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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It changes Sound Effects.

The block will check its Boolean condition: if the condition is true, the code held inside the first C (space) will activate, and then the script will continue; if the condition is false, the code inside the second C will activate (unlike the If () Then block).

Scripts that begin with this block will be invoked once the specified broadcast has been sent by a calling script. If a Forever block is sending the broadcast faster than the attached script can finish running, the script will restart without reaching the blocks at the end. This can be avoided by using Broadcast () and Wait.

The block holds the most recent text imputed with the Ask () and Wait block. When nothing has been inputted yet, the value will hold nothing.

Once you have analyzed the images, you can use the get # of objects block to get the number of objects recognized in the image.

The block joins two Boolean blocks so any one of them can be true to return true — if at least one of them is true, the block returns true; if neither of them are true, it returns false.

The block simply holds its variable value.

Once you have analyzed the images, you can use the get # of people block to get the number of people recognized in the image.

This block returns the x position of the pose landmark detected. The position is mapped with the stage coordinates.

The recognized () count block reports the number of selected things to count in the image. Multiple celebrities, brands, objects, and image tags in a single image can be seen.

Once you have analyzed the images, you can use the get # faces block to get the number of faces recognized in the image.

Once you have analyzed the image for printed text, you can use a printed text result block to get the recognized text from the image in a string format.

The block checks if the currently recognized class from the selected image feed (camera, stage, costume or backdrop) is the selected class or not.

The block analyses the specified text and provides the sentiment associated with the text – Positive, Negative or Neutral.

Once you have analyzed the images, you can use the get # of objects detected block to get the number of objects recognized in the image.

The block returns the QR Code data value detected.

The block changes the instrument that the Play Note () for () Beats block will play. A sprite can play only one instrument at a time. In order to play multiple instruments at once, it is necessary to have multiple sprites or clones of a single sprite

The block sets the pen’s color to the given color, which can be selected by clicking on the input.

This block sets the pen’s color, saturation, brightness (also known as shade), and transparency. The first value can be selected from “color” (default), “saturation”, “brightness”, and “transparency”.

The block sets the analog state of the specified pin to the specified value between 0 to 255.

The block displays the specified character on the Quarky RGB LED.

The block sets the threshold value of the specified IR sensor to the specified value. The value can be from 0 to 4095.

The block checks if the currently recognized class from the analyze image from () block is the selected class or not.

The block analyses the image and saves the face information locally, which can be accessed using other blocks.

The block checks if the currently recognized class from the analyze image from () block is the selected class or not.

The block sets the head servo motor angle to the specified angle.

The block checks if the currently recognized class from the analyze image from () block is the selected class or not.

The block reports the specified class confidence value of the selected class. 0 is low confidence and 1 is high confidence.

Scripts that wear this block will activate once the selected class is predicted either on the recognition window.

The block sets the selected property of the sprite (density, roughness, and bounce) to the specified value.

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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.