Adafruit
Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express
The Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express is a robotics and electronics driver board that bolts directly onto a Circuit Playground Express. It adds...
The Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express is a robotics and electronics driver board that bolts directly onto a Circuit Playground Express. It adds motor drivers, servo outputs, capacitive touch inputs, NeoPixel control, and an audio amplifier — all managed over I2C via the Adafruit seesaw co-processor.
All outputs run at 5V DC, making it compatible with standard 5V servos, DC motors, steppers, solenoids, and relays. The power supply system includes a TPS2595 eFuse chip with over-voltage (5.5V), under-voltage (3V), and over-current (4A) protection, plus kick-back diodes on every motor driver.
Key Features
- 4× Servo Outputs – Analogue or digital servo control with precision 16-bit timers
- 2× DC Motor Drivers – Bi-directional, 1A current limit each, 8-bit PWM speed control (or 1 stepper motor)
- 4× Darlington Drive Outputs – 500mA each with kick-back protection, for solenoids, relays, LEDs, or 1 unipolar stepper
- 4× Capacitive Touch Sensors – Alligator-clip-friendly pads
- 8× Signal Pins – Digital I/O or analogue inputs
- 1× NeoPixel Driver – 5V level-shifted
- 1× Class D Audio Amplifier – 3W max, 4–8 ohm speaker output
- Seesaw I2C Co-Processor – Offloads all timers, PWM, and sensor management
- eFuse Power Protection – Over-voltage, under-voltage, and 4A over-current protection
- No Soldering Required – Bolt on with included stand-off hardware
Programming
- CircuitPython
- Arduino
Also Available
- CRICKIT FeatherWing – For any Feather board
- CRICKIT for micro:bit
- CRICKIT HAT for Raspberry Pi
Ideal For
- Building robots and motorised projects with Circuit Playground Express
- Interactive art installations with servos, lights, and sound
- Learning robotics with CircuitPython or Arduino
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express
- Stand-off bolt hardware for mounting
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- CircuitPython
- A beginner-friendly version of Python designed to run directly on microcontroller boards. If a product supports CircuitPython, you can often program it by copying code files onto the board rather than setting up a more complex toolchain.
- I2C
- I2C is a two-wire communication bus used by many sensors and small modules. It matters because several I2C devices can share the same two wires, but each device needs a compatible address and your controller must support I2C.
- motor driver
- An electronic circuit that lets a low-power controller switch and control a motor that needs more current than the controller pins can safely provide. Checking motor driver support matters because pumps and motors usually cannot be connected directly to a microcontroller output.
- NeoPixel
- A type of addressable LED system where colour data is sent along a single digital data line from one LED or controller to the next. Compatibility matters because the timing and signal format must match for the lights or driver board to respond correctly.
- PWM
- Pulse Width Modulation is a way for a digital pin to simulate variable output power by switching on and off very quickly. It matters for controlling things like LED brightness, motor speed, or servo-style signals from a microcontroller pin.
- servo
- A servo is a motor with built-in position control, usually told to move to a specific angle by a control signal. It matters when you need repeatable movement, such as steering, arms, flaps, or linkages, rather than continuous spinning.
Find this product in
Brands
Robotics & Motion
STEM & Education
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
