Boe-Bot transition from chapter 3 to chapter 4 question

dmarucci

OK, so I'm working through a Boe-Bot with my daughter, except I'm using the Propeller Activity Board and SimpleIDE and we're doing it in C. I'm using the publication as a guide and writing notes and C code in the margins. The publication I'm using is:
Robotics with the Boe-Bot Student Guide Version 3.0
So far, so good. Testing done, etc, servos are working, robot is built and running on battery power.
So we transition from Chapter 3 to Chapter 4. In Chapter 3, we were running everything with the Boe-Bot on it's nose on a table next to the computer, hooked up to a USB serial cable to the computer. I've been loading the program into RAM and running it.
Now in Chapter 4, we are running the Boe Bot seemingly on the ground. How did it get untethered? There's nothing mentioned about how you load the program into the board, but delay it from running until you get the robot unhooked from the USB Cable.
Did I miss something? I've looked pretty hard.
Now I'm a savvy guy, I can put in a button to pull a pin low and wait for that to happen before the program proceeds, but if this is an entry-level book (and my daughter is young), how are we to know that?
Even if I load the program into the EEPROM every time, should I have to press the reset button to start it?
Serious question. How does the transition happen? I'm thinking I may want to someday do this stuff with my cub scout troop. How would they make that transition?

Dan Marucci, PE

Publison

Hi Dan, Welcome to the forums!

If I understand, you are using the BS2 Boe-Bot examples and writing C code for the Propeller Activity Board?

If you want to program the EEPROM on the Activity Board, you would use F11 in the Simple IDE.

EDIT: just caught this:

Even if I load the program into the EEPROM every time, should I have to press the reset button to start it?

The code should start automatically upon power-up if it is in the EEPROM.

dmarucci

Yes, that's precisely the problem. It would load into the EEPROM and start running immediately, while the robot is still hooked up to the USB cable, dragging my laptop down the hall . The fault is with the student guide. It does not build in a provision for delaying the start of the program until you get the robot unhooked. Now I'm not familiar with the Basic Stamp Board of Education for which this book was written, but it seems to have the same problem.
The only way to remedy it is to load it into EEPROM, let the program run once with the wheels off the ground, disconnect it from the USB, then hit the reset button once you have it on the ground.

Hal Albach

If you are using the Servo connectors at the top of the Activity Board for your CR servos you can program the board's EEPROM with the Power Switch in position 1, which keeps the power off to the servos. With the EEPROM programmed turn the power switch off, disconnect, set the bot on the floor and move the power switch all the way to position 2 and watch the fun.

Steph Lindsay

dmarucci wrote: »

Yes, that's precisely the problem. It would load into the EEPROM and start running immediately, while the robot is still hooked up to the USB cable, dragging my laptop down the hall . The fault is with the student guide. It does not build in a provision for delaying the start of the program until you get the robot unhooked. Now I'm not familiar with the Basic Stamp Board of Education for which this book was written, but it seems to have the same problem.
The only way to remedy it is to load it into EEPROM, let the program run once with the wheels off the ground, disconnect it from the USB, then hit the reset button once you have it on the ground.

Hi Dan,

Recall that both the Boe-Bot and ActivityBot tutorials show that the 3-position power switch can be in Position 1 for programming, but must be in Position 2 for the servos to move. That allows you to program the robot with the switch in Position 1, then unplug it and put it on the ground, and press the reset button and put the switch in Position 2.

I think it is GREAT that you are introducing your daughter to robotics at a young age! She is a lucky girl! Just do be aware that your choice of mis-matching the hardware and documentation, and possibly the target audience age range, is going to introduce a number of difficulties. The fact that the with the Boe-Bot, code is always loaded to EEPROM, but it is not so with the ActivityBot, is a perfect example. Re-running a program by pushing the Reset button is introduced in the Hello World example that the reader is directed to do from the BASIC Stamp Editor Help file after setting up their BASIC Stamp hardware, so you may have missed that since you are using SimpleIDE.

The Robotics with the Boe-Bot text is entry-level in that it does not require programming or electronics experience, but it is not intended for young children. The book was written for 10th-12th grade students, and is widely used in colleges as well (you will see "14+" on the box for both robot kits). When teachers ask us about using the book in a 7th-9th grade setting, we advise that the teacher adapt it as they feel is needed for their younger audience. This may mean breaking things down into smaller steps and being more explicit in some places than we have been in the book. We make the PDF a free, unlocked download for this purpose. We do not recommend the Boe-Bot for the 1st-5th grade age range such as Cub Scouts, though some teachers choose to do that. For that age range, teachers tend to prefer S2 robot, which has pre-built sensor circuits entirely enclosed in a case, and a graphics-based programming environment.

-Steph