Adafruit MPU6050: motion in real units
Adafruit MPU6050 is the friendly route to the GY-521 module. Instead of raw counts it gives you physical units through Adafruit鈥檚 Unified Sensor events: acceleration in meters per second squared, rotation in radians per second and the die temperature in degrees Celsius, filled into three sensors_event_t structures by one getEvent() call.
Built in on Mokxi: #include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h> and it builds, with nothing to install. Free, and no account needed.
What Adafruit MPU6050 does
Before reading, you set the ranges and the digital low-pass filter with names rather than register values: MPU6050_RANGE_8_G, MPU6050_RANGE_500_DEG, MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ. A narrower filter smooths vibration out of the readings at the cost of response time, which suits a tilt sensor more than a drum pad.
Remember the units when you compare with other tutorials. One g is about 9.81 m/s虏, so a board lying flat reads close to 9.8 on Z, and a rotation of 1 rad/s is about 57 degrees per second. The chip鈥檚 motion-detection interrupt can be configured, but in Mokxi it is never raised.
| Library Manager name | Adafruit MPU6050 |
|---|---|
| Author | Adafruit |
| Include | #include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h> |
| Boards | every board Mokxi compiles for but ATtiny85 |
| In the simulator | Simulated: it runs against the part the way it does on the bench. |
| Parts it drives | Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050 |
Install it
It builds on every board Mokxi compiles for but ATtiny85.
In Mokxi it is built in: #include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h> and the sketch compiles, with no download, no zip and no Library Manager.
On a real board, install "Adafruit MPU6050" by Adafruit from the Arduino IDE鈥檚 Library Manager (Sketch, Include Library, Manage Libraries), or add Adafruit MPU6050 to lib_deps in PlatformIO. Mokxi follows the calls of release 2.2.6, so a sketch written here builds there too.
What to know in the simulator: The motion-detection interrupt is written to the chip but never raised.
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The calls you will use
In the order a sketch meets them.
Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu
Creates the sensor object.
mpu.begin()
Starts I2C and checks the chip at 0x68. Returns false when it is not found; begin(0x69) for a board with AD0 high.
mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_8_G)
Plus or minus 2, 4, 8 or 16 g. A wider range reads harder knocks with less resolution.
mpu.setGyroRange(MPU6050_RANGE_500_DEG)
Plus or minus 250, 500, 1000 or 2000 degrees per second.
mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ)
The low-pass filter, from 260 Hz down to 5 Hz.
mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp)
Reads the chip once and fills three events.
sensors_event_t a, g, temp;
mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);
Serial.print(a.acceleration.x);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.println(g.gyro.z);temp.temperature
The chip鈥檚 own temperature in degrees Celsius. It runs a few degrees above the room, so it is not a room thermometer.
Example: Tilt an MPU6050
On the Arduino Uno R3. It runs in the browser exactly as printed.
#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>
#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Wire.h>
Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
if (!mpu.begin()) {
Serial.println("Failed to find MPU6050 chip");
while (1) delay(10);
}
Serial.println("MPU6050 Found!");
mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_8_G);
mpu.setGyroRange(MPU6050_RANGE_500_DEG);
mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);
}
void loop() {
sensors_event_t a, g, temp;
mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);
Serial.print("Acceleration X: ");
Serial.print(a.acceleration.x);
Serial.print(", Y: ");
Serial.print(a.acceleration.y);
Serial.print(", Z: ");
Serial.print(a.acceleration.z);
Serial.println(" m/s^2");
Serial.print("Temperature: ");
Serial.print(temp.temperature);
Serial.println(" degC");
delay(500);
}Wiring
- Arduino Uno R3 A4 to Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050 SDA
- Arduino Uno R3 A5 to Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050 SCL
- Arduino Uno R3 5V to Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050 VCC
- Arduino Uno R3 GND to Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050 GND
Common errors and how to fix them
Failed to find MPU6050 chip
begin() returned false. Check the I2C wires and the address (0x68, or 0x69 with AD0 high). Some modules sold as MPU6050 carry an MPU6500 or a clone with another ID, which the Adafruit library rejects on a real board.
Acceleration on Z reads about 9.8 and you expected 1
The library reports meters per second squared, not g. Divide by 9.81 (SENSORS_GRAVITY_STANDARD) if your code or a tutorial expects g.
fatal error: Adafruit_Sensor.h: No such file or directory
The library depends on Adafruit Unified Sensor and Adafruit BusIO. On a real board install both from the Library Manager, then include Adafruit_Sensor.h as the examples do.
Projects that use Adafruit MPU6050
Built-in projects that include it. Each page has the full sketch and opens in the editor, already wired.
Try Adafruit MPU6050 without installing anything
Open the example, change the sketch, and keep your version in a free account.