tutorials/wireless: Added remote control techniques.

Added new tutorial category for Remote Control, and the Basic Button Techniques tutorial

Spelling fixes

Added DriveBase remote control tutorial

Added another remote control tutorial, for a basic DriveBase

Fix typos and formatting

Change remote image from PNG to JPG

Use "not in" instead of "not (..in..)"

Use "not in" instead of "not (..in..)" for better Python style

Fixed tutorial md snippet to match the py update

from the "not in" style fix

Moved Remote Control tutorial category to be under Wireless

Moved the Remote Control category to be under the existing Wireless top-level category, and changed the Remote Control category md file to specify
   layout: set
so that the entire structure parallels that of wireless/hub-to-device
This commit is contained in:
davecparker
2023-01-09 09:29:40 +01:00
committed by laurensvalk
parent fda58d9b80
commit b60589abf4
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from pybricks.hubs import TechnicHub # change hub type as necessary
from pybricks.pupdevices import Motor, Remote
from pybricks.parameters import Button, Color, Port
# Define the hub object.
# For other hub types, change TechnicHub here and on the line 1 import
hub = TechnicHub()
# This tutorial uses two motors on ports A and B
left_motor = Motor(Port.A)
right_motor = Motor(Port.B)
# Define the max and current motor speed to use
MAX_SPEED = 720 # deg/sec
speed = MAX_SPEED
# Try to connect to the remote
hub.light.on(Color.YELLOW) # turn hub light yellow while trying to connect
rc = Remote() # will stop the program if it can't connect
# Set status light on both hub and remote to green to indicate connection
hub.light.on(Color.GREEN)
rc.light.on(Color.GREEN)
# Get the set of buttons on the remote that start out pressed
pressed = rc.buttons.pressed()
# The main loop repeatedly tests the remote buttons and reacts (forever)
while True:
# Update the set of buttons that are currently pressed,
# and also remember which ones were pressed the last time we checked.
was_pressed = pressed
pressed = rc.buttons.pressed()
# 1. Press and hold Left Plus to spin the left motor
if Button.LEFT_PLUS in pressed:
left_motor.run(speed)
else:
left_motor.stop()
# 2. Tap Left Minus to turn the left motor exactly 720 degrees backwards
if Button.LEFT_MINUS in pressed and Button.LEFT_MINUS not in was_pressed:
left_motor.run_angle(speed, -720)
# 3. Press and hold Right Plus to spin the right motor forward,
# or Right Minus to spin it backward, or neither to stop it.
if Button.RIGHT_PLUS in pressed:
right_motor.run(speed)
elif Button.RIGHT_MINUS in pressed:
right_motor.run(-speed)
else:
right_motor.stop()
# 4. Press and hold Right Center to reduce the motor speed while doing 1-3
if Button.RIGHT in pressed:
speed = MAX_SPEED / 4
else:
speed = MAX_SPEED
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
---
title: "Basic Button Techniques"
maintainer:
user: "davecparker"
name: "Dave Parker"
image:
local: "../lego-remote.jpg"
credit: "LEGO"
description:
"Basic button-sensing techniques for the LEGO Powered Up Remote Control"
video:
youtube: "ITp5z9MTfwU"
---
## The LEGO Powered Up Remote Control
At first glance, the LEGO Powered Up Remote Control looks like just a
way to control two Powered Up motors from the Technic hub, but Pybricks
allows you to do much more. By writing your own control program, you can
access any combination of presses from all seven buttons on the remote, from any
of the hub types that can connect to it via Bluetooth.
This flexibility allows you to control more than two motors, and also program
your own actions that use any combination of motors and sensors. Because of
this flexibility, the details of the button press/release logic and all of your
desired actions must be explicitly programmed in Pybricks, so this tutorial will
help you learn how to program four basic button-sensing techniques.
For a complete example of an advanced remote control program using these techniques
and more, see the *Remote-controlled Mini Loader* sample for the MINDSTORMS
Robot Inventor hub in the Pybricks sample projects.
## Adapting the Program to your Hub
Refer to the complete tutorial program below to see how the techniques in this
tutorial fit into a complete program. As-is, the program is written for the Technic
hub, but you can easily adapt it to another hub type by just changing the two
references to ``TechnicHub`` in the code.
## Connecting the Remote to the Hub
Pybricks makes it easy for your program to establish a Bluetooth connection
to the remote by simply calling the ``Remote()`` function and storing the
result in a variable:
```python
rc = Remote() # will stop the program if it can't connect
```
The tutorial program changes the color of the hub and remote status lights to
help you see if the connection was successful. When running the program,
interference from other Bluetooth devices or other issues may complicate
the connection. On the Technic hub in particlar, I have found the following
sequence to be the most reliable:
1. Download the Pybricks program to the hub.
2. If the program is running and trying to connect (hub light yellow),
press the hub button to stop it.
3. Press the green center button on the remote to start it (light flashes white).
4. Quickly press the hub button to run the program.
5. If the connection is successful, both the remote and hub lights turn green.
## The Main Program Loop
To detect button presses, your program needs to ask the remote which of the
seven buttons are currently pressed, and then keep repeating this rapidly in
a loop to keep scanning for updates.
```python
# Get the set of buttons on the remote that start out pressed
pressed = rc.buttons.pressed()
# The main loop repeatedly tests the remote buttons and reacts (forever)
while True:
# Update the set of buttons that are currently pressed,
# and also remember which ones were pressed the last time we checked.
was_pressed = pressed
pressed = rc.buttons.pressed()
```
This code uses a ``while True:`` loop to keep scanning forever,
and the ``pressed`` variable is set to a Python tuple (a collection)
that contains the ID of each button that is currently pressed.
In addition, the ``was_pressed`` variable keeps track of which buttons
were pressed the previous time through the loop, which is used for
technique #2 below.
## Four Example Techniques
### 1. Press and hold to run a motor
```python
# 1. Press and hold Left Plus to spin the left motor
if Button.LEFT_PLUS in pressed:
left_motor.run(speed)
else:
left_motor.stop()
```
Example #1 tests if a button is pressed, by using ``in`` to test for
the button ID in the ``pressed`` collection, and runs the left motor as long
as the button is held down.
Note that because the main loop repeats rapidly, the motor will be told to
run over and over again as the button is held down (even a brief press will
result in many calls to ``run``), but this is fine given the way the ``run``
function works.
Because the ``run`` function will keep the motor running until something
stops it, the program needs to explicitly stop it by calling ``stop`` once
the button is no longer pressed.
### 2. Press to do a measured action once
```python
# 2. Tap Left Minus to turn the left motor exactly 720 degrees backwards
if Button.LEFT_MINUS in pressed and Button.LEFT_MINUS not in was_pressed:
left_motor.run_angle(speed, -720)
```
Example #2 wants to detect a button press and do a measured movement exactly
once, regardless of how long the button is held down. This is done by testing
to see if the button is pressed right now, but was *not* pressed the previous
time we looked. Without the second part of this test, the action would still
work, but it would also keep repeating as long as the button was held down.
### 3. Choose from multiple buttons to control a motor
```python
# 3. Press and hold Right Plus to spin the right motor forward,
# or Right Minus to spin it backward, or neither to stop it.
if Button.RIGHT_PLUS in pressed:
right_motor.run(speed)
elif Button.RIGHT_MINUS in pressed:
right_motor.run(-speed)
else:
right_motor.stop()
```
Example #3 is similar to #1 but extends it to test for two different buttons
to run the motor in different directions. Note that if you tried to do this
by just using example #1 twice in a row for different buttons, the ``stop``
for one would interfere with the ``run`` for the other, so it wouldn't work.
### 4. Press two buttons at the same time for a different action
```python
# 4. Press and hold Right Center to reduce the motor speed while doing 1-3
if Button.RIGHT in pressed:
speed = MAX_SPEED / 4
else:
speed = MAX_SPEED
```
Technique #4 shows one way to take advantage of the ability to sense more than
one button button being pressed at a time. Using a variable, it modifies the
speed used by the other examples (1-3).
You can also detect a two-button (or multi-button) combination by testing
two buttons with ``and`` and doing whatever you want in response, but just
keep in mind when designing your actions that one button will almost always
go down a little before the other one, so if your program also responds to single
button presses of those buttons, then you will get a little of the single
action before the combination action.
## Program
{% include copy-code.html %}
```python
{% include_relative RC_Tutorial.py %}
```
## Other Ideas
Although the remote only has seven buttons, you are not limited to actions
that fit in seven buttons. See the *Remote-controlled Mini Loader* sample project
for MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor for a way to make a multi-mode remote that can
change modes with the green center button and use the other six buttons
differently in each mode.
Other button-sensing techniques are possible by using the Pybricks
``StopWatch()`` feature to time button presses. By carefully timing presses
and releases, you can distinguish a short press from a long press, double-clicks,
and other ideas.
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
from pybricks.hubs import InventorHub
from pybricks.pupdevices import Motor, Remote
from pybricks.parameters import Button, Color, Direction, Port, Stop
from pybricks.robotics import DriveBase
from pybricks.tools import wait, StopWatch
# Define objects for a simple two motor rover using a DriveBase
hub = InventorHub()
left_motor = Motor(Port.A, positive_direction=Direction.COUNTERCLOCKWISE)
right_motor = Motor(Port.B, positive_direction=Direction.CLOCKWISE)
drive_base = DriveBase(left_motor, right_motor, wheel_diameter=56, axle_track=96)
# Speeds and accelerations to use
STRAIGHT_SPEED = 300 # straight driving speed (mm/sec)
TURN_RATE = 150 # turning rate (deg/sec)
# Connect to the remote
hub.light.on(Color.YELLOW) # turn hub light yellow while trying to connect
rc = Remote() # will stop the program if it can't connect
# Set status light on both hub and remote to green to indicate connection
hub.light.on(Color.GREEN)
rc.light.on(Color.GREEN)
# The main loop repeatedly tests the remote buttons and reacts
while True:
# Get the set of buttons that are currently pressed,
pressed = rc.buttons.pressed()
# Determine what straight driving speed to use
if (Button.LEFT_PLUS in pressed):
speed = STRAIGHT_SPEED
elif (Button.LEFT_MINUS in pressed):
speed = -STRAIGHT_SPEED
else:
speed = 0
# Determine what turn rate to use
if (Button.RIGHT_PLUS in pressed):
turn_rate = TURN_RATE
elif (Button.RIGHT_MINUS in pressed):
turn_rate = -TURN_RATE
else:
turn_rate = 0
# Update the driving and turning speeds
drive_base.drive(speed, turn_rate)
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---
title: "Driving and Steering with a DriveBase"
maintainer:
user: "davecparker"
name: "Dave Parker"
image:
local: "drive-base.JPG"
description:
"Driving and Steering a DriveBase with the LEGO Powered Up Remote Control"
---
## Setting up the Remote
Rotate the controls of the LEGO remote as shown in the image above.
The left side controls will control the drive direction, and the right side
controls will steer. You can drive and steer at the same time, or just steer
to pivot the robot in place.
## Making a DriveBase
A Pybricks ``DriveBase`` can be used to drive and steer a two-motor vehicle by
controlling both motors at the same time. The program in this tutorial is designed
for a simple MINDSTORMS Inventor vehicle. You can adapt the code depending on your
hub and the layout of your vehicle.
```python
# Define objects for a simple two motor rover using a DriveBase
hub = InventorHub()
left_motor = Motor(Port.A, positive_direction=Direction.COUNTERCLOCKWISE)
right_motor = Motor(Port.B, positive_direction=Direction.CLOCKWISE)
drive_base = DriveBase(left_motor, right_motor, wheel_diameter=56, axle_track=96)
```
## Adjusting Speed and Acceleration
These two constants control the driving and turning speeds of the robot:
```python
# Speeds and accelerations to use
STRAIGHT_SPEED = 300 # straight driving speed (mm/sec)
TURN_RATE = 150 # turning rate (deg/sec)
```
A ``DriveBase`` also allows you to adjust the acceleration used for
driving and turning. To adjust these, see the ``DriveBase.settings()``
function. The program in this tutorial uses the default accelerations.
## Connecting the Remote to the Hub
This code makes the hub connect to the remote. The hub light is changed from
yellow to green and the remote light set to green when the connection
is successful.
```python
# Connect to the remote
hub.light.on(Color.YELLOW) # turn hub light yellow while trying to connect
rc = Remote() # will stop the program if it can't connect
# Set status light on both hub and remote to green to indicate connection
hub.light.on(Color.GREEN)
rc.light.on(Color.GREEN)
```
If you run into trouble connecting, I have found the following
sequence to be the most reliable:
1. Download the Pybricks program to the hub.
2. If the program is running and trying to connect (hub light yellow),
press the hub button to stop it.
3. Press the green center button on the remote to start it (light flashes white).
4. Quickly press the hub button to run the program.
5. If the connection is successful, both the remote and hub lights turn green.
## The Main Program Loop
To detect button presses, your program needs to ask the remote which of the
seven buttons are currently pressed, and then keep repeating this rapidly in
a loop to keep scanning for updates.
```python
# The main loop repeatedly tests the remote buttons and reacts
while True:
# Get the set of buttons that are currently pressed,
pressed = rc.buttons.pressed()
```
The ``while True:`` keeps the scanning going forever,
and the ``pressed`` variable is set to a Python tuple (a collection)
that contains the ID of each button that is currently pressed.
### Updating the DriveBase
The rest of the main loop looks at the remote buttons to determine
what driving and turning speeds to use and updates the DriveBase.
For more information and other ideas, see the *Basic Button Techniques*
tutorial.
## Program
{% include copy-code.html %}
```python
{% include_relative RC_DriveBase.py %}
```
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
---
title: "LEGO Remote Control"
image:
local: "lego-remote.jpg"
credit: "LEGO"
layout: set
description: "Using the LEGO Powered Up Remote Control"
---
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