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:

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_wrapper_link" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/wrapper-link.php on line 194

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_wrapper_link_enable" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/wrapper-link.php on line 196

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_custom_cursor_icon" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/custom-cursor.php on line 350

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_custom_cursor_text" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/custom-cursor.php on line 351

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_custom_cursor_target" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/custom-cursor.php on line 352

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_custom_cursor_css_selector" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/custom-cursor.php on line 353

Warning: Undefined array key "pp_custom_cursor_enable" in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/powerpack-elements/extensions/custom-cursor.php on line 355

The block sets the end-effector to move by a specified value in the selected axis and the other two positions remain the same.

This block is to assign both custom and pre-defined eye emotions to our Humanoid Robot.

The block moves its sprite’s Y position by the specified amount.

The block starts at 0 when Scratch is launched and increases gradually; every second it will have increased by 1.

The block concatenates, or “links” the two values together and reports the result — for example, if “hello” and “world” were put in the block, it would report “helloworld”.

The block reports the value of the specified entry in a specified list.

This function returns the x or y position of the hand detected. The position is mapped with the stage coordinates.

The block deletes all the stored databases of the images for face recognition.

The block returns whether the specified object card is detected in the analysis or not.

(Available only for evive). The block connects the ESP8266 module to the specified WiFi and password.

The block sets the velocity of the sprite to the defined values in the x and y directions.

The block initializes the RFID sensor. The block is important to run at the start to user other blocks of the RFID sensors.

The block gets the data from the ThingSpeak channel and stores the 8 field values in PictoBlox.

The block executes the oscillator for the complete cycle for the specified cycle times. The cycle time is the maximum time period assigned for the oscillator for the individual servo motors.

The block resets the oscillator parameter for all the servo motors.

The block executes the oscillator according to stored parameters for the servo motor and the current time.

The block sets the servo motor port of the gripper robot within the code.

This block sets the value of the chosen servo to the specified angle in the specified amount of time.

The robot uses a PID algorithm for line following, stopping at a crossing line when the IR threshold is met; set PID speed, constants, and adjust parameters for optimal performance.

Moves the wizbot back for a √2 step length on the grid pattern.

The block sets the date and weekday on evive’s Real Time Clock(RTC) to the time specified by the user through the drop-down menu in the input.

The block sets the value of the servo by the value you enter. Whereas the angle of other servos remains the same.

The block sets its sprite’s Y (up and down) position to the specified amount.

The block sets the specified effect on its sprite to the specified amount

The block sets the timer’s value back to 0.0. When this block is present, the project typically utilizes the Timer output block; usually the timer must be reset at the beginning of a project for the Timer block to hold the right value.

The block reports the specified characteristics of the given text. Even though the block says “letter”, it will report all characters, including letters, numbers, symbols, and even spaces.

The block reports how many items a list contains.

This block is used to match the input image from the camera or stage feed with the stored classes previously stored in the database. The block also stores all the face data in PictoBlox for access by other blocks.

The block returns the specified parameter for the specified object detected.

The block changes the velocity of the sprite by the defined values in the x and y directions.

All articles loaded

No more articles to load

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.