CHAPTER 1 ■ WELCOME ROBOT INVENTOR!Pushbuttons
Switches and pushbuttons (see Figure 1-7) are a subset of sensors. They “sense” a push.
Figure 1-6. Cadmium-sulfide sensor for light detection
Figure 1-7. (left) A tiny pushbutton mounted to a circuit board etched in my basement. (right) A selection of
pushbuttons in various shapes, sizes, colors, and firmness
On most robots, a couple of pushbuttons are usually dedicated for human input. Buttons can trigger a
change in modes or the beginning of an experimental sequence. Alternatively, crafty engineers can discard
dedicated buttons and instead wave a hand in front of various sensors to indicate a desired action.