One of the things I love about Adafruit’s popular Circuit Playground is that it has enough sensors, lights, and inputs to really do a lot with it without having to add accessories. Now their latest release, the Clue, takes this concept to another level.
Packed with a staggering amount of sensors, the micro:bit-shaped Clue has one striking feature that makes it stand out from its heritage, a color LCD screen. It isn’t an amazing screen, but with the full spread of sensors and a few buttons, this means the Clue can be a stand-alone powerhouse, completing many projects without expansion.
On board, you’ll find:
- Bluetooth
- Accelerometer
- Gyroscope
- Magnetometer
- Barometric pressure sensor
- Humidity sensor
- Proximity light and gesture sensor
- 1.3” color screen
- Buzzer
- 2 buttons
- 64 Mhz Cortex M4 processor with 256kb RAM, and 1MB of flash memory
Like most of their other boards, this comes with built-in battery management, so you can plug and run without worrying. It also has an expansion plug for STEMMA accessories, allowing for easy additions if needed.
Mix all these features with the ease of coding using CircuitPython and you have a pretty great platform for learning, experimenting, and tinkering for just under $40. I could see this board appearing in many cosplay and entry level projects in the next year or two.
