• @Obi
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    12 months ago

    I’m no expert so asking with curiosity, but wouldn’t even simple things like your coffee machine changing lights when the coffee is ready require (a very simple) one?

    • @elvith@feddit.de
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      22 months ago

      Not necessarily. You could have a sensor that detects when the water reservoir is emptied that doesn’t need logic - e.g.

      • a floater with a magnet. If it reaches the bottom, a magnet sensor detects that the water now emptied (or in the coffee pot) or
      • a temperature dependent resistor. If there’s no more water, the temperature in the heater rises and the voltage rises on a wire. If the voltage (=temperature) is above a certain level you get a signal

      You can then use those signals to do something like switch off the heater, change a light,… all without using a microcontroller. There’s no programming needed for that. You might see things like transistors and some basic digital circuitry here but it’s all very basic and still far from a microcontroller.