Petoi Coding Blocks
How to use the extension library specially developed for the Petoi robot in Mind+
Prepare Mind+
Download the latest version from Mind+ official website
Windows: >= V1.7.0
Mac: version: >= V1.7.3 RC2.0
If you cannot download the software from Mind+'s official website, you can download a stable version from the Google Drive folder. However, we strongly recommend that you download and use the official latest version.
After the installation is complete, you can open Mind+
If the default installation language is Chinese, you can switch to English as follows:
Watch the video tutorials
We provide a series of video tutorials on using Petoi Coding Blocks with the free Scratch-like robotics coding curriculum. Be sure to click next to go through all the videos.
Prepare Petoi Robot
For the Bittle X, all functional blocks in Mind+ are supported by default. You can skip to the next section Import Petoi Mind+ extension library.
If you just downloaded a new version of this Desktop App. You should click the Upgrade the Firmware button. You can select 'N' to preserve the calibration values.
If you have upgraded the firmware at least once after a new download, You can click the Update the Mode Only button. It's faster to only switch the modes without refreshing the parameters.
Using the Arduino IDE Please download the latest code from GitHub. Follow the steps for uploading. Set up the configuration mode and activate this line of code in OpenCat.ino
#define MAIN_SKETCH#define GROVE_SERIAL_PASS_THROUGHThen, upload the major functionalities sketch and power on the robot. Use the data cable and USB uploader to connect with the computer or the Bluetooth module and complete the pairing.
Note that the gyroscope function is turned off with the Mind+ mode on NyBoard to save memory space. The robot won't be able to self-balance and auto-recover.
If you don't use the "Read or Write analog/digital pin" function block, you can upload the Standard mode sketch for Bittle / Nybble and use the Mind+ extension library. Note:
When the robot is in the Mind+ mode, the gyroscope function will be turned off, and the robot will not be able to balance or auto recover.
Import Petoi Mind+ extension library
Paste the GitHub URL(https://github.com/PetoiCamp/Petoi_MindPlusLib) in the text box of the import interface:
For macOS (<=V1.7.2 RC3.0), you need to download PetoiRobot.zip and copy the extracted folder (PetoiRobot) to /Users/{your username}/Documents/mindplus-py/environment/Python3.6.5-64/lib/python3.6/site-packages/
Programming and Running
Petoi Coding Blocks is a user-extended library of Mind+.
If you open Mind+ by double-clicking the code file(suffix mp or sb3) that uses this extension library or load these code files after opening Mind+, Mind+ will automatically load this extension library.
The principle and process
This extension library can control the robot without compiling and uploading the code to the robot's main board. Click the "Run" button directly to run the program on the Python level and send instructions to the robot's serial port. If you need to stop the program while running, you can click the "Stop" button anytime. The process of the program can be divided into three steps:
Open the serial port
Control the robot
Close the serial port
The instructions for blocks
Open the serial port
There are two ways to open the serial port:
If it fails to open the serial port, you can refer to the printed information in the terminal window to replace the name of the serial port:
Deactivate Gyro
When the gyroscope function is turned on, the robot can balance its body in real-time. It may be seen that when the robot is doing preset actions (especially when performing more violent actions), the body will shake back and forth, and even the body will tip over. The robot will automatically perform recovery actions, which may disrupt your preset steps.
If the uploaded sketch is Mind+ mode sketch(#define GROVE_SERIAL_PASS_THROUGH this line is activated), the gyroscope function will be turned off, and the robot will not be able to balance or auto-recover, so there is no need to add this block.
If the robot is in standard mode, you'd better deactivate the Gyro after the serial port-opening block. It deactivates the gyroscope function to prevent the robot from performing balance feedback actions in real-time. For example:
Perform inherent skills
Use this block to let the robot perform skills pre-built on the robot's main board. Skills from "sit" to "zero" are postures (containing only one action frame). Skills from "boxing" to "sniff" are behaviors (containing multiple posture frames and are performed only once). Skills from "stepping" to "trotRight" are gaits (containing multiple posture frames, and are repeated in periodical loops until stopped).
After finishing the current block's task, the program will wait a short time (delay xx seconds) before moving to the next block.
Perform the last skill exported from the Skill Composer
Use this block to let the robot perform the last skill exported from the Skill Composer.
It is equivalent to inputting the serial command 'T' in the serial monitor and then delaying the preset time.
Perform the skill in the file
Use this block to let the robot perform the skill in the skill files, which are in the following directory:
Windows: C:\Users\{your user name}\.config\Petoi\SkillLibrary\{model}
MacOS : /Users/{your user name}/.config/Petoi/SkillLibrary/{model}
Linux: /home/{your user name}/.config/Petoi/SkillLibrary/{model}
The folder name {model} is Bittle or Nybble. When exporting a skill file from the Skill Composer, it will automatically save the skill file to this directory.
Tips: you can also copy & paste the SkillLibrary folder from the source code of the OpenCat project on GitHub to the .config/Petoi directory. Therefore, you can use some sample skills for your Mind+ program, and there is no need to use the export function in the Skill Composer.
The folder .config is a hidden directory on MacOS/Linux but can be visited in the terminal or through a specific view setting:
MacOS open the directory /Users/{username} in Finder, then press the “Command” + “Shift” + “.” (period) keys at the same time.
Rotate joints in a sequence.
Use this block to control one joint or multiple joints to rotate in sequence. There are several ways to use the blocks for reference:
Controls individual joint rotations to an absolute angle value.
Controls individual joint rotations to a relative angle value.
Control multiple joints to rotate sequentially to absolute angle values or relative angle values.
Use the joint angle list to control multiple joints to rotate to absolute angle values in a sequence.
Rotate joints simultaneously
Using this block can control multiple joints to rotate at the same time. There are several ways to use the blocks for reference:
Control multiple joints to rotate to absolute angle values or relative angle values at the same time
Use the joint angle list to control the simultaneous rotation of multiple joints to absolute angle values.
Get the current angle value of a joint.
Use this block to get the current angle value of the selected joint. It is recommended to assign it to a variable first and then use the variable and algorithm to control other joints to rotate.
The return value of this block is only an angle value, which cannot be filled in the "Turn sequentially" and "'Turn simultaneously" blocks alone.
Demo code:
Transform to frame
Use this block to control all joints to rotate at the same time. Please use it with the "Action frame" block. As shown below:
The "Action frame" block represents a list of 16 angle values. Each angle value corresponds to the absolute angle value to which the corresponding joint index servo rotates.
Play a melody
Use this block to control the robot to play music. There are several ways to use blocks together for reference:
A list made up of multiple "Tone + Duration" blocks
Using a tone duration list
Consists of one or more pairs of Tone + Duration, the specific format is as follows:
[tone, duration, tone, duration, tone, duration...]
Execute a serial command
Use this block to send a serial command to the robot, which can provide you with more and more flexible control methods. For example, you can input "kkcL" (kick the left front leg), and "khiR" (raise the right front leg to say hello). For more serial port commands, please refer to the serial protocol.
Write analog value
Use this block to write an analog value to a specified pin. Analog value range: 0~255
Read analog value
Use this block to read an analog value from a specified pin.
Write digital value
Use this block to write a high/low-level value to the specified pin. High-level: 1; Low-level: 0.
Read digital value
Use this block to read the high/low-level value of the specified pin.
Read Ultrasonic sensor distance
Use this block to read the distance value from the ultrasonic sensor.
For the Petoi RGB Ultrasonic Sensor (or RUS-04), you can set the two pins ( Trigger and Echo) like this:
NyBoard (connects to the D6 and D7 pins)
BiBoard (connects to the Rx and Tx pins)
For other ultrasonic sensor models (e.g., HC-SR04 connects to the D6 and D7 pins), you can set the two pins like this:
Close the serial port
Generally, at the end of the program, it is recommended to use this block to close the serial port communication.
Demos
We provide some demos to download for reference in the GitHub repository (Petoi_MindPlusLib/examples).
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