THIS IS THE TEST SITE OF EUROBRICKS!
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Showing results for tags 'WeDO'.
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Hi all! I don't know if WeDO fits here at "Technic, Mindstorms & Model Team" but didn't find a better forum theme. The ev3dev people are preparing a WeDO driver for Linux. It will allow any Linux system [EV3 ev3dev included] to use WeDO. Not just ONE WeDO USB hub but as many as you want/have. I got excited and got two WeDO USB Hubs and a tilt sensor. And while waiting done my own tests. There is already a python library for WeDO: wedo. But I could not make it work so I used a variation: WeDoMore. It works fine with my Ubuntu laptop and with Mindstorms EV3 running ev3dev. I believe it will also work seamless with a Raspberry Pi, will try it later. Some more details at my blog. I've also found Philo photos of the WeDo internals and used it to reverse-engineering the tilt sensor. With just 4 resistors and a Power Functions connector we can build a 4-switch control and read it as a tilt sensor (one switch for each tilt state). More on this later.
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Hello. This is about trains but I think it's more appropriate to post it here under Mindstorms theme. My LUG (PLUG, from Portugal) train fellows have been developing their own modular standard (MFL) for our exihibitions. Since it defines a 6-brick height above the table surface there is plenty of space under the tracks to hide motors, gears and gadgets. That idea attracted me so I decided to try MFL. First I rebuilt a motorized track switch I was already using with WeDO and then decided to also try a turntable and then... well, you know :) At this stage, this is my setup: - a Mindstorms EV3 running ev3dev (Debian linux) to control everything - a wi-fi USB dongle (not essential but allows me to use my laptop as a console, much more easier this way) - a bluetooth 4.0 USB dongle to control the SBrick-based trains - an EV3 ultrasonic sensor to sense when the train reaches the middle of the turntable - an EV3 touch sensor to sense each time the turntable completes a 180º turn - two Power Functions lights (with a NXT-9V adapter) to signal the movement of the turntable and the control of the train - one USB RFID reader to sense/identify the trains - one LEGO WeDO to control the two track switches (one Power Functions M motor under each) Each train has: - a SBrick (will try IR later) - a RFID tag The train is brought to the RFID sensor where the EV3 recognizes the train (green lights start blinking) and tries to establish a bluetooth BLE connection to the SBrick (green lights keep ON). Then the EV3 takes control and sends the trains to the turntable, using the ultrasonic sensor to prevent collision against the end of the turntable. When the turntable starts turning, the red lights blink (and a claxon sound plays, but its not used in the video). There is also a touch sensor under the end of the track that senses when the turntable completes each 180º turn. Then the EV3 sends the train back to the starting point, using the RFID sensor to detect the train. The bluetooth connection is dropped and now the train is available for manual control. The EV3 is ready for another train. For a near future I plan to give good use to the track switches (only one is motorized but the second will follow soon). I also want to try a method I saw here at Eurobricks to separate the train engine from the wagons. This way the train engine could drop the wagons, revert direction at the turntable, move along the left path and pick the wagons again. To be honest, the turntable still needs some adjustments - sucess rate is ~1/3, sometimes the train slips when moving in, sometimes when moving out.