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 performs the selected action for the quadruped. The action runs for the specified times and at the specified speed.

The block reports the current time.

The block performs the selected motion for the humanoid. The motion runs for the specified times and at the specified speed.

The block stops all the motors of the robot.

The Block makes a request to ChatGPT to define the text specified in it. The response of ChatGPT is then stored in PictoBlox and can be accessed using the get AI response block.

This block sets the output of a selected PWM pin of an Arduino Uno, Arduino Mega, or Arduino Nano board to a value from 0 to 255. When set to 128, the output will be high for half the time, and low for the other half. This allows users to control the voltage output to an attached device.

This block writes a specific text, such as “Hello, World!”, onto an LCD display. It is useful for creating simple text-based user interfaces for electronic projects or devices.

This block resets all the servo motors of the robotic arm to their default angle which is commonly referred to as the ‘home’ position.

This block allows you to adjust the robot’s turning speed.

Starts the script whnever a message of specific color is recieved.

Moves the sprite a specified number of grid squares down.

Increases the sprite’s size.

Stop all the sprites’s scripts.

This block enables setting the instrument for the upcoming musical note.

This clears all the input from stage such as pen and stamp.

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

Shows a specified static emotion on the quarky LED display.

Detects and identifies the facial expression within a view captured by camera

Detects and identifies signs made by hand within a view captured by camera.

After connection is established, moves the wizbot a specified number of step Back.

After connection is established, rotates the wizbot a specified degree of angle to the left.

This block is used to write text on evive’s TFT display.

evive has two potentiometers whose analog outputs can be varied by turning the knob clockwise or anti-clockwise. This block returns the analog output of either of the potentiometer (from 0-1023).

There are 10 digital buttons in the gamepad module, whose data is sent to the device when they are pressed or released. The block reports whether the button is currently pressed on the gamepad or not. If the chosen button is pressed, then it returns true, else it returns false. 

The block set the relay connected to the specified digital pin to ON or OFF.

This block is used to set the angles at which the gripper of the robotic arm opens and closes. You need to use this block every time, you open or close the gripper as this block defines at which angles the gripper claw is opened and at which it is closed.

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 arm(2 servos of shoulder + 2 servos of hands) and saves it in the memory of evive.

The block points its sprite towards the mouse-pointer or another sprite depending on its costume center; this changes the sprite’s direction and rotates the sprite.

The block changes its sprite’s costume to a specified one.

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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.