◦
Mini-B USB Cable
◦
Jumper Wires (30 pack)
◦
Alligator Clip Cables (10 pack)
• A
computer
(Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux) with an available USB
slot
◦
Software to read in key presses (e.g. Canabalt, Virtual Piano,
Tetris, Powerpoint, etc.)
• Button material (e.g. fruit, Play-Doh, tin foil, copper tape, a friend)
• A primed imagination
Suggested Reading
• What is a Circuit? – To create a MaKey MaKey “key”, a circuit must
be created so current can flow.
• Voltage, Current, Resistance and Ohm’s Law – Learn about the three
fundamental concepts behind electricity, and how they’re related by
Ohm’s law. The MaKey MaKey works by bending our idea of
resistive material.
• Voltage Dividers – Voltage dividers are the secret behind every
MaKey MaKey input. This tutorial digs a bit deeper into circuit theory.
What is the MaKey MaKey?
The MaKey MaKey is a collaborative project between Jay Silver and Eric
Rosenbaum of the MIT Media Lab, and us here at SparkFun Electronics.
It’s an invention kit that encourages people to find creative ways to interact
with their computers, by using every day objects as a replacement for
keyboards and mice. With the MaKey MaKey, you could replace your space
key with a banana, use play-doh to move and click your mouse, or high-five
your best friend to advance PowerPoint slides.
It’s a Mouse/Keyboard
The MaKey MaKey is a two-sided circuit board. On the more simple, top
side, the MaKey MaKey has 6-inputs: the up/down/left/right arrow keys, as
well as the space bar and mouse left click:
Each of those inputs as well as the very important “Earth bar” are available
in the form of what I like to call “alligator-bait” connectors. You’ll use the
included alligator clip cables to clip right into the hole pairs. This will all be
made much more clear in the next section. For now, let’s keep summarizing
your MaKey MaKey.
When you flip the board over, you’ve got access to 12 more keys: W, A, S,
D, F, and G on the keyboard side, and up/down/left/right mouse movement
and left/right clicks on the mouse side. The bottom header has six ground
(aka Earth) outputs, while the top header is an expansion/output header.
There are also a few LEDs on the back to indicate whether you’re pressing
a mouse or keyboard key.
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