[PictoBloxExtension]

Display (Quarky)

Extension Description

Controls the 7 x 5 RGB LED display.

Available in: Block Coding, Python Coding
Mode: Stage Mode
WiFi Required: No
Compatible Hardware in Block Coding: Quarky
Compatible Hardware in Python: Quarky
Object Declaration in Python: quarky = Quarky()
Extension Catergory: Quarky

Introduction

The extension allows the user to control the RGB LED display of Quarky.

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:

First, connect Quarky to your laptop using a USB cable.
Next, open PictoBlox on your desktop.
After that, select Block or Python Coding as your coding environment.
Then, click the Board button in the toolbar and select board as Quarky.
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.

And voila! Quarky is now connected to PictoBlox.

Mobile

Follow the steps below for connecting Quarky to PictoBlox:

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

And voila! Quarky is now connected to PictoBlox.

Stage Mode

Stage mode is one of the two modes you can write your programs in Pictoblox. In this mode, you can write scripts for the sprite and boards to interact with sprites in real-time. If you disconnect the board with Pictoblox, you cannot interact with the board anymore. In this mode, you can make games and animation interacting with Quarky.

You can toggle between the upload mode and stage mode using the button on the top right side of Pictoblox.

Note: You have to upload the firmware into the device before interacting with it. Please refer this doc: https://ai.thestempedia.com/docs/updating-quarky-firmaware-with-pictoblox/

In Python Coding Environment, use the following object declaration to use Python functions in Stage Mode:

quarky = Quarky()

Upload Mode

Upload mode is one of the two modes you can write your programs in Pictoblox. This mode allows you to write scripts and upload them to the board so that you can use them even when it is not connected to your computer, for example, you need to upload a script for making moving robots.

In this case, Quarky will run offline according to the program and it can not interact with the stage.

In Python Coding Environment, use the following object declaration to use Python functions in Upload Mode:

from quarky import *

PictoBlox Blocks

Moves the wizbot in arc length in specified direction and step length from the options.

The block is used to draw an outline of the triangle or a filled triangle from three points on evive TFT display. It takes the color and the 3 points for the corner of the triangle to draws a triangle.

When the block is executed it plays the tone of specified frequency/note for a specific duration/beat. The note and the beat can be selected from the drop-down menu. Also, the user can input the specific frequency and duration (in milliseconds).

Dabble input module has 2 potentiometers whose value can be varied from 0 to 1023 by the user. This block reports the current value of the selected potentiometer.

The block sets the end-effector to the specified position on the selected axis and the other two positions remain the same.

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

The block changes the selected sprite’s X position to a specified value.

The block changes the specified effect on its sprite by the specified amount. There are seven different effects to choose from: colour, fisheye, whirl, pixelate, mosaic, brightness and ghost.

The block reports how loud the noise is that a microphone receives, on a scale of 0 to 100. To use this block, a microphone must be used, and so a message will appear on the screen, asking for permission to use the microphone. If you deny it, the block will report a loudness of 0 or -1.

The block picks a pseudorandom number ranging from the first given number to the second, including both endpoints. If both numbers have no decimals, it will report a whole number. For example, if a 1 and a 3 were inputted, the block could return a 1, 2 or 3. If one of the numbers has a decimal point, even .0, it reports a number with a decimal. For example, if 0.1 and 0.14 were given, the output will be 0.1, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, or 0.14.

The block replaces the specified item; in other words, it changes the item’s content to the given text.

The function allows the user to add a particular face into the database from the camera or stage. The user can specify the name of the face with the argument as well. This addition of the face in the database is also stored inside the PictoBlox file while saving.

The block returns the specified parameter for the specified number card detected.

The function set the API keys for the Open Weather Map API calls.

The block returns the hex code of the Red, Green, and Blue values specified.

The block returns the state of the digital sensor connected to the specified pin of the Quarky.

The block does the step simulation for the Physics Engine. This block is required to run in a loop for the physics to work.

The block reports the moisture reading from the sensor. The value varies from 0 to 100%.

The block sends multiple data to the ThingSpeak channel with a delay of the specified time seconds. The data is mapped to the 8 fields of the ThingSpeak channel.

The block executes the oscillator according to stored parameters for the servo motor and the current angle specified in the block.

The block sets the oscillator parameters for the selected servo motor.

The block moves the servo motors of the pick and place robot to the place angle specified by the user.

The block sets the user API key of the ChatGPT in the project.

The block makes the specified LED turn ON or OFF on the 8×8 Dot Matrix display.

This block is used to move the end-effector to the specified position of the selected axis, while the other two positions remain the same.

This block allows the user to control the end-effector of a robotic arm to move in a specified axis by a set value, with all other axes remaining constant.

This block is use for set the motor speed while doing the line following and Turning.

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

The block sets the time on evive’s Real Time Clock (RTC) to the time specified by the user in the input.

Dabble phone sensor module give the real-time reading of the following sensors to evive: Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, magnetometer, light meter, sound meter, GPS, temperature sensor and barometer. This block reports the current value of the selected sensor.

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Display (Quarky)

Introduction

Connecting Quarky with PictoBlox

Desktop

Mobile

Stage Mode

Upload Mode

PictoBlox Blocks

Block Coding Examples

Python Functions

Python Coding Examples

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