micro:bit Light Sensor

This article covers using the onboard light sensor of the micro:bit, as well as Light Dependant Resistors.

On board LEDs

In MakeCode you can use the onboard LEDs to get a rough sense of light intensity.

Try creating this snippet

basic.forever(() => {
    basic.showNumber(input.lightLevel() / 28)
})

Light Dependant Resistor

You can also use a light dependant resistor in much the same way as you would with an Arduino

LDR micro:bit wiring

Code

Blocks

let number = 0
let reading = 0
basic.forever(() => {
    reading = pins.analogReadPin(AnalogPin.P2)
    number = reading / 50
    basic.showNumber(number)
})

Arduino

#include <Adafruit_Microbit.h>

Adafruit_Microbit_Matrix microbitMatrix;
int lightSensorPin = 2;

void setup()
{
  microbitMatrix.begin();
}

void loop()
{
  int sensorValue = analogRead(lightSensorPin);
  microbitMatrix.print(sensorValue);
}