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Microbit Cutebot, Best Diy Robot Kit for Beginners

Microbit Robot:

Microbit Cutebot

Microbit Robot, Best Diy Robot Kit for Beginners, Micro:bit- Recently I got this Microbit Smart Cutebot a diy programmable Robot Car kit from Elecfreaks. So, let’s go ahead and start the Unboxing.




allpcb circuit

A line Following Map

Microbit Cutebot

Cutebot User Guide

Microbit Cutebot

I was really surprised by their user guide. If you just follow this user guide, I do not think you will need to visit any other website. This is because everything related to the robot is explained in it. Not only that, but it also explains how to write your first program and how to run it. There are a lot of examples covered. I will try to cover these examples and some other examples too.



AAA Batteries holder.

Microbit Cutebot

Micro:bit

Microbit Cutebot

This is the BBC micro:bit is an award-winning programmable device. It’s a small, low-cost, and easy-to-use microcontroller developed by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in collaboration with several partners. The micro:bit is designed to make coding and electronics accessible to students, teachers, and hobbyists.



This is the new micro:bit V2.21 version and it features

Microbit Cutebot chip microbit v2 board specification

A micro USB connector to use with PC for programming. You can program it with Makecode, Microblocks, Javascript, and Python.

Reset and Power button

Battery Connector

BLE Antenna

A microphone

Microprocessor, ARM Cortex-M4 CPU – upgraded from a Cortex m0 at 16MHz to a Cortex m4 with a floating-point at 64MHz.

A Speaker

Accelerometer and compass and

Edge connector for accessories.

On the other side;

We have a microphone indicator

A touch Logo

25 Programmable LEDs

Two Buttons and

The pins are labeled as 0, 1, 2, 3V, and GND.

Memory has increased by 700% from 16KB to 128KB RAM and 256KB to 512KB flash which gives the device much more capability.

The board can provide 200mA to accessories, up from 90mA in the previous board versions.

And it can support both AI and machine learning.

HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor

Microbit Cutebot



Robot Chassis

Microbit Cutebot

Finally, here comes the Robot chassis, it’s really a Cutebot. Its design is so attractive.

Microbit Cutebot all parts detail

It has a power switch.

IO expansion ports.

IR Receiver module, you can use an IR Remote controller to control this cute little robot.

Two fully enclosed GA12-N20 DC micro gear deceleration motors with speed upto 300 RPM “rotations per minute”.

A battery port.

A buzzer.

Edge connector for the micro:bit board.

I2C interface

HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor interface

Two RGB Headlights.

On the bottom side

Microbit Cutebot

There are two Rainbow LEDs

A pair of tracking sensors and

A universal wheel




Microbit Cutebot

Let’s assemble the parts and then we will start the programming.

You can assemble this robot in less than a minute. Don’t think of it as just a toy car; it’s a development kit.

Microbit Cutebot

By practicing with this robot, you and your children can greatly improve your programming skills. To get you started, I will first run some basic codes on this robot, and then we will also run the codes given in the user guide. Anyway, the Smart Cutebot is ready, so let’s start the programming.



Amazon Links:

Microbit

Microbit Cutebot

Microbit Cutebot official link

*Disclosure: These are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Open the makecode.microbit.org website and follow the steps

  • Click on New Project.
  • Give your Project a name.
  • Click on the Code options, and select Blocks, JavaScript, and Python. You can also select Python only or JavaScript only. But I am going to continue with the first option. Finally, click on the Create button.

Microbit Cutebot

Let’s first take a tour of the editor.

Microbit Cutebot

On the left side is the Micro:bit Simulator; see what you code looks like running on a micro:bit!

Next is the Toolbox; drag out blocks of code from the Toolbox categories into the Workspace, snap blocks of code together to build your program.

Once your program is ready, click this download button to download your program onto the micro:bit.

With that Share button on the top, you can create a link to your project to share with others. So, that’s all about the editor tour.



CuteBot Extension:

To add CuteBot in the Toolbox, click on the extensions, search for the Cutebot, and click to add it to the toolbox.

Microbit Cutebot

Now if you click on the Cutebot, you will see the Cutebot blocks. Now, using these blocks we can control the motors, Headlights, we can monitor the state of IR Sensors, we can monitor the Ultrasonic Sensor, we can control Servos, and by using the IR module block; we can control the robot using an IR Remote controller.

Before, I am going to start the programming, first, I would like to share some basic information with you guys.

Microbit Cutebot

functions in the Arduino. So, on start is an event that runs when the program starts. Use this event to initialize your program.

As I said, forever is similar to the loop() function in the Arduino programming. So, if you want to run a part of your program continuously, you can place it in the forever loop or event.

Unlike other programming languages, you can also add and delete comments.

Apart from this you can duplicate blocks, and if you need help; simply click on the help and then you can read about that block in detail.

If you want to delete any block; simply select that block and while holding the mouse left button drag it to the toolbox and release the mouse left button.

And if you want to do it quickly than simply select the block and press the delete button on your keyboard.

To add a block; go to the desired category in the Toolbox, select the block and drag it to the workplace.

This was some basic information that I wanted to share with you, so that you don’t waste your time exploring these basic things.

Before starting programming, connect your robot to your PC or laptop using a micro USB port. Once connected, you will see a message. If not then you can go to the settings and click on the Connect Device and follow the instructions.



Example #1, CuteBot Headlights:

Let’s first control the RGB Headlights.

I want that when I turn ON the robot, it should first display Red, Green, and Blue colors one by one with a 1-second delay. Then, when it goes into the control forever event, it should display different colors with a 100ms delay. Let’s do it.

Go to the CuteBot category and select the “Set LED headlights” block.

Microbit Cutebot

Simply drag it and place it in the on start event.

Microbit Cutebot

Duplicate it three times, set it to all, and select Red, Green, and Blue colors. Next, go to the Basic category and from there select the pause (ms) block. We need this block to add a delay of 1000ms.

Microbit Cutebot

Now, follow the same exact steps but this time add blocks in the forever event.

Microbit Cutebot

Click the download button, and don’t forget to Turn ON the power switch.

Microbit Cutebot headlight setting




Example #2, CuteBot Motors:

Next, we are going to control the CuteBot DC motors. We are going to control its forward, backward, left, and right movement. So, let’s do it.

Block for the DC motor is available in the CuteBot category and the pause (ms) block you can get from the Basic category.

Microbit Cutebot

For the practical demonstration watch the video tutorial given at the end of this article.

Example #3, CuteBot DC Motors & Headlights:

Next, we are going to use the DC Motors and Headlights all together. I want the headlights to stay OFF when the robot is moving in the forward direction, and I want the Left and Right Headlights to act as the indicator lights when the robot takes left and right turns.

Microbit Cutebot

For the practical demonstration watch the video tutorial given at the end of this article.



Example #4, Ultrasonic Sensor:

Next, we are going to use the Ultrasonic Sonic Sensor. I want the robot to stop when it detects an obstacle. Let’s do it.

You may be already quite familiar with the if condition. The if else block is available in the Logic category.

Microbit Cutebot

Drag it and place it in the forever event. Next, you will need the comparison block from the Logic category.

Drag it and place it on the true as you can see in the image below.

Next, go to the CuteBot category and from there select the HC-SR04 Sonar Unit and place it in the if condition. We are going to compare the HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor distance with the preset value.

Microbit Cutebot

the following condition means, if the distance measured by the Ultrasonic Sensor in Inches is less than or equal to 5.

Microbit Cutebot

The stop the car immediately else set the motors speed at 20%. You can set any speed between 0 and 100.

Microbit Cutebot

Example #5, Obstacle Avoidance:

Now, let’s convert this into any obstacle avoidance robot, I want the robot to turn to the Right when it detects any obstacle. Let’s do it.

Microbit Cutebot

So far, we have covered Headlights, Ultrasonic Sensor, and DC Motors.



Example #6:

Microbit Cutebot touch logo

Next, we will learn how to use these 25 LEDs, and we will also use these Pushbuttons and touch logo. For these examples I have already removed the Ultrasonic sensor so that you can clearly see the LEDs, Touch Logo, and pushbuttons.

Using show leds block, you can draw any custom icon. It’s available in the Basic category.

Microbit Cutebot

To display numbers, you can use the ‘show number’ block. This block is also available in the Basic category.

Microbit Cutebot


For ready-made icons, you can use the ‘show icon’ block. It’s available in Basic category. If you click on the down arrow, you will see lots of readymade icons.

Microbit Cutebot

You can use multiple icons to create cool animations.

Microbit Cutebot

To print any message, you can use the ‘show string’ block. It’s also available in Basic category. I am going to print Electronic Clinic.

Microbit Cutebot

To display different arrows, you can use the ‘show arrow’ block. It’s also available in the Basic category. You can click on the down arrow and select any arrow of your choice. Or if you need a special type of arrow, then you can use the show leds block to create a custom arrow.

Microbit Cutebot

Next, we are going to use the push buttons on the Microbit to display custom icons. For this, we will use a condition, let’s say if the Button A is pressed I want the cross icon to display. Else I want all the LEDs to remain OFF. Let’s do it.

Go to the Logic Category and select if else block. Drag it to the workplace and place it in the forever block.

Microbit Cutebot




Next, go to the Input category and select “button A is pressed” Block

Microbit Cutebot

Now, you can use the show leds block from the Basic Category to display custom icons.

Microbit Cutebot

This means if Button A is pressed then

Show this cross icon.

Else

Turn OFF all the Leds.

Next, we are going to use the Logo and let me tell you, it’s use is just like the pushbuttons. Its also available in the Input category.

Microbit Cutebot

If the Logo is touched I want to display this “ X” icon.

Else

I want the center Led to remain ON.

Microbit Cutebot

Now, let’s use the Gesture Block. Its also available in the Input category and its use is just like the pushbuttons and logo. I simply replaced the logo with the gesture.

Microbit Cutebot

You can see we have different types of gestures, simply select the one you want. In my case, I am going to go with the shake gesture. I simply downloaded the code and I was able to display a custom icon whenever I would shake the robot. For the practical demonstration, watch the video tutorial given at the end of this article.



Example #7, Rainbow Leds:

These blocks are available in the Neopixel category. On the Cutebot, bottom side, there are two rainbow leds connected to P15_0 and P15_1. In the following code, you can see why I selected P15 and 2. Rest of the code is pretty straightforward.

Microbit Cutebot

I believe I have covered pretty much everything about this robot. There are many other examples in the user guide that you can try to further improve your programming skills.

Example #8, Line Tracking Robot:

We will try the Line-Tracking lesson from the user guide. The Cutebot has two tracking sensors which help it to move along black and white lines. It can also be used to detect the edges of a table.

This is the complete code.

Microbit Cutebot

When the tracking sensor on the left side detects no black line, set the speed of the left wheel to be faster than that of the right wheel to correct its movement.

When the tracking sensor on the right detects no black line, the speed of the right wheel has to be adjusted slower than that of the left in the same way.

When both tracking sensors detect black lines, move forward at a even speed.

Let’s upload the code.

The above code didn’t work the Cutebot was moving too fast. So, I modified the code a little bit and then it started to follow the line.

Microbit Cutebot

Microbit Cutebot

Read my article on how to trap a MicroBit robot inside a Circle.

Support me on Patreon for more videos and articles.



Watch Video Tutorial:

 

Engr Fahad

My name is Shahzada Fahad and I am an Electrical Engineer. I have been doing Job in UAE as a site engineer in an Electrical Construction Company. Currently, I am running my own YouTube channel "Electronic Clinic", and managing this Website. My Hobbies are * Watching Movies * Music * Martial Arts * Photography * Travelling * Make Sketches and so on...

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