Adafruit Step Counter User Manual

CLUE Step Counter with ST LSM6DS33

Created by Liz Clark

Last updated on 2021-04-25 11:03:34 AM EDT

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Guide Contents

Guide Contents Overview

How It Works Parts Project Video

CircuitPython on CLUE

Set up CircuitPython Quick Start!

CLUE CircuitPython Libraries Installing CircuitPython Libraries on your CLUE Coding the CLUE Step Counter Additional Libraries

Code Fonts and Background Bitmap

CircuitPython Code Walkthrough

Setup Graphics Pedometer Setup The Loop Counting Steps Calculating Average Steps Per Hour Updating the Progress Bar Adjusting Screen Brightness

Final Assembly and Use

Overview

You can clue into your daily step count with the CLUE board! Pair it with a wearable case and you have a DIY step counter. A lot of step counters require an app to see your data, but with this project you can see your daily steps without any fears about your data security.

How It Works

The CLUE's on-board accelerometer has a built-in pedometer. With the CircuitPython CLUE and LSM6DS33 libraries, you can access the pedometer to count your steps with just a few lines of code.

In addition to monitoring your total step count, you can also track your progress towards your step goal and see how many steps per hour you're taking. To keep your battery life going strong, you can also adjust the CLUE's display brightness using the A and B buttons on either side of the screen.

Parts

Your browser does not support the video tag. Adafruit CLUE - nRF52840 Express with Bluetooth LE

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Breadboard-friendly SPDT Slide Switch

These nice switches are perfect for use with breadboard and perfboard projects. They have 0.1" spacing and snap in nicely into a solderless breadboard. They're easy to switch... $0.95 In Stock

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Lithium Ion Polymer Battery Ideal For Feathers - 3.7V 400mAh

Lithium ion polymer (also known as 'lipo' or 'lipoly') batteries are thin, light and powerful. The output ranges from 4.2V when completely charged to 3.7V. This battery... $6.95 In Stock

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Fully Reversible Pink/Purple USB A to micro B Cable - 1m long

This cable is not only super-fashionable, with a woven pink and purple Blinka-like pattern, it's also fully reversible! That's right, you will save seconds a day by... Out of Stock

Project Video

Out of

Stock

CircuitPython on CLUE

CircuitPython (https://adafru.it/tB7) is a derivative of MicroPython (https://adafru.it/BeZ) designed to simplify

experimentation and education on low-cost microcontrollers. It makes it easier than ever to get prototyping by requiring no upfront desktop software downloads. Simply copy and edit files on the CIRCUITPY flash drive to iterate.

The following instructions will show you how to install CircuitPython. If you've already installed CircuitPython but are looking to update it or reinstall it, the same steps work for that as well!

Set up CircuitPython Quick Start!

Follow this quick step-by-step for super-fast Python power :)

https://adafru.it/IHF

Click the link above to download the latest version of

CircuitPython for the CLUE.

Download and save it to your desktop (or wherever is handy).

Plug your CLUE into your computer using a known-good USB cable.

A lot of people end up using charge-only USB cables and it is

very frustrating! So make sure you have a USB cable you

know is good for data sync.

Double-click the Reset button on the top (magenta arrow) on your board, and you will see the NeoPixel RGB LED (green arrow) turn green. If it turns red, check the USB cable, try another USB port, etc. Note: The little red LED next to the USB connector will pulse red. That's ok!

If double-clicking doesn't work the first time, try again. Sometimes it can take a few tries to get the rhythm right!

https://adafru.it/IHF

You will see a new disk drive appear called CLUEBOOT.

Drag the adafruit-circuitpython-clue-etc.uf2 file to

CLUEBOOT.

The LED will flash. Then, the CLUEBOOT drive will disappear and a new disk drive called CIRCUITPY will appear.

If this is the first time you're installing CircuitPython or you're doing a completely fresh install after erasing the filesystem, you will have two files - boot_out.txt, and code.py, and one folder - lib on your CIRCUITPY drive.

If CircuitPython was already installed, the files present before reloading CircuitPython should still be present on your CIRCUITPY drive. Loading CircuitPython will not create new files if there was already a CircuitPython filesystem present.

That's it, you're done! :)

CLUE CircuitPython Libraries

The CLUE is packed full of features like a display and a ton of sensors. Now that you have CircuitPython installed on your CLUE, you'll need to install a base set of CircuitPython libraries to use the features of the board with CircuitPython.

Follow these steps to get the necessary libraries installed.

Installing CircuitPython Libraries on your CLUE

If you do not already have a lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive, create one now.

Then, download the CircuitPython library bundle that matches your version of CircuitPython from CircuitPython.org.

https://adafru.it/ENC

The bundle downloads as a .zip file. Extract the file. Open the resulting folder.

Open the lib folder found within.

https://adafru.it/ENC

Once inside, you'll find a lengthy list of folders and .mpy files. To install a CircuitPython library, you drag the file or folder from the bundle lib folder to the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive.

Copy the following folders and files from the bundle lib folder to the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive:

adafruit_apds9960

adafruit_bmp280.mpy

adafruit_bus_device

adafruit_clue.mpy

adafruit_display_shapes

adafruit_display_text

adafruit_lis3mdl.mpy

adafruit_lsm6ds

adafruit_register

adafruit_sht31d.mpy

adafruit_slideshow.mpy

neopixel.mpy

Your lib folder should look like the image on the left. These libraries will let you run the demos in the CLUE guide.

Coding the CLUE Step Counter

Additional Libraries

Once you've finished setting up your CLUE, add these additional libraries to the lib folder:

adafruit_bitmap_font

adafruit_progressbar

simpleio.mpy

Then, you can click on the Download: Project Zip link above the code to download the code file, fonts folder and bitmap background image.

Code

Click on "Copy Code" and then paste it into the Mu editor to save to your CLUE as code.py or copy the code file from the Project Zip folder to the CLUE's CIRCUITPY drive.

import time import board import displayio from adafruit_clue import clue from simpleio import map_range from adafruit_bitmap_font import bitmap_font from adafruit_lsm6ds.lsm6ds33 import LSM6DS33 from adafruit_lsm6ds import Rate, AccelRange from adafruit_progressbar.progressbar import ProgressBar from adafruit_display_text.label import Label

# turns off onboard NeoPixel to conserve battery clue.pixel.brightness = (0.0)

# accessing the Clue's accelerometer sensor = LSM6DS33(board.I2C())

# step goal

step_goal = 10000

# onboard button states a_state = False b_state = False

# array to adjust screen brightness bright_level = [0, 0.5, 1]

countdown = 0 # variable for the step goal progress bar clock = 0 # variable used to keep track of time for the steps per hour counter clock_count = 0 # holds the number of hours that the step counter has been running clock_check = 0 # holds the result of the clock divided by 3600 seconds (1 hour) last_step = 0 # state used to properly counter steps mono = time.monotonic() # time.monotonic() device mode = 1 # state used to track screen brightness steps_log = 0 # holds total steps to check for steps per hour steps_remaining = 0 # holds the remaining steps needed to reach the step goal sph = 0 # holds steps per hour

# variables to hold file locations for background and fonts clue_bgBMP = "/clue_bgBMP.bmp" small_font = "/fonts/Roboto-Medium-16.bdf" med_font = "/fonts/Roboto-Bold-24.bdf" big_font = "/fonts/Roboto-Black-48.bdf"

# glyphs for fonts glyphs = b'0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ-,.: '

# loading bitmap fonts small_font = bitmap_font.load_font(small_font) small_font.load_glyphs(glyphs) med_font = bitmap_font.load_font(med_font) med_font.load_glyphs(glyphs) big_font = bitmap_font.load_font(big_font) big_font.load_glyphs(glyphs)

# creating display and default brightness clue_display = board.DISPLAY clue_display.brightness = 0.5

# graphics group clueGroup = displayio.Group(max_size=20)

# loading bitmap background clue_bg = displayio.OnDiskBitmap(open(clue_bgBMP, "rb")) clue_tilegrid = displayio.TileGrid(clue_bg, pixel_shader=displayio.ColorConverter()) clueGroup.append(clue_tilegrid)

# creating the ProgressBar object bar_group = displayio.Group(max_size=20) prog_bar = ProgressBar(1, 1, 239, 25, bar_color=0x652f8f) bar_group.append(prog_bar)

clueGroup.append(bar_group)

# text for step goal steps_countdown = Label(small_font, text='%d Steps Remaining' % step_goal, color=clue.WHITE) steps_countdown.x = 55 steps_countdown.y = 12

# text for steps text_steps = Label(big_font, text="0 ", color=0xe90e8b)

text_steps.x = 45 text_steps.y = 70

# text for steps per hour text_sph = Label(med_font, text=" -- ", color=0x29abe2) text_sph.x = 8 text_sph.y = 195

# adding all text to the display group clueGroup.append(text_sph) clueGroup.append(steps_countdown) clueGroup.append(text_steps)

# sending display group to the display at startup clue_display.show(clueGroup)

# setting up the accelerometer and pedometer sensor.accelerometer_range = AccelRange.RANGE_2G sensor.accelerometer_data_rate = Rate.RATE_26_HZ sensor.gyro_data_rate = Rate.RATE_SHUTDOWN sensor.pedometer_enable = True

while True:

# button debouncing if not clue.button_a and not a_state: a_state = True if not clue.button_b and not b_state: b_state = True

# setting up steps to hold step count steps = sensor.pedometer_steps

# creating the data for the ProgressBar countdown = map_range(steps, 0, step_goal, 0.0, 1.0)

# actual counting of the steps # if a step is taken: if abs(steps-last_step) > 1: step_time = time.monotonic() # updates last_step last_step = steps # updates the display text_steps.text = '%d' % steps clock = step_time - mono

# logging steps per hour if clock > 3600: # gets number of hours to add to total clock_check = clock / 3600 # logs the step count as of that hour steps_log = steps # adds the hours to get a new hours total clock_count += round(clock_check) # divides steps by hours to get steps per hour sph = steps_log / clock_count # adds the sph to the display text_sph.text = '%d' % sph # resets clock to count to the next hour again clock = 0 mono = time.monotonic()

# adjusting countdown to step goal

prog_bar.progress = float(countdown)

# displaying countdown to step goal if step_goal - steps > 0: steps_remaining = step_goal - steps steps_countdown.text = '%d Steps Remaining' % steps_remaining else: steps_countdown.text = 'Steps Goal Met!'

# adjusting screen brightness, a button decreases brightness if clue.button_a and a_state: mode -= 1 a_state = False if mode < 0: mode = 0 clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode] else: clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode] # b button increases brightness if clue.button_b and b_state: mode += 1 b_state = False if mode > 2: mode = 2 clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode] else: clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode]

time.sleep(0.001)

Fonts and Background Bitmap

In addition to the lib folder, for this project you'll also have a fonts folder. The fonts folder contains the three bitmap fonts that are used for text displayed on the CLUE's display.

Roboto-Medium-16.bdf Roboto-Bold-24.bdf Roboto-Black-48.bdf

There is also a bitmap image for the background of the CLUE's display. This image file, called clue_bgBMP.bmp, will also be stored on the CLUE.

Copy the fonts folder and the clue_bgBMP.bmp bitmap image file from the Project Zip folder to the CLUE's CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CLUE CIRCUITPY drive should look like this after you load the libraries, fonts, bitmap and code below:

CircuitPython Code Walkthrough

Setup

The CircuitPython code begins by importing the libraries.

import time import board import displayio from adafruit_clue import clue from simpleio import map_range from adafruit_bitmap_font import bitmap_font from adafruit_lsm6ds import LSM6DS33, Rate, AccelRange from adafruit_progressbar import ProgressBar from adafruit_display_text.label import Label

After the libraries are imported, the on-board NeoPixel is turned off. This is done in an effort to conserve battery life.

clue.pixel.brightness = (0.0)

Next, the CLUE's accelerometer is defined and will be called as sensor in the code. There are built-in functions in the CLUE's CircuitPython library for common accelerometer uses but this is how you can

access it directly.

sensor = LSM6DS33(board.I2C())

Then, the overall step goal is setup. You can edit this number to match your goal.

step_goal = 10000

Some state machines are created for the physical A and B buttons on the front of the CLUE. These will be used to adjust the brightness of the screen.

a_state = False b_state = False

Speaking of screen brightness, this is followed by an array called bright_level , which holds the three brightness level options for the screen: 0 (off), 0.5 (half brightness) and 1 (full brightness).

bright_level = [0, 0.5, 1]

This is followed by various states and variables that will be used in the main loop. Their purposes are commented next to them.

countdown = 0 # variable for the step goal progress bar clock = 0 # variable used to keep track of time for the steps per hour counter clock_count = 0 # holds the number of hours that the step counter has been running clock_check = 0 # holds the result of the clock divided by 3600 seconds (1 hour) last_step = 0 # state used to properly counter steps mono = time.monotonic() # time.monotonic() device mode = 1 # state used to track screen brightness steps_log = 0 # holds total steps to check for steps per hour steps_remaining = 0 # holds the remaining steps needed to reach the step goal sph = 0 # holds steps per hour

Graphics

Up next is the graphics setup. First, the on-board file locations for the graphical background and the fonts are defined.

clue_bgBMP = "/clue_bgBMP.bmp" small_font = "/fonts/Roboto-Medium-16.bdf" med_font = "/fonts/Roboto-Bold-24.bdf" big_font = "/fonts/Roboto-Black-48.bdf"

Next, the glyphs are defined that will be used with the bitmap fonts and the setup for the bitmap fonts is completed.

glyphs = b'0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ-,.: '

small_font = bitmap_font.load_font(small_font) small_font.load_glyphs(glyphs) med_font = bitmap_font.load_font(med_font) med_font.load_glyphs(glyphs) big_font = bitmap_font.load_font(big_font) big_font.load_glyphs(glyphs)

The CLUE's display is setup to be clue_display and the default brightness is set to half.

clue_display = board.DISPLAY clue_display.brightness = 0.5

Next, the graphics group is created along with the tilegrid . This will hold the bitmap background.

clueGroup = displayio.Group(max_size=20)

clue_bg = displayio.OnDiskBitmap(open("/clue_bgBMP.bmp", "rb")) clue_tilegrid = displayio.TileGrid(clue_bg, pixel_shader=displayio.ColorConverter()) clueGroup.append(clue_tilegrid)

Following the bitmap background, a ProgressBar is created. This bar will illustrate your progress to hitting your step goal at the top of the display.

bar_group = displayio.Group(max_size=20) prog_bar = ProgressBar, (11, 239, 25, bar_color=0x652f8f) bar_group.append(prog_bar)

clueGroup.append(bar_group)

https://adafru.it/Kpb

The final graphical elements are text objects. They'll hold the text for steps remaining, the step count and steps per hour. The text objects are added to the clueGroup graphic and then the clueGroup is shown on

the CLUE's display on boot with clue_display.show(clueGroup) .

steps_countdown = Label(small_font, text='%d Steps Remaining' % step_goal, color=clue.WHITE) steps_countdown.x = 55 steps_countdown.y = 12

text_steps = Label(big_font, text="0 ", color=0xe90e8b) text_steps.x = 45 text_steps.y = 70

text_sph = Label(med_font, text=" -- ", color=0x29abe2) text_sph.x = 8 text_sph.y = 195

clueGroup.append(text_sph) clueGroup.append(steps_countdown) clueGroup.append(text_steps)

clue_display.show(clueGroup)

Pedometer Setup

The final lines of code before the loop setup the accelerometer on the CLUE board and enable the pedometer.

sensor.accelerometer_range = AccelRange.RANGE_2G sensor.accelerometer_data_rate = Rate.RATE_26_HZ sensor.gyro_data_rate = Rate.RATE_SHUTDOWN sensor.pedometer_enable = True

The Loop

After all the setup, the loop begins with button debouncing for the A and B buttons located on the front of the CLUE.

while True: if not clue.button_a and not a_state: a_state = True if not clue.button_b and not b_state: b_state = True

This is followed by setting up the variable steps to hold the step count being collected by the CLUE's pedometer.

steps = sensor.pedometer_steps

Next, countdown is setup to hold what will be the progress bar's data that will show how close you are to your steps goal. This utilizes the map_range function, which is handy for mapping different value ranges so that they play well together.

You'll see that there are five values in the parentheses: steps , 0 , step_goal , 0.0 and 1.0 . Ignoring steps

https://adafru.it/Kpb

for a moment, the value range of 0 to step_goal is being mapped to 0.0 and 1.0 , which is the range that the ProgressBar library looks for when creating a ProgressBar object. The first item, in this case steps , is what will be subtracted from the total value range (in this case step_goal ).

In summary, the step_goal range is being mapped to the ProgressBar's range, which will have your total steps at the time subtracted in order to display the progress towards your goal.

countdown = map_range(steps, 0, step_goal, 0.0, 1.0)

Counting Steps

This leads to the actual step counting. It begins with an if statement that checks if the step count has changed.

if abs(steps-last_step) > 1:

If it has, then time.monotonic() is logged as step_time and last_steps is updated to hold the value of steps .

step_time = time.monotonic() last_step = steps

Additionally, the display is updated to show the current step count. The text_steps text object displays the value being held by steps .

text_steps.text = '%d' % steps

This is followed by some time tracking that will be used to calculate your steps per hour. clock is setup to hold the difference between the two time.monotonic() devices step_time and mono . mono is logged before the loop and by doing this you can track how long steps have actually been taking place rather

than the CLUE's time that it has been operating.

clock = step_time - mono

Calculating Average Steps Per Hour

To get the steps per hour calculation, there is an if statement that checks if steps have been counted for more than an hour, or 3600 seconds. If they have, then the steps per hour will be updated. This is done by

having clock_check hold the value of clock divided by 3600 . This is done so that you can get a count of how many hours have passed.

Your step count is then held by steps_log . Another variable, clock_count , is increased by the rounded result of clock_check . This means that the total hour count is increased. The steps per hour, being held by

sph , is then updated to divide steps_log , which is the total steps you've taken, by the clock_count , which

is the total number of hours that you've been counting steps. The result of this calculation is then pushed to the text_sph object to update the Clue's display.

Finally, clock is reset to 0 to begin counting down to the next hour and mono is updated to hold

time.monotonic() .

if clock > 3600: clock_check = clock / 3600 steps_log = steps clock_count += round(clock_check) print('hour count: %d' % clock_count) sph = steps_log / clock_count text_sph.text = '%d' % sph clock = 0 mono = time.monotonic()

Updating the Progress Bar

The progress bar is updated by setting bar.progress to hold the value of countdown as a float. This simultaneously updates the display and the math going on behind the scenes with the ProgressBar library.

bar.progress = float(countdown)

Up next is a new if statement, this time checking to see if you have reached your steps goal. If you haven't, then the remaining steps are stored in the variable steps_remaining . This value is then stored in the steps_countdown text object and is sent to the display to be shown over the progress bar.

However, if the goal has been met, then the steps_countdown text will read "Steps Goal Met!".

if step_goal - steps > 0: steps_remaining = step_goal - steps steps_countdown.text = '%d Steps Remaining' % steps_remaining else: steps_countdown.text = 'Steps Goal Met!'

Adjusting Screen Brightness

The last portion of the loop is for adjusting the CLUE's screen brightness. This will come in handy for preserving battery life. If you press the A button, then the brightness will

decrease

and if you press the B

button, the brightness will

increase

.

There are three brightness levels, which are held in the bright_level array. The variable mode is being used to track the current brightness level and position in the bright_level array. If A is pressed, then mode is decreased by 1 and if B is pressed, then mode is increased by 1 . The result is a change in the screen's brightness level. However, if mode is less than 0 or greater than 2 , the brightness does not change since you will no longer be in range of the bright_level array.

if clue.button_a and a_state: mode -= 1 a_state = False if mode < 0: mode = 0 clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode] else: clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode]

if clue.button_b and b_state: mode += 1 b_state = False if mode > 2: mode = 2 clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode] else: clue_display.brightness = bright_level[mode]

Final Assembly and Use

After loading the CircuitPython code and files onto the CLUE, you're ready to get stepping. For best results, you'll want to house your CLUE in a wearable case. The Ruiz brothers have a great 3D printed design and Learn Guide for a CLUE case that you wear on your wrist like a watch. This is the perfect way to count your steps. The guide also details how to install an on/off switch for the CLUE with a lipo battery.

https://adafru.it/Kpc

After printing and assembling your case, your CLUE step counter is complete! You can track your steps all day long without worrying about the security of your health data or location tracking. The battery should last at least a full day so you won't miss a single step.

https://adafru.it/Kpc

Adafruit Step Counter User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual