[APP] BrickController2

[amorti]

@imurvai would it be possible to have a steering control that offered digital control only? Whether through a D-pad or through a joystick, would both be fine.

The plan would be to control a Chinese servo with only 1/0/1 positions by buwizz 2. When this is done currently, the servo glitches as it doesn't know whether to stop at 0 or 1.

[imurvai]

7 hours ago, StudWorks said:

Hi.

Im using BC2 for the first time with my BuWizz 2.0. There’s a glitch where whatever forward/reverse button setup I have, my BuWizz when in Ludicrous can not go reverse, when I reverse in ludicrous, the BuWizz shuts off and I have to always reach for my phone and switch to fast and back to ludicrous to turn the BuWizz back on.  Is there a way to solve this? I use the BuWizz app to go from forward to reverse in ludicrous and its perfectly fine. Maybe BC2 prevents Ludicrous mode from switching motors from clockwise to counter clockwise or the other way around.

Thanks

Hi,

I think the official app does the -1 to 1 (or vica versa) transition on the outputs gently unlike BC2 which just sends the current command to the device and it might cause some high current on the output and the BW2 protection shuts the device off. This is just a theory but it could be an improvement area in BC2.

Thanks for the feedback.

26 minutes ago, amorti said:

@imurvai would it be possible to have a steering control that offered digital control only? Whether through a D-pad or through a joystick, would both be fine.

The plan would be to control a Chinese servo with only 1/0/1 positions by buwizz 2. When this is done currently, the servo glitches as it doesn't know whether to stop at 0 or 1.

Hi, you could try setting the 'Joy dead zone' to some high value like 90% or so. Maybe that does the trick.

[StudWorks]

@imurvai Thanks, I’m hopeful that this would be improved in the future.

[aFrInaTi0n]

@imurvai Can I somehow sponsor you with MouldKing RC components to have a try to implement connectivity into BC2?

If I remember correctly you were lacking the hardware - which I am having enough spare to send you for the greater good.

I think there are plenty of ppl who would benefit from this.

Edited January 31, 2022 by aFrInaTi0n

[ace_klimax]

I want to thank developer of this app to allow me to use physical controller for my RC creations.

It allows me to make really enjoyable RC models for my children.

 

I understand android limitation to keep phone display 'shining', but at least some diming should be fine, if possible.

 

Many thanks for your work.

 

some of my creations

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-100846/klimax/motorized-excavator-42100-c-model

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-43014/klimax/24-hours-le-mans-car-rc-version-42039-alternate-42077-c-model

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-41657/klimax/trophy-truck-rc-version-42077-c-model-baja-dakar-trophy-truck-or-stadium-super-truck

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-39160/klimax/trophy-buggy-rc-version-42077-c-model-baja-class-one-unlimited-buggy-or-dakar-ssv

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-52096/klimax/42069-extreme-adventure-wheels-mod-nonrcrc

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-51166/klimax/fast-buggy-8048-alternate

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-93959/klimax/4x4-extreme-offroader-42077-alternate

[Huck1080]

Can someone walk me through how to enter the pfx brick api info into Brick controller 2 app. I am so confused....thanks

[Oldlegonerd]

2 hours ago, Huck1080 said:

Can someone walk me through how to enter the pfx brick api info into Brick controller 2 app. I am so confused....thanks

I don't believe the pfx brick is supported by bc2, but I know why you'd want it, the controller app for the pfx brick was very dissapointing with regards to controlling the motor outputs.

[Belair58]

I use the Powerfunction Lego Servo on a SBrick with my iPAD, Nimbus and BrickController 2.

Sorry if I'm asking a question that has already been answered, I couldn't find an answer.

Is it possible to preset the 0 position of a lego-servo ?

[gyenesvi]

@imurvai I wonder if you could advise me a cheaper physical controller that works well with BrickController 2 on an iPhone/iPad and can be found easily in Hungary (Budapest). I have no experience with these physical controllers..

Also I'd have a few questions about the app. If I use it with a BuWizz 3, is it able to control PU motors in speed servo mode? How about when using a PU hub?

Furthermore, while using the physical controller, can the app run in background mode? Currently one problem I have is that the battery of the tablet I use for control (with Control+ app) goes down faster than the battery in the lego model, and that limits playtime, and I hope using BrickController would also solve this problem (besides a better play experience). Thanks!

[rm8]

4 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

@imurvai I wonder if you could advise me a cheaper physical controller that works well with BrickController 2 on an iPhone/iPad and can be found easily in Hungary (Budapest). I have no experience with these physical controllers..

Also I'd have a few questions about the app. If I use it with a BuWizz 3, is it able to control PU motors in speed servo mode? How about when using a PU hub?

Furthermore, while using the physical controller, can the app run in background mode? Currently one problem I have is that the battery of the tablet I use for control (with Control+ app) goes down faster than the battery in the lego model, and that limits playtime, and I hope using BrickController would also solve this problem (besides a better play experience). Thanks!

I use cheap one again from ALiexpress - PXN 6603 Speedy mfi controller

check it 25:09 with autotranslation

also in this video this video I've played outdoor with it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP5bkY6jQMU&t=382s

 

 

 

 

[mla2]

8 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

@imurvai I wonder if you could advise me a cheaper physical controller that works well with BrickController 2 on an iPhone/iPad and can be found easily in Hungary (Budapest). I have no experience with these physical controllers..

Also I'd have a few questions about the app. If I use it with a BuWizz 3, is it able to control PU motors in speed servo mode? How about when using a PU hub?

Furthermore, while using the physical controller, can the app run in background mode? Currently one problem I have is that the battery of the tablet I use for control (with Control+ app) goes down faster than the battery in the lego model, and that limits playtime, and I hope using BrickController would also solve this problem (besides a better play experience). Thanks!

Brickcontroller2 for iOS just was updated and you can now choose servo mode for PU motors on a Buwizz 3. With a PU hub this was already possible.

It doesn't work in the background.

[imurvai]

9 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

@imurvai I wonder if you could advise me a cheaper physical controller that works well with BrickController 2 on an iPhone/iPad and can be found easily in Hungary (Budapest). I have no experience with these physical controllers..

Also I'd have a few questions about the app. If I use it with a BuWizz 3, is it able to control PU motors in speed servo mode? How about when using a PU hub?

Furthermore, while using the physical controller, can the app run in background mode? Currently one problem I have is that the battery of the tablet I use for control (with Control+ app) goes down faster than the battery in the lego model, and that limits playtime, and I hope using BrickController would also solve this problem (besides a better play experience). Thanks!

Hi,

For up to iOS 12  only the MFi compliant game controllers can be used. I have a Mad Catz controller and works ok, but I'm not familiar with the cheap ones unfortunately. Starting from iOS 13 however Apple has added support for the PS4 and XBox One controllers too (and most probably PS5 as well since then).

And yes, BrickController 2 version 3.1 has been released for iOS and it contains the full BuWizz 3 support thanks to Vit Nemecky who developed this feature.

I'm still fighting with Google to be able to release this version for Android, they keep rejecting the app for some reason. But I'm on it, so I'm expecting it to be released very soon.

And also yes, BC2 can't work in the background as the controller events are dispatched only to foreground apps.

[gyenesvi]

5 hours ago, rm8 said:

I use cheap one again from ALiexpress - PXN 6603 Speedy mfi controller

Thanks, something like that would be okay for me. Will check availability.

1 hour ago, mla2 said:

Brickcontroller2 for iOS just was updated and you can now choose servo mode for PU motors on a Buwizz 3. With a PU hub this was already possible.

17 minutes ago, imurvai said:

For up to iOS 12  only the MFi compliant game controllers can be used. I have a Mad Catz controller and works ok, but I'm not familiar with the cheap ones unfortunately. Starting from iOS 13 however Apple has added support for the PS4 and XBox One controllers too (and most probably PS5 as well since then).

And yes, BrickController 2 version 3.1 has been released for iOS and it contains the full BuWizz 3 support thanks to Vit Nemecky who developed this feature.

Thanks for the info about MFi compliance, and good news about BuWizz 3 support! As for the servo functionality, can it do both steering servo and speed servo mode (instead of simple PWM control, for precision climbing)?

18 minutes ago, imurvai said:

And also yes, BC2 can't work in the background as the controller events are dispatched only to foreground apps.

That's a pity, I thought I could use the phone for making videos at the same time. But then I'd have to use another device for control. So does that mean that the screen has to be on all the time (and drain battery), or does it turn off automatically after a while?

 

[AVCampos]

41 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

But then I'd have to use another device for control.

You can get a cheap used phone (BC2 doesn't require new or top-spec devices) specifically for LEGO control. For Android, though, as far as I know it has to run at least 4.4.2 to support BLE.

[mla2]

8 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

 So does that mean that the screen has to be on all the time

 

Yes. You could connect a charger though at the same time.

[imurvai]

9 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

Thanks, something like that would be okay for me. Will check availability.

Thanks for the info about MFi compliance, and good news about BuWizz 3 support! As for the servo functionality, can it do both steering servo and speed servo mode (instead of simple PWM control, for precision climbing)?

That's a pity, I thought I could use the phone for making videos at the same time. But then I'd have to use another device for control. So does that mean that the screen has to be on all the time (and drain battery), or does it turn off automatically after a while?

 

Hi,

To be honest I don't know what's the difference between steering servo and speed servo mode as I don't have any BW3 device. But basically the servo works the same way as for the PU hub as far as I know.

Yes, unfortunately the screen has to be turned on. I've added dark mode to the app so in case you have a oled display phone then it could help a bit.

[gyenesvi]

8 hours ago, AVCampos said:

You can get a cheap used phone (BC2 doesn't require new or top-spec devices) specifically for LEGO control. For Android, though, as far as I know it has to run at least 4.4.2 to support BLE.

I do have an old iPad mini, that's what I am using for control now, but it's a bit more difficult to carry around in your pocket if you want to play outside and control with a physical controller.. while shooting a video as well.

1 hour ago, mla2 said:

Yes. You could connect a charger though at the same time.

Well, it's mainly for playing outside, so not such a good option. I could carry a power bank, but it's all starting to get ridiculously cumbersome then.

24 minutes ago, imurvai said:

To be honest I don't know what's the difference between steering servo and speed servo mode as I don't have any BW3 device. But basically the servo works the same way as for the PU hub as far as I know.

In steering servo mode, you specify the angle at which you want to position the motor, and it moves there. In speed servo mode, you specify the speed, and it keeps that speed constant (it modulates the power to do so). It's not BW3 specific, the PU hub has that mode too. It's not trivial to see the difference between speed servo and simple PWM control, where you simply specify the amount of 'power' (~voltage, I know that's not so simple), because both can result in proportional speed control, but with PWM control you cannot control a heavier vehicle slowly with precision on rough terrain, but with speed servo mode you can very well. So basically the question is whether this setting is possible as opposed to PWM control? (I am sure that angular servo operation is possible as that's needed for steering)

29 minutes ago, imurvai said:

Yes, unfortunately the screen has to be turned on. I've added dark mode to the app so in case you have a oled display phone then it could help a bit.

Hmm, I read that many foreground apps on the iPhone, that only use a foreground service but not the screen, actually turn off the screen after a while. I guess you are not using the screen. Isn't there maybe a setting for this in iPhone development (to allow automatic screen turn-off)? Though I assume you probably have given this a try already, just curious how other apps do it.

[imurvai]

2 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

In steering servo mode, you specify the angle at which you want to position the motor, and it moves there. In speed servo mode, you specify the speed, and it keeps that speed constant (it modulates the power to do so). It's not BW3 specific, the PU hub has that mode too. It's not trivial to see the difference between speed servo and simple PWM control, where you simply specify the amount of 'power' (~voltage, I know that's not so simple), because both can result in proportional speed control, but with PWM control you cannot control a heavier vehicle slowly with precision on rough terrain, but with speed servo mode you can very well. So basically the question is whether this setting is possible as opposed to PWM control? (I am sure that angular servo operation is possible as that's needed for steering)

Hmm, I read that many foreground apps on the iPhone, that only use a foreground service but not the screen, actually turn off the screen after a while. I guess you are not using the screen. Isn't there maybe a setting for this in iPhone development (to allow automatic screen turn-off)? Though I assume you probably have given this a try already, just curious how other apps do it.

Oh I see, then I'll look into the PU spec for the speed servo mode.

For the screen off, I'll look into it as well for iOS and see what I can do.

[gyenesvi]

1 hour ago, imurvai said:

Oh I see, then I'll look into the PU spec for the speed servo mode.

Thanks, that would be nice. If it helps, in the Lego Wireless Protocol 3, it's the StartSpeed (0x07) output command, while in the BW3 protocol, it seems to be command "0x50 Set PU port function" with argument "0x14 PU speed servo".

1 hour ago, imurvai said:

For the screen off, I'll look into it as well for iOS and see what I can do.

After a bit more searching, I see that there's a Settings > Display and Brightness > Auto-Lock feature on iPhone, that allows the user to specify system-wide screen auto-lock times. However, an app can override this setting. So one thing to try could be what happens if your app does not override it and it's set to a short period, like 30 secs, whether it actually turns off automatically, and whether notifications keep coming in.

[mla2]

2 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

Well, it's mainly for playing outside, so not such a good option. I could carry a power bank, but it's all starting to get ridiculously cumbersome then.

True. Do also note that low battery warnings interrupt play. So actually the first time it will stop working is when your battery reaches 20%.

[2GodBDGlory]

5 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

Well, it's mainly for playing outside, so not such a good option. I could carry a power bank, but it's all starting to get ridiculously cumbersome then.

It might not be too bad with a backpack, but it still seems annoyingly complicated!

[P McCatty]

1 hour ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

It might not be too bad with a backpack, but it still seems annoyingly complicated!

One thing that has worked for me is using a game controller with an attachment to hold the phone (running the Brick Controller app). So you can operate the model with one hand by assigning the drive & steer commands to a single joystick. Some phones will have the screen dim (not lock) to save power, but the app still runs. Another option is also to reduce brightness. That frees up the other hand to film with a secondary device.

 

[AVCampos]

Regarding a controller with integrated attachment, from personal experience one that stretches to clamp the phone (some larger models exist for tablets) between its halves is less tiring in the long run than one with with a holder on top of it, because it doesn't become so back-heavy.

[gyenesvi]

1 hour ago, P McCatty said:

One thing that has worked for me is using a game controller with an attachment to hold the phone (running the Brick Controller app).

I saw such controllers, and that seemed like a straightforward idea, but unfortunately I am using my phone's camera for filming (mounted on a gimbal), and so need to use my tablet for control, and this approach does not work with a tablet. May be useful though when I am not filming.

1 hour ago, AVCampos said:

Regarding a controller with integrated attachment, from personal experience one that stretches to clamp the phone (some larger models exist for tablets) between its halves is less tiring in the long run than one with with a holder on top of it, because it doesn't become so back-heavy.

I saw these ones too, but did not really like them. I prefer more compact stuff. Anyway, I think the easiest would be just to put down the tablet somewhere.. Or into a backpack. That's also a reason why turning off the screen would be preferred, as that would prevent accidental touches that may stop the app from working.

1 hour ago, P McCatty said:

So you can operate the model with one hand by assigning the drive & steer commands to a single joystick. That frees up the other hand to film with a secondary device.

Indeed, that would be the plan!

[Berthil]

I hope it is okay to post, with this I want to create awareness a lot is possible with a 100% LEGO PU solution as in my RoboMove project without device but with PU remote and Pybricks.
It doesn't have proportional steering but in this project not needed. As you can see it is precise enough through different modes. Some projects here have such a large turning circle that controller and proportional steering seems overkill. Pybricks code and instructions are for free.