Week 9: Reflection And Learnings

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Reflection

This week was extremely frustrating. I spent a very long time trying to use my e-paper display, but had no success. Even so, I learned an extremely valuable and universal lesson: don't start changing variables before I complete the tutorial. Or, in other words, make it work, then play around. I was changing the type of microcontroller and programming language before I ever got the display to turn on, leading me to spend many hours that could have been avoided if I simply following a tutorial exactly all the way through. However, I was able to control a servo motor using a Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython, a vital aspect of my final project. I also really enjoyed learning how to calculate torque for a motor; I love physics and math, so being able to apply those fields to a tangible product was gratifying.

Motors

• How to calculate torque

E-Paper Displays

• Some e-paper displays are controlled by a Driver HAT which is designed to fit on top of a microcontroller
• Pros and cons of e-paper displays

MicroPython

• MicroPython libraries that support e-paper control
• How to control a servo motor in MicroPython
• Try-except blocks for an input statement prevent keyboard interrupts
• Changing variables before completing a tutorial is not wise

CircuitPython

• How to install CircuitPython on a Raspberry Pi Pico

Raspberry Pi Pico

• Loading an incorrect Python interpreter on the bootloader forces a reset of current processes

Thonny

• It's possible to load the incorrect Python interpreter on a Raspberry Pi Pico

Fusion 360

• This page is where to renew an Educational License in Fusion 360
• Installing the new Licensing Manager is necessary for a successful license renewal