Test the Radio Connection to the cyber:bot
Let’s first make sure the sender micro:bit and receiver micro:bit in the cyber:bot work as expected with normal packets. Since we are going to leave the cyber:bot tethered with USB, we’ll use some short distance maneuvers with low speeds and short run times.
- Plug the battery pack’s plug into the cyber:bot board’s battery jack.
- Set the cyber:bot board’s PWR switch to 2.
- Click the Show serial buttons in both python.microbit.org editors.
- If the left speed prompt does not appear in the sender Serial terminal connected to the sender micro:bit, try clicking Hide serial, and then Show serial again.
- Type these responses to the prompts, and remember to press Enter after typing each value:
- Enter left speed: 25
- Enter right speed: 25
- Enter ms to run: 500
- Verify that the cyber:bot moved forward slowly for a half a second.
- Decide on another maneuver, type in the prompts, and verify that the cyber:bot maneuvers as expected.
Now it is time to see the effect that a malformed packet can have.
- Type these responses to the prompts, and remember to press Enter after typing each value:
- Enter left speed: 25
- Enter right speed: 25
- Enter ms to run: -1
- Did the cyber:bot robot’s micro:bit display an error?
- Did an exception appear in the terminal connected to the cyber:bot robot’s receiver micro:bit?
If your micro:bit was not tethered, it would be stuck until a human came and restarted it by pressing and releasing the micro:bit module’s reset button! That is not always possible in a competition, but you can do it now.
- On the cyber:bot, locate the micro:bit module’s reset button; it’s on the bottom side between the USB and battery sockets.
- Press and release it to restart the receiver micro:bit script execution.
- Type a maneuver into the Serial terminal connected to the sender micro:bit, and verify that you can control the cyber:bot robot’s motion again.