WonderPyExamples

This is a collection of examples and tutorials for the WonderPy Python API for working with Wonder Workshop robots.

Project Status

At an "Alpha" release. It's ready to be tried out by folks who are willing to live with a few rough-edges and can provide constructive criticism. We look forward to your feedback!

Please see the list of current bugs and other to-do items at WonderPy.

Documentation

• WonderPy readme
• WonderPy Robot Reference Manual
• Tutorials and other examples

Setup

Prerequisites

1. MacOS
2. Familiarity with Git and command-line tools
3. Python 2.7

Clone or download the repository contents:

• git clone [email protected]:playi/WonderPyExamples.git OR
• download the .zip from here.

Set up Virtualenv

Using virtualenv will help isolate your python environment for this project so you're using the specified dependencies with the specified versions.

If you don't have virtualenv installed, you can install it using:
pip install virtualenv

0. be in the WonderPyExamples folder.

1. Create the virtualenv setup with Python 2.7
   virtualenv --python=/usr/bin/python2.7 --no-site-packages venv

2. Activate the environment source venv/bin/activate

Install WonderPy

This will install the WonderPy module and its dependencies. pip install -r requirements.txt

Confirm

At this point you should be ready to go !
Again, assuming you are inside the WonderPyExamples folder: python tutorial/01_hello_world.py

PyCharm

At this point, opening the examples in PyCharm should work well. You might need to double-check that PyCharm is using the virtualenv 'venv' folder you set up.

Tutorial Examples

The tutorial folder includes examples which are a good place to get the hang of things.
In lieu of proper documentation, the hope is that this will be a good jumping off point.
They're reasonably well commented, and aim to do things one step at a time.

tutorial/01_hello_world.py

A simple example which connects to a robot and plays two greeting sounds and does some simple control of the LEDs.
This example works with Dash, Dot, or Cue.

tutorial/02_sensors.py

Connects to a robot and maps the realtime accelerometer data into Roll and Tilt, and then maps those to control the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness of the robot's color LEDs. It also uses the realtime button status from the robot to control the pattern on the LED eyering.
This example works with Dash, Dot, or Cue.

tutorial/03_motors.py

Connects to a robot, flashes the robot's top button, waits for the top button to be pressed, and then executes a simple driving maneuver with "anticipation" movement in the head as well.
This example works only with Dash or Cue, because Dot does not drive. So it also demonstrates querying the robot for whether it has the ability to drive.

Miscellaneous Examples

The misc folder contains a range of examples. Most of them are fairly simple, and intended to illustrate a single aspect of the robots. The "Sketcher" example is more complex.

misc/accelerometer.py

Basic usage of the realtime accelerometer data. Works with all robots.

misc/beacon.py

Simple demonstration of detecting the infrared beacon emitted by other WonderWorkshop robots.
This does not work with Dot, because Dot has no IR sensor.

misc/distance.py

Shows the raw realtime distance/reflectance sensor, and has a simple behavior where the robot will scoot away from objects close to it.
Only works with Dash and Cue.

misc/headPanTilt.py

Read the robot's head position as a sensor!
Only works with Dash and Cue.

misc/sketcher.py

This is a moderately complex example for working with the Sketch Kit Accessory. This example loads an arbitrary (but thoughtfully selected) SVG graphics file, and has the robot physically draw the file's image with the Sketch Kit marker.
This example has its own documention, in the file misc/sketcher.md.

misc/sketchStars.py

A simple example of working with the Sketch Kit Accessory. This example simply draws classic stars.

misc/twitterBot.py

An example of how to use Twitter to send commands to the robot. This example requires a Twitter account and an active Twitter Application (https://apps.twitter.com/)

Robot Connection Options

Upon launching any of the examples, the app will scan for robots for at least 5 and at most 20 seconds. After scanning, whichever robot had the highest signal strength (RSSI) will be connected to. This is a reasonable approximation of connecting to the closest robot.

Connection Options:

[--connect-type cue | dot | dash]
  filter for robots of the specified type/s

[--connect-name MY_ROBOT | MY_OTHER_ROBOT | ...]
  filter for robots with the specified name/s
  
[--connect-eager]
  connect as soon as a qualified robot is discovered.  
  do not wait the full scanning period.
  if there are more than one robot with matching criteria,
  the one with the best signal is still selected
  
[--connect-ask]  
  show a list of available robots, and interactively ask for input.
  indicates which has the highest signal strength.
  

Connection Examples:

• Spend 5 seconds looking for all Cue and Dash robots which are named either "sammy" or "sally", and connect to the one with the best signal strength:
  python tutorial/01_hello_world.py --connect-type cue dash --connect-name sammy sally

• Connect ASAP to any robot named 'sally', no matter what type of robot it is.
  python tutorial/01_hello_world.py --connect-eager --connect-name "sally"

Coordinate Systems

WonderPy uses a right-handed coordinate system with:

• +X to the right of the robot (aka Right)

• +Y in front of the robot (aka Forward)

• +Z above ther robot (aka Up)

• Pan is rotation about +Z (Up),
  so +Pan is counter-clockwise.

• Tilt is rotation about +X (Right),
  so +Tilt is up.

• Roll is rotation abount +Y (Forward), so +Roll is leaning to the right.

Positions	Rotations

Note!
The json representation of sensors and commands also uses a right-handed system, but with +X as Forward and +Y as Left, and rotations that follow. In normal use of the WonderPy you should not encounter this coordinate system.

Units

WonderPy uses these units:

• Distances are in Centimeters
• Angles are in Degrees
• Times are in Seconds
• Brightnesses are in [0, 1]

Contribute

Pull requests are welcome!
Please check the list of issues and todo's at the WonderPy repository on github.

Additional examples in the WonderPyExamples repository are welcome. Here are some ideas:

• Integrations with other cool packages
• IoT integrations
• Demos with the Sketch Kit accessory

To add an example, create a Fork and Pull Request. Be sure to update this README with a brief description of the new example, and also update requirements.txt if there are new dependencies.

Feature requests for the API should be sent as new Issues in github.

Get Help

Report Bugs

If there's a specific bug or problem with the API, please check the outstanding issues in github and if it's not already covered, create a new one.

Ask for Advice

If you have a more general question such as "how would I approach doing .." or you have a tip you'd like to share, please visit stackoverflow and be sure to tag your post with wonderworkshop.

Sharing your work?

Made something cool? We'd love to see it!
Send your photos, videos, and links to [email protected] .

( Note, we can't promise a reply to all emails. )