CLUE spirit level
Use the CLUE accelerometer and display to create a pocket digital bubble level.
View original project ↗What you’re building
Adafruit’s CLUE Spirit Level is a compact CircuitPython demonstration that converts the board’s accelerometer readings into a digital bubble level on its 240-pixel display. The script draws three colored circular guides, places a red bubble in a separate display group, and repeatedly updates that group from the CLUE’s x and y acceleration values. Multiplying by ten spreads normal tilt readings across more of the display; reversing the sign makes the dot float opposite the tilt, like a physical bubble. The expected outcome is an immediately responsive visual level with no external sensor or wiring. It requires an Adafruit CLUE running a compatible CircuitPython release plus the project’s bundled adafruit_clue and display-shapes libraries. The important constraint is that this is an illustrative accelerometer visualization, not a calibrated construction instrument: mounting alignment, sensor offset, acceleration, and code scaling affect the indicated center and should be calibrated before any measurement-dependent use.
Key steps
- Install a compatible CircuitPython release on CLUE and confirm the CIRCUITPY drive mounts.
- Download the guide’s Project Bundle and open the examples directory matching the CircuitPython major version installed on the board.
- Copy that directory’s code.py and required lib contents to the CIRCUITPY drive.
- Allow the board to reload and verify that the concentric guide circles and moving red bubble appear on the built-in display.
- Tilt the CLUE in both axes, then calibrate the center or scaling in code if using it beyond the guide’s visual demonstration.
