The Thymio draws a house for us
22.11.2016
Translation: machine translated
In the first part, Oli showed us the basic functions of the Thymio robot. In a second video (in German), he activates the mode reserved for experienced users and shows you everything you can do.
How do you interrogate sensors and control motors? You learned it in part one. Haven't seen it? Check it out here:
The Thymio is a robot capable of accompanying children right from their beginnings in robotics. Thanks to its graphical programming interface, it is relatively easy to use. It is particularly interesting for carrying out school projects (materials for possible uses are listed in a special manual reserved for teachers).
Oli now takes the next step and activates the dedicated specialist mode - a real challenge for older children. The programming still takes place at GUI level, but there are still other possibilities. The most obvious change is that there is more room for operations and you can also use a timer.
The major new feature is hidden behind the internal status icon. Those of you who have already programmed something: we're talking variables. There are four different slots for states and states can be turned on or off, so it's a Boolean variable. This small change opens up countless new possibilities. The sensors can now be interrogated several times per project, and much more complex operations can be performed. Particularly interesting: you can not only interrogate states, but also design them. Example:
- if you clap your hands and the state is 1, the light turns green and the state to 0
- if you clap your hands and the state is 0, the light turns on red and the state on 1
As a second inspiration, Oli shows in the video how to draw with the Thymio. Simply place a felt-tip pen in the opening provided. The Thymio follows the pre-programmed trajectory and leaves a drawing. With the graphical programming interface, it's difficult to draw precisely, because the desired changes in trajectory can't really be adjusted. But you can easily draw a house, a spiral or other simple shapes.
And we can already take a look at the third part. If we had direct access to the program code, we could control the Thymio in a much more precise way, or else.
The Thymio can be controlled in a very simple way.
More on robotics & learning (some articles are still in German)
Aurel Stevens
Chief Editor
aurel.stevens@digitecgalaxus.chI'm the master tamer at the flea circus that is the editorial team, a nine-to-five writer and 24/7 dad. Technology, computers and hi-fi make me tick. On top of that, I’m a rain-or-shine cyclist and generally in a good mood.