Adafruit
Adafruit CRICKIT HAT for Raspberry Pi
The Adafruit CRICKIT HAT is a robotics and electronics driver board that plugs directly onto any Raspberry Pi with a 2×20 GPIO header. It adds motor drivers,...
The Adafruit CRICKIT HAT is a robotics and electronics driver board that plugs directly onto any Raspberry Pi with a 2×20 GPIO header. It adds motor drivers, servo outputs, capacitive touch inputs, a level-shifted NeoPixel driver, and a 3W I2S audio amplifier — all managed over I2C via the Adafruit seesaw co-processor, so you can still use your Pi for video, camera, networking, and Bluetooth.
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, controlled by the seesaw chip (not Pi pin 18), supports 100+ pixels
- 1× Class D I2S Audio Amplifier – 3W max, 4–8 ohm speaker, high-quality digital audio via I2S (works on all Pi models, including Zero)
- Built-in USB-to-Serial Converter – Update seesaw firmware or use as a serial console for the Pi
- 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 – Plug onto the 2×20 GPIO header
Programming
- Python 3 (with pip-installable libraries)
Also Available
- CRICKIT for Circuit Playground Express
- CRICKIT for micro:bit
- CRICKIT FeatherWing – For any Feather board
Ideal For
- Building robots and motorised projects with Raspberry Pi
- Interactive installations combining Pi's connectivity with motor control
- Learning robotics with Python
Package Contents
- 1× Adafruit CRICKIT HAT for Raspberry Pi
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- GPIO
- General-purpose input/output pins are microcontroller pins you can set in software to read signals, switch devices on and off, or connect to peripherals. The number of GPIO pins matters because it limits how many buttons, LEDs, sensors, and other parts you can wire directly to the board.
- 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.
- I2S
- I2S is a digital audio interface used to send sound data between chips, such as from a microcontroller to an audio amplifier or DAC. It matters if your project needs cleaner digital audio output than a basic buzzer or PWM signal can provide.
- 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
Raspberry Pi
Robotics & Motion
