First thing we need to do is install the project code. This code will use the Circuit Playground Express's built-in accelerometer to sense vibration and then light up the built in Neopixel LEDs.

Upload the Code

Connect the Circuit Playground Express to your computer with a micro USB cable. You should see a drive named "CIRCUITPY" appear on your computer.

You'll need to have the Neopixel library installed on your Circuit Playground Express in order to run this project's CircuitPython code. Follow the steps on this page to install the CircuitPython library bundle.

Install the CircuitPython Library Bundle

Copy the following code, paste it into a plain text file or code editor such as Mu. Save the file as "code.py" to the CIRCUITPY drive.

Download Project Bundle

Copy Code

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2018 Collin Cunningham for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import board
import neopixel
from adafruit_circuitplayground.express import cpx

pixels = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 10, brightness=0.1, auto_write=True)
pixels.fill(0)

while True:

    x, y, z = cpx.acceleration  # read acceleromter
    r, g, b = 0, 0, 0

    if abs(x) > 4.0:
        r = 255
    if abs(y) > 2.0:
        g = 255
    if z > -6.0 or z < -12.0:
        b = 255

    pixels.fill((r, g, b))

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2018 Collin Cunningham for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import board
import neopixel
from adafruit_circuitplayground.express import cpx

pixels = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 10, brightness=0.1, auto_write=True)
pixels.fill(0)

while True:

    x, y, z = cpx.acceleration  # read acceleromter
    r, g, b = 0, 0, 0

    if abs(x) > 4.0:
        r = 255
    if abs(y) > 2.0:
        g = 255
    if z > -6.0 or z < -12.0:
        b = 255

    pixels.fill((r, g, b))

After the file saves, your Circuit Playground Express should reboot and start running the action light code.