Project: micro:pet

Project

This project is an opportunity for you to create a micro:pet for the partner you interviewed in the Unplugged activity. You should review your notes and try to summarize what your partner finds appealing in a pet. Then, you should use whatever materials are available to create a prototype of a pet your partner would like.

It might make sense to sketch a few designs on paper first, then consult with your partner to see which aspects of those designs they find most appealing. The purpose of prototyping is to gather more feedback to help you in your final design (“I like this part from Idea A, and I like this part from Idea B…”)

Build a micro:pet that:

• Matches your partner’s needs
• Supports the micro:bit and its battery pack
• Allows you to easily access the micro:bit to turn it on and off

Your design should use whatever materials are available to support the micro:bit so that its face is showing. You can be creative and decide how to mount the board, and how to decorate your critter.

Think about the following questions when you construct it:

• Will it be an animal? A plant? A robot? A bug?
• Will it have any moving parts?
• If it moves, how can you hold the micro:bit securely?

Some photos of sample micro:pets below!

Ideas for Mods

• Find a way to make part of the animal move.
• Give your animal a natural habitat.
• Create a way to carry your animal.
• Create an animal that reacts when you pet it or move it (find a way to detect when the micro:bit is moved or when its position changes in a certain way.)

Journal Entry

After you’ve completed your project, take some time to write in your design journal! You might write about some of the following:

• What feedback did you get from your partner on your idea? How would you revise your design, if you were to go back and create another version?
• What was it like to design a pet for someone else? Was it a pet they would have enjoyed? Why or why not? What advice did they give you that might help you redesign?
• What was it like to interview your partner? What was it like to have to take the time to purposely listen to someone else?
• What was something that was surprising to you about the process of designing the micro:pet?
• Describe a difficult point in the process of designing the micro:pet, and explain how you resolved it.

micro:pet Examples

Dog

micro:pet Fish Tank

Pink Piggy

Ladybug

Caterpillar

Fox

Robot