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Embedded track
MicroPython

A MicroPython course on the Raspberry Pi Pico

Real Python on a microcontroller: blink and the REPL, buttons, PWM, the ADC and an I2C screen, ending in a reaction game you write yourself.

FreeIn your browser2 courses, 14 lessons, about 8 hours
Start freeBlink, and talk to the boardSee the course
Overview

How you will learn it

MicroPython puts Python on a chip with no operating system, so you can control pins from the same language you would use on a laptop. It is the quickest way into embedded for anyone who already knows a little Python.

MicroPython on the Pico runs on a simulated Raspberry Pi Pico. Each one teaches a Python idea and a hardware idea together: if with a button, loops with a PWM fade, lists and functions on an LED bar.

Outcomes

What you will learn

  • Use the REPL to talk to the board and try code a line at a time.
  • Read buttons, fade LEDs with PWM and read a sensor with the ADC.
  • Drive an OLED screen over I2C.
  • Write a complete reaction game in MicroPython.
Your route

The courses and lessons to take

Every lesson opens in the editor right away, signed in or not, and the simulator checks each step.

  1. Step 1 · 7 lessons · 3 h

    MicroPython on the Pico

    The whole MicroPython course.

    1. Blink, and talk to the boardYour first MicroPython program blinks two LEDs, then you type Python straight into the board with the REPL.
    2. Loops and a PWM fadeA for loop with range() steps an LED from dark to bright and back, using PWM to fake the levels in between.
    3. Read a sensor with the ADCA knob on GP26 turns into a number with ADC, and that number sets the LED brightness. Then a little math turns it into a percent.
    4. I2C to an OLED screenTwo wires carry a whole conversation: find the OLED and a weather sensor on I2C, then draw text on the screen.
    Every lesson in the course
  2. Step 2 · 7 lessons · 5 h

    Python from zero

    New to Python? Learn the language first on a Raspberry Pi.

    Beginner Python on a Raspberry Pi: print, variables, decisions, loops, lists, functions, dicts and strings, then a button with gpiozero and a working pedestrian crossing.

    Every lesson in the course
Keep going

Guides and tools on the same subject

Track

Embedded track

Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico and STM32: pins, timing, buses, motors, WiFi, registers and debugging, every lesson checked on a simulated board.

See the whole track
Questions

Questions people ask

Is MicroPython the same as Python?

It is Python 3 with a smaller standard library and extra modules like machine for pins, PWM, the ADC and I2C. The syntax is the same.

MicroPython or C++ for the Pico?

MicroPython is quicker to learn and try. C++ runs faster and is what most products use. Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico teaches the same board in C++.

Do I need a Pico to take the course?

No. It runs on a simulated Pico in your browser, and the same code runs on a real Pico.