, 2025 admin

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);

}

Raspberry Pi Pico

Schematic for Tilt Meter Using the MPU6050

October 24, 2023 admin

Below we show the detailed schematic we use for the Tilt Meter we are developing based on the MPU6050 IMU sensor.

This is the simple code for measuring acceleration in the x and y axis. We will develop this much further in future lessons, but this is just to verify things are hooked up correctly, and that we can measure accelleration.

from imu import MPU6050
from machine import I2C,Pin
import time

i2c=I2C(0, sda=Pin(16), scl=Pin(17), freq=400000)
mpu = MPU6050(i2c)

while True:
    xAccel=round(mpu.accel.x,1)
    yAccel=round(mpu.accel.y,1)
    print('x: ',xAccel,' G ', 'y: ',yAccel,' G')
    time.sleep(.1)

from imu import MPU6050

from machine import I2C,Pin

import time

i2c=I2C(0, sda=Pin(16), scl=Pin(17), freq=400000)

mpu = MPU6050(i2c)

while True:

xAccel=round(mpu.accel.x,1)

yAccel=round(mpu.accel.y,1)

print('x: ',xAccel,' G ', 'y: ',yAccel,' G')

time.sleep(.1)

Arduino, Arduino 9-Axis IMU Totorials

9-Axis IMU LESSON 3: Understanding How Accelerometers Work

August 29, 2019 admin

In this lesson we describe how the acceleromters on chips like the Adafruit BNO055 work. They work based on microscopic masses suspended on springs on the chip. As the chip moves, the suspended masses respond to the motion, and the gaps between the suspended masses and the substrate changes. The chips detect these changes in position by monitoring the capacitance between the suspended mass and the substrate, or between the suspended masses and carefully designed interdigitated fingers between the mass and the substrate. C=eA/d, e is the dielectric constant of the material, A is the area of the capacitor, and d is the gap between the two capacitor plates. Changes in measured capacitance come from either a change in A or a change in d. Both d and A change in response to motion, so by monitoring the capacitance of the suspended mass, acceleration can be inferred. The video below explains clearly how this works.

Code for Getting Raw Acceleration Data from the BNO055 9-axis Inertial Measurement Sensor.

The code below is for demo purposes only, and should not be used in any real applications. It just demonstrates how to work with this sensor in benchtop presentations.

#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Adafruit_BNO055.h>
#include <utility/imumaths.h>

#define BNO055_SAMPLERATE_DELAY_MS (100)

Adafruit_BNO055 myIMU = Adafruit_BNO055();

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
Serial.begin(115200);
myIMU.begin();
delay(1000);
int8_t temp=myIMU.getTemp();
myIMU.setExtCrystalUse(true);
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
imu::Vector<3> acc =myIMU.getVector(Adafruit_BNO055::VECTOR_ACCELEROMETER);


Serial.print(acc.x());
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(acc.y());
Serial.print(",");
Serial.println(acc.z());


delay(BNO055_SAMPLERATE_DELAY_MS);
}

#include <Wire.h>

#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>

#include <Adafruit_BNO055.h>

#include <utility/imumaths.h>

#define BNO055_SAMPLERATE_DELAY_MS (100)

Adafruit_BNO055 myIMU = Adafruit_BNO055();

void setup() {

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

Serial.begin(115200);

myIMU.begin();

delay(1000);

int8_t temp=myIMU.getTemp();

myIMU.setExtCrystalUse(true);

}

void loop() {

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

imu::Vector<3> acc =myIMU.getVector(Adafruit_BNO055::VECTOR_ACCELEROMETER);

Serial.print(acc.x());

Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(acc.y());

Serial.print(",");

Serial.println(acc.z());

delay(BNO055_SAMPLERATE_DELAY_MS);

}

Technology Tutorials

Tag Archives: Accelerometers

Using Arduino to Calculate Roll and Pitch from MPU6050 3-axis Accelerometers

Using Arduino to Calibrate the MPU6050 Accelerometers

Measure 3 Axis Acceleration on an Arduino with the MPU6050 IMU

Schematic for Tilt Meter Using the MPU6050

9-Axis IMU LESSON 3: Understanding How Accelerometers Work

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