Teaching Robots to Think With a Bag of Random Sensors

Hey hey! Mr. Devyn reporting from the edge of madness (aka my workbench).

I cracked open the 45-in-1 sensor kit from Hosyond like it was a bag of Halloween candy. Light sensors, tilt switches, flame detectors — the whole chaotic buffet. The goal? Build something meaningful out of nonsense. No roadmap. Just vibes.

The Challenge:

These sensors don’t speak the same language. I’m trying to make the Pico or ESP32-C3 handle inputs from sensors meant for way more supported environments. Pull-up resistors? What pull-up resistors? I’m in here wiring blind, but I’m learning.

Right now I’m prototyping a “smart zone” — an RC car that slows down when ambient light drops or swerves if sound gets too loud. Might add a “no-go” zone with a magnetic field detector. Could it work? Sure. Will it? We’ll see. 😅

Next Steps

• Build a code framework to swap sensors without rewriting the whole sketch.

• Document which ones work with MicroPython and which don’t.

• Let the kids test it and break it. That’s how we learn.

Have a wild idea for a sensor combo? Post it on social and tag #YoungstownRCClub. If it’s weird enough, you might just see me try it on YouTube.