Additional Online Resources For :MOVE Motor For micro:bit

2022-05-03 | By Kitronik Maker

License: See Original Project

Courtesy of Kitronik

Guide by Kitronik Maker

The Kitronik :MOVE Motor for BBC micro: bit provides the perfect platform for ‎learning about programmable buggies and Robotics. Aside from the wheels, it comes ‎assembled and ready to go. Just pop on the wheels, pop in the microbit, then add some ‎code, and off it goes. ‎

This fully featured robot allows you to explore movement, light and sound, and the ‎onboard sensors allow you to code autonomy that is capable of reacting to its ‎environment. If you also use it in conjunction with the micro:bits built-in Radio module, ‎the possibilities become endless. ‎

Getting Started:‎

‎:MOVE Motor ships with an instruction booklet that has been designed to get you up ‎and running quickly. The booklet covers all of :MOVE Motors features and also serves ‎as an introduction to writing code for it. ‎

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Kitronik has also created custom MakeCode blocks, specifically for :MOVE Motor. ‎This not only makes the job of coding as simple as possible, but it also opens up ‎activities to younger children. The booklet contains all the information the novice will ‎need to get going straight away. ‎

Instructions on how to add the custom blocks are contained in the booklet that :MOVE ‎Motor ships with, they are also included in all six of the additional tutorials below.‎

Additional Online Resources For :MOVE Motor: ‎

The features of :MOVE Motor are such that, as you grow it can grow with you. With that ‎in mind, Kitronik has produced a series of online resources designed to continue your ‎forward momentum once you outgrow the booklet.‎

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We have also fully embraced new features of the Microsoft MakeCode that allow us to ‎create online tutorials directly inside the MakeCode environment. These features will ‎mean that you won't need a second monitor or a PDF on the desk to learn. ‎

Note: At the time of writing, these new features are still in beta testing. So, as well as ‎providing links to the beta testing MakeCode environment we have also included PDF ‎downloads for each. ‎‎ ‎

Drawing Robot Tutorial For :MOVE Motor

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The :MOVE Motor has a pen mount hole right in the middle of the wheels. This makes it ‎ideal for drawing shapes. We have found that Sharpies are ideal as they fit the hole ‎perfectly. This tutorial will walk you through coding the micro:bit/buggy to then draw a ‎variety of shapes.‎

Lights & Sound Tutorial For :MOVE Motor:‎

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‎:MOVE Motor has been fitted with 4 full-colour ZIP LEDs and also a Piezo Sounder. ‎The ZIP LEDs are individually addressable and can either be coded to perform ‎independent tasks or work together as one. This tutorial will show you how to make ‎headlights, indicators and then to combine the ZIP LEDs with the sounder to create a ‎Police car.‎

Line Following Tutorial For :MOVE Motor

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Is it even a Robot buggy if it can't also follow a line? We don't think so! For that reason, ‎we've also included line following sensors on the underside of the board. This tutorial ‎will walk you through how to write code to then fully take advantage of these sensors.‎

Advanced Motor Adjustment Tutorial For :MOVE Motor

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The main problem you encounter when utilising pairs of motors in your robots is that it ‎is almost impossible to get pairs of motors that spin at exactly the same speed. In this ‎tutorial, you will learn how to adjust the motor outputs to ensure that your buggy drives ‎in a straight line unless you really want it not to. ‎

Ultrasonic Sensor Tutorial For :MOVE Motor

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The buggy comes pre-fitted with an Ultrasonic Distance Sensor. This allows you to write ‎code that ensures your buggy can detect a collision before it happens and then take ‎evasive action. This tutorial walks you through how to write code for this. If you want to ‎code an autonomous robot that can get itself out of a jam, then this tutorial is essential ‎viewing.‎

Radio Control Tutorial For :MOVE Motor

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The micro:bit has a built-in radio module. This module is crazy useful when it comes to ‎buggies and robots. Autonomy is great and everything, but sometimes you can't beat a ‎bit of hands-on control. This tutorial walks you through how to set this up for :MOVE ‎Motor. ‎

Although all of the other resources are available in two formats, this tutorial is only ‎available as an online tutorial.‎

Follow the online tutorial

Next Steps:‎

Now that you've worked through all of the online tutorials, what now? For those that ‎want an extra challenge, we've also produced some example MicroPython code. Work ‎through the code and then see how to take control of :MOVE Motor with Python.‎

Example MicroPython Code

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