Programming the Mecanum Robot with Block Coding in PictoBlox

The Quarky Mecanum Wheel Robot is a type of robot that uses a special type of wheel to move. The wheel is made of four rollers mounted at 45-degree angles to the wheel‘s hub. Each roller has its own motor and can spin in either direction. This allows the wheel to move in any direction, making it an ideal choice for navigating around obstacles and tight spaces. The mecanum wheel robot can also turn on the spot, allowing it to make sharp turns without having to reverse direction.

The robot is programmable with PictoBlox. PictoBlox is coding education software that uses both graphical block-based coding and Python programming.

With PictoBlox, you can program the Mecanum Robot to move, grip, and perform pick & place actions!

If you haven’t installed PictoBlox, please follow the instructions:

Windows Installer (.exe)

STEP 1: Download the Pictoblox Installer (.exe) for Windows 7 and above (Release Notes).

Windows Installer 64-bit

Windows Installer 32-bit

STEP 2: Run the .exe file.

Some of the device gives the warning popup. You don’t have to worry, this software is harmless. Click on More info and then click on Run anyway.

STEP 3: Rest of the installation is straight forward, you can follow the popup and check on the option appropriate for your need.

 

Your software is now installed!

macOS Installer

STEP 1: Download the Pictoblox Installer (.dmg).

macOS Installer

STEP 2: Run the .dmg file.

Mobile App Installer

STEP 1: Open Google Play Store on your Smartphone and and search for PictoBlox or visit the link here to head over to the Google Play Store. You can even scan the QR Code below from your Smartphone to head to the PictoBlox App.

Mobile App Installer

STEP 2: Install the PictoBlox App.

Connecting Quarky with PictoBlox

Let’s begin by first connecting Quarky to PictoBlox. Select your preferred type of device i.e. either the desktop/laptop or your smartphone and follow the instructions.

Desktop

Follow the steps below for connecting Quarky to PictoBlox:

1. First, connect Quarky to your laptop using a USB cable.
2. Next, open PictoBlox on your desktop.
3. After that, select Block as your coding environment.
4. Then, click the Board button in the toolbar and select board as Quarky.
   
5. Next, select the appropriate Serial port if the Quarky is connected via USB or the Bluetooth Port if you want to connect Quarky via Bluetooth and press Connect.
   
6. Click on the Upload Firmware button. This will upload the latest firmware in Quarky.
   
   Note: If your device already has the latest firmware, then PictoBlox will show the message – Firmware is already updated. For learning more you can refer to this tutorial: https://ai.thestempedia.com/docs/quarky/quarky-toubleshooting/updating-quarky-firmaware-with-pictoblox/
7. Once the firmware is uploaded, Quarky starts the Getting Started program. This runs only for the first time. Run through it.

And voila! Quarky is now connected to PictoBlox.

Mobile

Follow the steps below for connecting Quarky to PictoBlox:

1. First, power ON Quarky.
2. Open PictoBlox on your smartphone. Go to My Space and make a new project by clicking the ‘+(plus)’ button in the bottom-right corner.
   
3. Then, tap the Board button in the top-right corner of the toolbar.
   Select board as Quarky.
   
4. Next, tap the Connect button:
   Select your device from the list.
   

And voila! Quarky is now connected to PictoBlox.

Quarky Mecanum Extension

The Quarky Mecanum extension in PictoBlox allows you to control the robot. It has blocks for specific applications. To add the Quarky Mecanum extension follow the instructions:

1. Click on the Add Extension button and add the Quarky Mecanum extension.
2. You can find the Quarky Mecanum blocks available in the project.

PictoBlox Blocks for Quarky Mecanum

The following blocks are available for the Quarky Mecanum:

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The Block makes a request to ChatGPT with the specified text and stores the response in PictoBlox, which can then be accessed with the Block ‘Get AI Response’. This Block also features three types of AI bots – Normal AI, Sarcastic AI, and Friend AI.

This block enables users to set the digital state of an Arduino digital pin to either a High (5V) or Low (0V) voltage output. It can be used on the Arduino Uno, Mega, and Nano boards.

The block allows the user to set the cursor position in an LCD module. It takes two parameters, the column and row numbers, and moves the cursor to that position. This allows the user to create more precise output for the display.

This block adds the offset on the end effector position along the specified length direction i.e. the direction in which the robotic arm is facing and the Z direction.

This block moves the robot forward and backward for a set time, collecting IR sensor data on both white and black lines.

Starts the script when the sprite is touched by another sprite.

Moves the sprite a specified number of grid squares up.

Makes the sprite disappear as if fully invisible.

Runs the script over and over forever, untill stop by Stop button (🛑).

Play’s a specified sound from the list.

This makes a image copy of the sprite on the stage.

After connection is established, rotates the quarky a specified number of step to the left.

Shows a specified emotion with animation on the quarky LED display.

Detects and counts the number of human faces present in a view captured from the camera.

Allows the sprite to follow the movement of a detected hand in real-time on specified finger.

Runs the blocks inside if a specfied state(active/inactive) of the sensors of the wizbot is detected.

After connection is established, moves the wizbot in a specified direction forever.

The block sets a text color (choose from the color selector), a particular background color (choose from the color selector) and the text size (value varying from 1 to 7) for the text.

evive has a 5-way navigation key, 4 of them are for up, down, right and left direction. This block checks if the navigation key is in one of the four particular directions. The direction for which you wish to check is your choice and can be chosen from the drop down on the block.

The block sends the written message on the terminal module of the Dabble app.

The block reports the digital state of the digital sensor, connected to the selected digital pin.

This block should be included every time you work with the humanoid robot for the first time as it calibrates the angles of all the four servo motors of the leg (2 servos of legs + 2 servos of feet) and saves the angles in the memory of evive.

The block points its sprite in the specified direction; this rotates the sprite.

The block gives its sprite a thought bubble with the specified text. The thought bubble stays until a speech or thought block with its text block empty is activated, or the stop sign is pressed.

The options for the Change () Effect by () block’s drop-down menu are pan left/right and pitch. The input is for selecting how much the sound will be changed. A positive number will make the sound effect have more effect, while a negative number will make it smaller.

The block will check its Boolean condition. If the condition is true, the blocks held inside it will run, and then the script involved will continue. If the condition is false, the code inside the block will be ignored and the script will move on (unlike in the If () Then, Else block). The condition is only checked once; if the condition turns to false while the script inside the block is running, it will keep running until it has finished.

Scripts that wear the block will activate once its sprite or clone of the sprite is clicked. Contrary to its definite name, the block will also execute the clone’s script when the clone is clicked on.

The block reports the Euclidean distance, in pixels, between it and the mouse-pointer or a specified sprite’s costume center.

The block will make an input box (with the specified text above it) show at the bottom of the screen. Scratchers can input text into it and submit it, and the input is stored then in the Answer block. The Answer block automatic updates to the most recent input.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the Quarky Mecanum Wheel Robot is a powerful and versatile robot that can be programmed using PictoBlox. With its Mecanum extension, it can be programmed to move in any direction, grip objects, and perform pick & place actions. With the help of PictoBlox, users can easily program the robot to perform their desired tasks.