Robolab Tutorial

Steve Dakin Hacienda Robotics sdakin@sdakin.com

Introduction
Target audience
Coaches and parents of kids in the FIRST LEGO League program

Objectives
Overview of Robolab programming environment and concepts Some tips and tricks acquired over the years Help you so that you can better help your kids

Contents
Setting up Robolab
Administrator area, Robolab settings, RCX settings

Beginner Topics
Writing programs, Basic control blocks (motors, waits, modifiers), Conditionals (forks, resets)

Intermediate Topics
Flow control (jumps, loops), Variables (containers), LEGO MINDSTORMS Remote Control

Advanced Topics
Subroutines, Sub VIs, Data logging (Investigator)

Robolab Main Menu

Administrator Screen

Robolab Settings

RCX Settings

Select Program

New Program

Programming Strategy
Define what you want the program or robot to do Identify high-level tasks Write pseudo-code (in pseudo-English) Use pseudo-code as comments to define program skeleton Divide and conquer Program in pairs: pilot and co-pilot

Functions Palette

Function Sub-palettes and the Tools Palette

Writing Robolab Programs

Four ways to add blocks to a program:
Functions palette Context menu Insert command Replace command

Use auto-wiring tool Connection point introspection Block arrangement commands Include Comments

Modifiers
Two types of modifiers
Reference Value-of

Reference modifiers specify the where Value-of modifiers specify the what Not very intuitive, but with practice and use of the online help choosing the right modifier gets easier. Can connect multiple blocks to same modifier

Modifiers Program

Reset the rotation sensor on port 1 Turn on motors on ports A and C Wait until touch sensor on port 2 is pressed Stop motors on ports A and C Display the value of port 2 on the RCX

Conditionals and Resets

Robolab term: forks Used to branch the flow of execution in your program Usually associated with sensors Every fork must have a corresponding merge Nested forks can be tricky In some situations you may need to reset sensors before using them

Conditional and Reset Program

This program demonstrates one way of using a single RCX program slot to run two different programs. Start with a robot containing a downward facing light sensor. Next, find a brick that is sufficiently different in color than the mat area in base. The blue container will contain 1 if you use the brick, 0 otherwise. In your main program you can use a fork that branches depending on the value in the blue container.

Flow Control
Robolab terms: jumps and loops Used to repeat a portion of your program Can be controlled with sensors, containers or other factors

Variables
Robolab term: containers Containers hold values that can change during the execution of a program 23 value containers, including 3 defaults:
0 = red container 1 = blue container 2 = yellow container

25 Task containers Good tool for teaching abstraction

Advanced Containers
Formula container
Sets a container value based on a formula Supports basic arithmetic expressions and shorthand mnemonics for other values (containers, input ports, mail messages, etc.)

Containers container
Analogous to a pointer in traditional programming languages A modifier that specifies which container to use based on the value of another container

Advanced Container Program

As noted in the comment this program can be used to show container values on the RCXs display. Container 22 holds the number of the container to display (0, 1 or 2). Container 21 holds a computed value that shows the container number followed by its value. The program uses the formula container to multiply the value in container 22 by 1000 to move it to the left three places on the display. Next it adds the value of the container whose container number is specified in container 22 (this is accomplished using the containers container). The last block before the red jump displays the computed container value on the RCXs display.

LEGO Remote Control

Amazingly useful prototyping tool Send motor (output) commands to RCX Start and stop programs easily Send mail messages to RCX Best $20 you can spend on equipment

Subroutines
Analogous to subroutines in other programming languages Allow you to reuse code
Reduces program size Makes programs more robust

Define first then call as many times as youd like Another good tool for teaching abstraction

Subroutine Program

This program demonstrates how you can define two subroutines and call them from within your program based on the value in a container. By changing the value in the container you control which subroutine is called. This is a useful way to observe what your program is doing while it runs.

Sub VIs
VIs (Virtual Instruments) = programs Sub VIs are like program modules (libraries) Act like macros (code is repeated each time it is used) Improve readability
Can create your own icons for Sub VIs Only the Sub VI block appears in your main program

How to Create Sub VIs

Select the blocks you want in the Sub VI (to make input parameters to the Sub VI exclude modifiers) Select the Edit Create menu command Tidy up the Sub VI and include it in your programs

FLL Program (Two Missions)

Data Logging
Robolab and the RCX are a form of embedded device programming
Download and run Difficult to monitor and debug interactively

Data logging captures values while a program runs on the RCX Analyze captured data in the Investigator area

Data Logging in Robolab

Change Inventor level to Program Level 4 (adds an Investigator palette and specialized modifiers to the modifiers palette) Include blocks to initialize, start and stop data logging Run the program on the RCX Upload data to Robolab and analyze it in the Investigator area

Data Logging Program

Data logging modifiers Sample program
Initializes the red data set to capture data from the light sensor connected to port one Starts data logging and captures 1 data point every second until 10 data points are collected Stops data logging

Uploaded Data

Other Advanced Topics

Tasks
Enable your program to do multiple things at the same time

Events
Monitor and respond to specific conditions

Direct mode
Another way to prototype

LASM
A hackers delight

Questions and Comments

Please let me know what you think
Email: sdakin@sdakin.com Web: www.haciendarobotics.com/resources Tip: use Adobe Reader 7s commenting support

More info
www.legoeducation.com/sharedimages/resources/Mindstorms_Quickstart.pdf www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/ www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/References/documentation/default.asp