Itty Bitty Buggy: Car Movement Tutorial (mDesigner)

Car

Car blocks are blocks which controls both of the motors at the same time in order to move the forward / backwards (Car - Move block) or turn left / right (Car - Turn block). These are convenience functions designed to be "general purpose". Motors can be controlled directly with the Motor blocks. See section #Motors.

Block: Move

The Car's movement direction can be controlled using the Car - Move block.

Note: This block is holding. Which means the movement time (as set by Duration) must complete before the program goes to the next block in the script. Function: This blocks controls the Buggy Base to move either forward or backwards at a certain speed for a specified duration. Direction - direction to move. Either forward or backward. Speed - rate of the motors when moving. A value between 0 and 255. 0 being off, 255 being full speed, and 127 being half speed. Duration - amount of time (in seconds) to move.

Example 1: Set move direction of Buggy Base

Note: this example is can be performed in online or offline mode. If you plan to use online mode and previously used offline mode, please follow the instructions to reset back to "online mode".

Blocks Used Block Category Blocks Events Buggy x50px

Example

Description: When activated, Buggy Base will move forward at max speed for 3 seconds.

Example 2: Move forward, then backwards

Note: this example is can be performed in online or offline mode. If you plan to use online mode and previously used offline mode, please follow the instructions to reset back to "online mode".

Blocks Used Block Category Blocks Events Buggy x50px

Example

Description: When activated, Buggy Base will move forward at half speed (127) for 2 seconds, then move backwards at half speed (127) for 2 seconds. Then repeat.

Block: Turn

The Car can be set to turn using the Car - Turn block.

Note: This block is holding. Which means the movement time (as set by Duration) must complete before the program goes to the next block in the script. Function: This blocks controls the Buggy Base to turn either right or left at a certain speed for a specified duration. Turn Direction - direction to turn. Either left or right. Speed - rate of the motors when turning. A value between 0 and 255. 0 being off, 255 being full speed, and 127 being half speed.

Example 3: Turning left

Note: this example is can be performed in online or offline mode. If you plan to use online mode and previously used offline mode, please follow the instructions to reset back to "online mode".

Blocks Used Block Category Blocks Events Buggy x50px

Example

Description: When activated, Buggy Base will turn forward at max speed for 3 seconds.

Motors

Motor blocks are blocks which controls the motors on Buggy Base directly. This gives the user the ability to fine tune the behavior of the motors. The motors are referenced as Motor "A" or "B" depending on the side it resides. These blocks can set the movement direction of the motors (Motor - Set Speed block) or brake / stop the motors (Motor - Stop block).

Block: Set Speed

The motors speed and direction can be controlled with the Motor - Set Speed block.

Note: This block is NOT holding. Which means once the motor's speed is set, then the program will go to the next block immediately. The motor will continue to run. Function: This block sets the speed of the selected motor. Motor - select motor (either A, B, or AB (both)). Speed - rate to set the selected Motor. A value between -255 and 255. Negative values will spin the motor in reverse. 0 being off 127 being half speed forward. 255 being full speed forward -255 being full speed backward -127 being half speed backward

Block: Stop

The motors can be stopped with the Motor - Stop block.

Function: This block stops the selected motor. Motor - select motor to stop (either A, B, or AB (both)).