Closeup of a Charge for micro:bit wrapped around a child's ankle wearing crocs.

Track Your Steps with micro:bit!

Ready to get moving and see how many steps you take? This fun project uses your micro:bit to count your steps as you walk, run, or dance! It’s a simple and engaging way to explore motion sensing and data tracking with your micro:bit.

Prepare

You may complete this project with MakeCode or MicroCode. You’ll need the following materials in each case:

MakeCode

MicroCode

Build

Attach the micro:bit to your wrist or ankle with CHARGE for micro:bit for a functional step counter!

Code

Let’s take a closer look at the programs you can use to make your step-counter:

  • MakeCode
  • MicroCode
Open in MicroCode Web App*

*You must click ‘Edit’ > ‘Close’ to see the code.

Understand

At a high level, these programs are doing these key things:

  1. Counting Steps: When a shake is detected by the micro:bit’s accelerometer, the step count increases by one. The step count is being tracked in a variable called steps (in MakeCode) or X (in MicroCode).
  2. Displaying the Count: After the number in the variable changes, the micro:bit displays the new number on the micro:bit’s LED screen, allowing you to see your progress.

Improve

How would you modify the sample code provided, or create your own code to include the following features for an even better step counter?

Try:

  • Adding a sound effect that plays after each step
  • Setting a step goal
  • Celebrating with a sound or animation when you achieve your step goal
  • Programming one of the micro:bit’s buttons to reset the count back to zero

Feeling Stuck? Explore the Knowledge Base for common questions and troubleshooting tips.

Knowledge Base