Digital Inputs: The Push Button

From Press to Data

The push button is already embedded and connected on your MakerBuddy IoT Board, so no wiring is needed. A button has two useful states: pressed and released. The dashboard reads that state live, just as a doorbell, game controller or emergency stop button reports what someone has done.

Later, the Rule Engine can use this button state as a condition. For now, focus on observing a reliable input before asking MakerBuddy to react to it.

Activity: Button State Detective

1. Power on MakerBuddy and connect the dashboard.
2. Find the Push Button sensor card.
3. Press and release the embedded button slowly. Watch the card change between Pressed and Released.
4. Try a quick tap, a one-second hold and several repeated taps. Describe what the dashboard shows.
5. Work with a partner: one student watches the dashboard while the other presses the button. Swap roles.

Challenge: Build a Reaction Test Plan

Design a paper plan for a reaction game. When a light turns on, the player presses the embedded button as quickly as possible. List the input, the output and the order of events. You will use this kind of input-to-output thinking in the Rule Engine later.

Key Takeaways