Intro to Robotics V2 is an adaptable and ready-to-teach semester long course (50+ hours) for high school (9th-12th) classrooms. It is designed to align with ISTE and ITEEA standards. For information on individual state or district standards alignment, please reach out to us at education@revrobotics.com.

The version 2.0 of the curriculum has been rebuilt from the ground up to be accessible for both new and returning educators, with clear guidance and resources to support you every step of the way.

Highlights:

• 6 units mapped to ISTE and ITEEA standards

• Emphasis on programming, with step-by-step walkthroughs scaffolded to build student knowledge

• Hands-on activities ranging from exploring gear trains to designing sensor-driven autonomous robots

• Real-world themed learning, including a larger challenge in each unit

• Educator resources, including Unit Plans, Lesson Plans, and Activity Guides

• Each unit includes a full walkthrough, with scripts and expanded explanations, to help new teachers teach with confidence!

• LMS compatible

Hover over the document type for additional information!

Unit Resources:

• Unit Lesson Breakdown

• Unit Plan

Hover over a unit title for more information!

• Unit 1: Introduction to Robotics

• Unit 2: Mechanical Motion: Gearing and Gear Trains

• Unit 3:

This self-guided professional development training is a new program from REV Robotics designed to aid educators as they get started with educational robotics and the DUO Control System.

These trainings are intended to pair with the Intro to Robotics V2 Curriculum and EDU Kit V2.

Within the professional development, there are currently two groups of lessons available:

About the Lesson

The sample lesson provided here is Lesson 2 from Unit 1 of the Intro to Robotics V2 curriculum. Within this lesson, the mechanical parts of the EDU Kit V2 are introduced followed by a small building activity to aid with student exploration and growing familiarity.

A selection of documents have been provided here, additional supporting material may be available within the full curriculum download.

Lesson Plan

The lesson plan provides the learning outcomes, materials list, standards, activities, and a step-by-step simplified walkthrough for the lesson.

Teacher Guide

The teacher guide provides similar information to the lesson plan, such as learning outcomes, but provides additional elaboration on running the lesson to include scripts, time breakdowns, and activity tips.

Slideshow

The slideshow for Lesson 2 introduces different mechanical parts for the EDU Kit V2 intended for students to view while having a kit accessible to look up close.

The goal is to grow familiarity with the part names and terms, as well as their purposes to cut down on the risk of things feeling overwhelming as the course move towards building.

Lesson Activity

In this activity, students are building a simple launcher in their groups. No programming required! For now the focus is to practice using tools and manipulating the parts in a fun way.

Once they finish, students can try launching crumpled paper balls or something like tennis/stress balls. We tried launching our small dino plushie ourselves.

Lesson 2 includes the recommendation to have students practice inventory their kits. While the kits include a bill of materials, a version with checkboxes has been included in the curriculum and is available here:

1. Go to

2. Click "Get Your Coupon Code" on the page

1. Fill out the Curriculum Response Form

There are a lot of different ways to teach documenting progress for the Engineering Design Process or project work in general. The use of engineering notebooks is perhaps the most common and, while not specifically used in the Intro to Robotics V2 curriculum, can be great for students to have available for noting ideas and sketches.

For the curriculum, a step-by-step handout is provided for each project with guiding questions. A more universal version is provided here:

This handout may be given all at once or broken into parts based on where students are in a project. Each student group should have a shared copy as their final to turn in. Scrap paper for additional sketches and brainstorming are also handy to have available.

Before diving in, let's take a look at what's in the EDU Kit V2 to review some key terms and what's what!

The next few pages are intended to be a quick visual reference for parts and names to be looked back upon for those new to the DUO System!

Sometimes it can feel like the robot is just not doing what we want it to. We don't speak the same language after all, making it feel like something is lost in translation.

With practice we can better understand what we're programming the robot to ACTUALLY do vs. what we THINK we've asked the robot to do. Especially after growing more familiar with how the robot interprets certain movements and actions.

A pseudocode represents a program, but is described using everyday familiar wording. It's a way to break things down in a more digestible way while thinking through what we want the program to do without getting lost in technical jargon.

When working on a large project, creating a pseudocode during planning can help students think about what they expect the robot to do and what the end goal will be.

Writing a pseudocode is like writing directions for how to make your favorite snack. The directions need to be clear, but simple so someone else can easily follow along.

If it's not already open, tap the Driver Station Application on the home screen of the Driver Hub to open it.

Look for the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner of the Driver Station Application to tap open the menu.

In the dropdown menu, select Settings.

Select Pair with Robot Controller

Select Wi-Fi Settings.

From the list of Wi-Fi networks, look for the Control Hub's assigned name that was decided during the last step of set up.

There are two types of actuators available in the EDU Kit V2, servos and DC motors. Actuators convert energy into a form of motion by applying a force. In this case, they are convert electrical energy into motion by applying torque.

Servos are a form of actuator often used for more specialized movements between positions. Servos include built-in sensors that allow them to automatically know their position without any outside programming

These servos are capable of two modes:

• Angular Mode: Sets the servo to move to specified positions within a 270° range of motion

A touch sensor is a form of digital sensor that responds to some form of physical touch. The touch sensor found in the EDU Kit V2 uses a simple push button to switch between on or off. Within the Blocks programming language, this appears as True or False.

A color sensor is a form of I2C sensor. This type of sensor measures reflected light, allowing it to determine how much light is being seen, the distance to a surface, and what color is in front of it. The color sensor found in the EDU Kit V2 uses a HSV model

Wiring Diagrams are a visual aid that show where everything is wired in an electrical system. Students can think of them like a map showing the pathways between the Control Hub and each device location.

Right now our testbed uses a very simple wiring set up that's easy to track, but imagine if every motor and servo port was in use. That's 9 devices and sets of wires going across the robot before adding sensors!

Encourage students to create a wiring diagram for their own projects and to update it as they work. A blank template is below that includes the parts for the EDU Kit V2.

Wiring Tips

Along with wiring diagrams, here are a couple additional good practices to make encourage to prevent part damage and confusion while working with the robot.

Label Wires

Individual wires or wire pairs (ex: a motor's encoder and power wires), can be labeled using things like printed labels, small pieces of tape, colored zip ties, etc. It's recommended to label both ends for easy identification.

Labels may include port numbers, letters, device names, or whichever system works best for your classroom. When using something like colors, letters, or another code these can be added to the wiring diagram for the robot!

Wire Paths

While designing a robot or build, it's important to plan ahead where electronics will sit and wires will run. It's best to keep the Control Hub easily accessible and where the lights can be viewed. For wires, consider potential pinch points and moving components where they may become caught or tangled.

Damaged wires may lead to parts not working as expected, causing shorts and damage, and pose a safety risk. While the robot is disconnected from power, encourage students to regularly check wires.

This should also be a first step while troubleshooting, both to check things are wired correctly, but also securely with proper wires.

Wires with exposed metal or fraying should be replaced.

Looking back at our loop program, we have the program end after the inner loop repeats 10 times.

What if we instead set up the "while loop" to continue until the count is equal to 10 or another number?

We need to always have the call for opModeIsActive, but that doesn't mean we can't add a second exit condition!

Adding an Exit Condition

To start, I removed the existing code from the "while loop". Next I need to find the "and" option from the Logic menu. This will snap to the "while loop" with the call if opModeIsActive being added to one side.

Let's start by having the robot check if the opModeIsActive AND if the count variable currently equals 10 or less. We can use blocks from the Logic and Math menus to create our statement:

Then add this to the "and" statement attached to the loop:

All that's left is to add the same set up we had before so that with each loop the count increases by 1! Remember a program cycles incredibly fast, so we'll add our sleep block again to help be able to see what happens.

Save the OpMode and test!

Try setting the goal to different numbers!

Learning the fundamentals of programming can be one of the biggest hurdles to conquer before feeling ready to teach programming to a class. We want students to practice good habits as they learn so we need to understand them first ourselves.

This Professional Development section focuses on exploring key concepts of programming in quick bites that will carry between Blocks, Java, and beyond.

We'll start by discussing pseudocode, a technique used to help students think through how a program functions, then move into looking at Logic, Variables, and Loops!

Use the table below to quick jump to the different sections:

What is a Variable?

In math, it's common to see problems like below:

We can solve for "a" to determine a = 7, right? Then we could solve a variety of additional calculations with that knowledge like:

Variables in programming serve the same role! We use a variable to represent a value, or other information, that then can be used throughout the program.

Why use a Variable?

Consider for a moment: Why would we use a variable when we could simply use the number on its own?

While there are several reasons, one of the biggest is that variables can greatly help with organization in a program and streamline making changes.

Rather than having to hunt down every place a value has been used in a program, if we need to make a change we can adjust just the variable and be done! This helps to prevent mismatches that could come from one value being updated, but another missed.

Variables might also be used to store the results of a calculation in a program to then be used wherever it's needed, such as the values from joystick movements on the gamepad.

Types of Variables

Constant variables do not change after being set. These are often set during initialization or at the start of an OpMode.

These variables might include something like a target velocity, position, or power that will be reused or other settings that need to remain consistent whenever called.

Non-constant variables are often just called variables. These change throughout the program, but may be set during initialization or the beginning of an OpMode to a default.

These variables, for example, may store the results of a calculation run in the OpMode or data collected by a sensor.

Multiple configurations can be created on the Control Hub to be switched between for different projects or classes.

Creating a new configuration may be better than attempting edit an existing one, especially if it is being created to test an idea, for example, or certain devices are being added.

Some sensors, like the color sensor, once added to the configuration will cause a program to error out if they are removed physically, but not from the configuration!

How to keep track?

Keeping track of configurations can be as easy as making a small table record with the type of part, the port it's connected to, and the assigned named. If parts are changed or renamed, this chart can be updated.

Here is an example format we commonly follow when creating guides we want others to follow:

A handout is provided here to use with students or while continuing through this training:

Space has been provided on this tracker for sensors and parts not found in the EDU Kit V2.

Let's start by taking a look at the ports on the HD Hex Motor and Core Hex Motor:

Each motor has a power and encoder port. Encoders are a form of sensor built into the motor that can send information back to the Control Hub to be used during programming. Specifically, these motors use incremental encoders, which count the number of revolutions or "ticks".

Red provides power while black serves as the ground. These wires are keyed, meaning they are meant to only attach to the motor and Control Hub one way as dictated by the clip on the connector.

In the event a power wire is connected backwards, the motor will spin the opposite expected direction!

Similarly to the power wires, red provides power while black serves as ground. The blue and white wires transmute signal between the motor and the Control Hub. These wires can be used with various sensors, not just motor encoders. The wires are keyed with the intention of only connecting one way.

When connecting the wires to both the motor and the Control Hub it should be a snug fit. Giving a small, light tug is a recommended practice to help wires are seated correctly.

The Engineering Design Process is one of the most fundamental concepts taught within Technology Education or Robotics classes.

While there are many versions that exist, most follow similar steps and flow with the goal of helping students think through solving a large process.

Below is the REV's Engineering Design Process from the Intro to Robotics V2 curriculum:

Before looking at each steps, let's discuss why teaching the Engineering Design Process, in some form, matters.

Robotics often involves large, open-ended projects that can be hard to visualize with all the moving components (figuratively and physically). The goal of the Engineering Design Process is to create more digestible steps for going from concept to tested solution. It also reinforces the idea of having a plan before excitement taking hold becomes "winging it" and pure "trial and error" followed by frustration.

But it also doubles as a useful check-in tool for teachers and a way to help communicate the mindset that lead from point A to B.

In real life, engineers will follow a similar process as they communicate and plan across multiple steps and with various departments before reaching a final solution.

The Control Hub powers off a single 12V Slim Battery. Using an approved battery is the ONLY way the Control Hub should be powered. It cannot be powered directly from a charger or via USB.

Adding a switch cable is recommended to allow the Control Hub to be easily powered on and off without removing the battery.

These cables are used to provide power to the motors connected to the Control Hub.

Used with the motors in the EDU Kit V2 to send information from the encoders to the Control Hub.

PWM, or pulse-width modulation, is a signal type used to communicate with different devices, such as the servos found in the EDU Kit V2.

A testbed is a testing environment for hardware and software components. Testbeds are a fantastic tool to practice programming, troubleshoot parts, collect data, and continue to grow familiar with the EDU Kit V2.

Similar setups are used by professional engineers and companies as part of the development, quality control, and refinement processes! Depending on the end goal, these testbeds can be designed a variety of different ways. For example, if a company is gathering data on how much weight a part can handle, the testbed may be designed to continually move over a period of time while adding new amounts of weight.

Let's take a look at the testbed used within Unit 1 of the curriculum:

The goals of our testbed are:

• Provide a base frame that can be reused

In programming, logic refers to a set of rules we create within the code for the robot to follow. It allows the robot to make decisions based on the information it gathers rather than going only through a single step-by-step process of execution.

In Blocks, the Logic menu includes options to create comparison statements, like to check if one thing is greater than the other, and the option to make something the opposite with the "not" block. But for this section we'll be focusing on if/else Statements!

One of the key concepts of logic in programming are if/else statements, also referred to as if/then statements.

In its most simple format an if/else statement asks the robot to check IF something is happening and if the answer is yes, or true in the robot's mind, THEN it will DO what has been asked.

In this format, the robot hasn't been told what to do if the statement is false. That's where the else comes in to play. Same as before the robot checks IF something is true, and if so, THEN

Blocks is designed to hide the excess options that are not actively in use based on the configuration. This makes it easier to navigate, but there remains some mystery behind what and where everything is.

Well we can't go into every block available, let's take a look at the different categories and some use cases for the blocks within them.

Changing Based on Configuration

Before going too far, recall that the active configuration on the Control Hub will effect which blocks are available for certain categories.

For example, having a servo configured for angular mode will show blocks for setting positions, while having a servo configured for continuous rotation will show options for setting power.

Some categories, like Other Devices or Java Classes, will no longer be clickable or completely hidden depending on your set up.

Categories

LinearOpMode

The LinearOpMode category list various call blocks for the OpMode, such as the check for if it is active and to wait for the Driver Hub's play button to be pressed. The call to sleep can also be found here.

The gamepad menu is where all the blocks related to gamepad inputs can be found. The gamepad blocks are grouped based on if they are a float or Boolean input.

The Actuators menu options will change based on the active configuration file. Some default blocks will always be available, such as some PWM options under ServoController.

When a motor is added to a configuration, the blocks to set its power, mode, direction, and more will become available. For servos, those configured for angular mode will show blocks for setting positions while those set to continous rotation will show power and direction.

What sensors are available will change based on the active configuration file. Once a sensor is added, different options will appear based on the sensor. Some will have two menu options for more generic sensor use or for a specific manufacturer.

Analog Sensors, if configured, will appear under Other Devices. Other device's controls, like the Blinkin LED Driver, will also be available here if configured. If no relevant devices are configured, this menu will not be accessible.

The Utilities category is a mix of tools built-in to the SDK to pair with different blocks while building out the full OpMode. For example, when using a color sensor blocks related to Color, such as finding the Hue, can be found under Utilities to define how the sensor is being used and what kind of data is being collected.

Additionally, here you will find the Telemetry menu to send information to the Driver Hub.

The Logic Category is the first set of categories that make up the colorful section of Blocks for the bottom half of the list. In this menu we'll find the options for making if/else statements, setting something to "not", and blocks for creating comparison statements, like checking if something is greater than something else.

The green Loops category includes the list for blocks to create repeats within the program. Loops can have different exit conditions, such as only repeating a set number of times or until Stop is pressed on the Driver Hub.

Under the Math category there is blocks to make something negative, to add a number to a program, and several options for completing different calculations in the program.

Similar to Math, the Text category allows the addition of text entries to a code that the robot will read for executing, unlike Comments, as well as formatting options and ways to change the text based on a situation.

The blocks found in the Lists category can be used to compile data into one list as it is collected by the robot.

The Variables category will initially show as blank until a new variable is created, then the options for setting and using the variable will appear. If a variable goes unused when the program is saved and closed, it will be removed upon reopening the OpMode.

The Function blocks allow for code to be separated into smaller chunks making Blocks a little easier to organize and read. Once a new function is created and named, additional blocks will become available to call the function.

The Miscellaneous category includes blocks to assist with formatting in the code and to add comments. Comments allow a programmer to make notes without the robot reading them!

Motors

We have our motors running autonomously, but now let's add some manual control with a gamepad.

The Gamepad menu is always available in Blocks to search for the desired button or joystick control.

For our motors, we can set the power of the motor to be equal to the movement of the joystick. As the joystick moves up and down along the y-axis, it's value changes from -1 to 1 with 0 being off.

Click the gamepad block for the LeftStickY to the motor power block of the Core Hex Motor.

Before testing, it's good to note that by default the direction of the Y-axis on the gamepad is inverted, meaning if I moved the joystick up expecting the robot to move "forward" the motor will actually spin in reverse.

While programming, we can adjust this by adding a negative symbol from the Math menu.

It will snap between setting the motor power and the joystick calls:

Save your OpMode and test it out!

When you are ready, add similar controls for the HD Hex Motor on the RightStickY.

Because our servos are moving between positions rather than setting a power, they must be bond to a Boolean button on the gamepad, such as the D-Pad, bumpers, or symbol buttons.

What happens if we try to connect one of these gamepad buttons direction to where we set the servo position?

Blocks will not allow this connection since it would not be functional. We need to instead use a Logic block to say "If the gamepad button is pressed, do ________"

If/Else statements are one of the most common and fundamental logic statements in programming. As the name suggestion, this allows us to program a check for the robot to see if something is happening then react based on the options available.

In this instance, let's set our If/Else to be if the Triangle button on the gamepad is pressed move the servo to Position 1.

Save your OpMode and give it a test!

If If/Else block is editable to add additional checks all together! To do so click the gear to open the block's menu.

Adding additional "else ifs" extends the blue block:

Give this a try to set a variety of servo positions based on which button is pressed!

Let's take a look an example of how an If/Else Statement reads in a human friendly way.

The above can be read "If the Y button is pressed then move the servo to position 0, else if the A button is pressed move the servo to position 1."

Each pair contains the check or "if" and what should happen, the "do". Since there are multiple checks, after the first is reported as false the robot moves on to the next one, "else if".

Control Hub

The Control Hub is the brain of the robot. It runs what is know as the Robot Controller Console, which stores all programs, configurations, and log files.

Even when programming in the REV Hardware Client or a browser this is just acting as a tool to access the Control Hub's software!

Driver Hub

The Driver Hub is how we communicate with the Control Hub when we're ready to run a program and control the robot. It functions similar to an Android phone and runs the Driver Station Application to allow communication.

The Driver Hub connects to the Control Hub's Wi-Fi network to communicate.

Navigating the Driver Station Application

After setting the Driver Hub for the first time, you will have access to the Driver Station Application. There is a lot of information displayed by the Driver Hub so let's take a closer look.

While connected to a Control Hub, the application will appear similar to below:

Setting up the DUO Control System for the first time can be broken into 4 steps:

1. Powering Up

2. Updating

3. Managing settings

4. Connecting the Driver Hub to the Control Hub

Before getting started you will need:

From the kit:

• Control Hub

• Driver Hub

• 12V Slim Battery

• Orange USB Cable

• Switch Cable (Recommended)

Additional items:

• Computer

• REV Hardware Client 2 Installed

• Internet Access

The Control Hub is powered with a 12V Slim Battery. The battery connects to the yellow XT30 port labeled as "Battery".

When first powering on, the light on the Control Hub will illuminate blue then change to green when fully booted.

At this point it's ready for use!

To power on the Driver Hub, hold the power button for a couple seconds until the REV logo appears on the screen. During boot up, a white light will flash and the green light beside the power button will appear.

The Driver Hub will take a few moments to reach the lock screen. The white light will no longer illuminate.

If this is the first time powering on the Driver Hub, the set up screen will appear.

When the Driver Hub is first powered up, or a factory reset is performed, an initial set up process is needed. Start by selecting next on the main screen to continue.

For now, it's recommended to skip the step connecting the Driver Hub to a local Wi-Fi network.

On the next screen, set the date and time before continuing.

Initial set up is complete! Select Finish to go to the Driver Hub's homescreen.

When it comes to programming, there's often times we want a robot to do something over and over again until we tell it to do something else. It might be a movement, a continual check of a sensor, or so many different things at once.

We could attempt to program each instance manually. In fact let's see if we can have our robot move a couple of feet using just the block setting the power fully.

My OpMode is already becoming quite long yet the robot is barely moving anywhere!

The Control Hub reads through each line of code provided incredibly fast. So fast it may not even provide enough time for a motor to fully turn on before it's off to the next if there's nothing in place to allow a buffer or repeat.

There are options for adding timers to help, but in this tutorial we're going to focus on using loops!

Loops control the flow of a program by repeating the execution of the code within the loop until an

Connect the Control Hub to the computer using the orange USB cable that came with the Control Hub. The USB-C (oval) side connects to the Control Hub while the USB-A (rectangle) connects to the PC.

A different cable, or USB C-to-C cable may be used but MUST be able to do both power and data.

Note: Some generic cables only provide power.

Open the REV Hardware Client 2 (RHC2) once connected. The Control Hub should appear on the home screen.

Click on the Control Hub to open the navigation menu.

Click the Update tab

There are 3 options for items listed that may need updating:

Navigate to the Control Hub in the REV Hardware Client 2. Click the device to open the Navigation menu.

Select Open Console under Program & Manage to open the Robot Control Console (RCC) for the Control Hub. This will open in a new window.

In the Robot Control Console, select Manage.

Here you'll find all the options for updating the Wi-Fi settings. For now we will focus only on the name and password. It's recommended to give each Control Hub an easily recognizable name.

This might be a group name, student names, a color, a number, or similar that fits your classroom needs for assigning robots. This is the name that will be displayed as the network to connect to later using the Driver Hub.

The default password is password. Consider allowing student groups to pick their own password to secure their robot. If the password is forgotten, it can be changed here again later.

The EDU Kit V2 contains over 180 parts! This page is intended to be a brief overview for some of the major part categories to reference while first exploring.

Metal extrusion makes up the core of the structural system for the EDU Kit V2. It is available in different lengths that can be cut to size.

There are many different brackets available designed to fulfill different roles in providing connections between items or extra support. Within the EDU Kit V2 there are structural, motion, and actuator brackets.

Getting Started

Before introducing the steps of the Engineering Design Process, consider giving students a simple hypothetical problem to work through in a group.

The problem should not be something they have to build a full solution for, but should be something that allows some brainstorming, discussion, minor research or questioning, and general creativity. Consider something local in the community or school. Maybe students have vocalized wanting a new learning space or the lighting outside the building doesn't feel safe at night.

This could also be left open for students to identify their own problem as the first step. Students are often very perceptive or have ideas they aren't sure how to address.

Asking "If you could solve any one problem about the school, what would you pick?" can be a great starting point!

Below are some examples students have come up with in my experience teaching:

• Not enough picnic tables

• Paper towels on the bathroom floors

• Desiring a quiet space to work

• Adding new clubs/after school activities

• Mud in the hallways

• Lack of project storage/organization

• Wanting a student garden

• Flooding in the parking lot

The Intro to Robotics V2 curriculum provides an example that is robotics focused.

Some problems are bigger than others, but the goal for this initial task is to allow students freedom to begin planning and solving the problem how they naturally would with their group. Everybody thinks a little differently so likely there will be a variety in approaches. Some may naturally fall into a flow similar to the Engineering Design Process while others may end up stuck thinking "what's next".

This is intended to be a short exercise of 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, allow students time to share as a full class or individually with you.

Consider asking questions like:

• What problem are you trying to solve?

• How did you decide on your solution?

• What other solutions or ideas did you think about?

• What would your first steps be to implement this solution?

Well also getting students thinking critically, this will also help you gain an idea of how students think through presented problems.

Once the class regroups, have a discussion on how students thought through the problem by taking volunteers to share or pointing out observations you made.

Continue into growing the problem situation by asking how students would communicate their idea if they were on a team of 100 people, or needed to talk to someone they don't know, and how they would track all the moving parts in a way that if someone asked to see their work they could share it.

This will segue into presenting the Engineering Design Process and its importance.

Keep in mind while moving forward: The Engineering Design Process should be thought of less as a "one size fits all" solution to solving problems and more of a way to help make sure everyone is on the same page for a project as it proceeds. (And provides documentation to reference later when ideas and plans are forgotten in excitement.)

The next section introduces how Engineering Design may appear in the classroom as a trackable assignment during project work!

Before we can begin any programming we need to help our Control Hub know what is connected to it and where. Through the configuration process we can tell the Control Hub which port sensors, motors, servos, and any other connected devices can be found.

This is one of the most important steps to always complete BEFORE you can start programming!

Let's look first where the configuration menu is found on the Driver Hub. Start by selecting the 3 dots menu in the top right corner of the Driver Station App. Then select Configure Robot.

If any configurations have been created, they will be listed here. For a new configuration, select New.

In the USB Devices in configuration page select the Control Hub Portal.

Within the Hub Portal select the device you want to configure. In this use case, select the Control Hub.

The telemetry block from the last section can be removed from our OpMode.

Let's start by getting our Core Hex Motor spinning on the testbed. Under the Actuators menu look for DcMotor:

When looking at the options, the names of the motors will typically appear in alphabetical order. In the pictures used for this guide coreHex shows as the default option. If you named your motors differently, there will be variation.

First, we'll add a power block to our loop:

With that we can save our program and run it to see what happens!

The max power for spinning forward is 1. The max power for spinning in reverse is -1. Going above these values will not make the motor spin any faster. However, it also will not damage the motor so students can be encouraged to explore what happens!

Blocks is a visual programming language designed to be new programmer friendly by helping to streamline parts of the process and cut down the risk of common syntax errors. While it appears similar to other visual languages, such as Scratch or Blockly, it is designed specifically for use with the DUO Control System.

Accessing Blocks

REV Hardware Client 2

While connected to a powered Control Hub via USB, open the REV Hardware Client2 . Select the Control Hub to be programmed then Open Console under the Program & Manage option in the Navigation menu.

The Robot Control Console (RCC) will open in a separate window.

The options for Blocks and OnBot Java should appear at the top alongside the manage option.

REV Hardware Client 1

While connected to a powered Control Hub via USB, open the REV Hardware Client 1. Select the Control Hub to be programmed then the Program and Manage menu.

The options for Blocks and OnBot Java should appear at the top alongside the manage option.

Select Blocks. Let's take a look at the landing page below:

1. Create a new OpMode

2. Upload an OpMode

3. Download all saved OpModes

4. All currently saved OpModes and information

While on the home screen, existing OpModes can be modified or downloaded. Downloading a copy of an important OpMode is recommended to help prevent a project being lost in the event of accidental deletion, change, or equipment failure. Blocks DOES NOT autosave.

Select the checkbox beside the OpMode you would like to modify first. Then you can select what you would like to do, such as download, delete, rename, or copy.

To create a brand new OpMode, select Create New OpMode.

This will open the menu to name the OpMode and select a sample program. For now the sample should remain BasicOpMode as this will give us an easy to work with foundation to get started.

The name of our OpMode should be easily recognizable and give some indication of what it's used for. When working with a class, it may be helpful to include student or group names in the OpMode to aid with grading later.

This first OpMode we will use for a couple activities in this training section so we can name it myFirstOpMode.

Once we click OK, Blocks will fully open.

Let's take a tour of the Blocks user interface.

1. Save OpMode - Click this button to save an OpMode to the robot. It is important to save the OpMode any time you stop working on a code, so that progress is not lost. Blocks does not have an autosave feature!

2. TeleOp/Autonomous - This section of blocks allows users to change between the two types of OpMode: teleop and autonomous.

3. Categorized Blocks - This section of the screen is where the programming blocks are categorized and accessible. For instance, clicking Logic will open access to programming blocks like if/else statements.

The OnBot Java editor will open as well on the righthand side. Click the checkbox to close this for extra space in the programming area.

In the next section, we'll take a closer look at the different categories of Blocks available. Remember if the correct configuration is not active, some Blocks may be hidden, such as those for motors and sensors.

In Blocks, the Variable menu will first appear empty.

Once variables are created, they will populate in the menu.

HOWEVER, if a variable is not used when a program is saved then exited, it will be removed from the list again upon reopening the program. This is helpful for clearing unused or variables made by mistake, but may cause confusion for students of why something has been deleted.

In a new OpMode, locate the telemetry blocks under Utilities. Add two for displaying numerical data to the OpMode's loop.

The keys will be set to "Answer 1" and "Answer 2" as seen below:

Create a variable called "A" and one called "B". Make "A" the number for the first telemetry and "B" for the second:

OpMode Structure

Let's take a look at the basic structure and key blocks of the OpMode. This what is provided when using the sample BasicOpMode:

This sample is recommended as it provides the needed basic structure for a program to run properly with the Driver Hub, but it can be modified to best fit the current needs of the project.

The marked comments also help give direction for where different blocks should be added depending on their purpose.

• Put Initialization blocks here - shows us where we will be setting up some variables, resetting encoders, setting motor directions, and anything else that needs to happen when the code is first activated.

• Put run blocks here - is where anything that will be used when hitting the play button on our Driver Hub should be added.

• Put loop blocks here - is similar to our last comment, but is for anything that needs to be repeated the entire time our program is running and will be halted when pressing the stop button.

This contains the components of the program of the designated name. Anything sitting loose in the programming space, unless in a created function, will not be read when the program is run.

When the Robot Controller reaches the block it will stop and wait until it receives a Start command from the Driver Hub. Any code after this block will get executed only after the Start button has been pressed.

Whenever there is a call opModeIsActive, the Control Hub is checking that the OpMode is supposed to be running and has not been shut down by the Driver Hub. If something happens, for example the Driver Hub shuts off, this will change from true to false since it can no longer be checked, shutting down the current program.

In more complex programs, this call must be included in added loops alongside any other conditions, such as a count, sensor information, or time limit.

This sample Blocks program defaults to being in an iterative control structure, meaning it's intended to continue looping until Stop is pressed on the Driver Hub or a different condition is met.

Code that should continually run so long as the OpMode is active, will be placed in the loop. If a program starts and immediately stops, students may need to double check their code is set to loop.

Let's create our first OpMode to do something similar to how we get started in other programming languages. Let's have the robot read out "Hello World!" on the Driver Hub.

To do this we can make use of telemetry.

Telemetry is the process of collecting and transmitting data. In robotics, telemetry is used to output internal data, such as from the actuators and sensors, to the Driver Hub. It is a way for the robot to communicate back to the programmer what the robot thinks its doing or seeing.

From our Telemetry menu look for the call to add telemetry with a key and text.

The "key" is how we label the data being shown on the Driver Hub. In this case we'll set it to "Robot Says"

The "text" is then our output. This might be data from a sensor or just instructions serving as a reminder for running the code. We can manually enter "Hello World!" for this example.

Snap this block into the loop above the call to update the telemetry.

From here we will click Save OpMode and are ready to give it a try!

To run a program in the Driver Hub, first check it's connected to the intended Control Hub. The name will appear on the Driver Station App as seen here:

Then select the program from the dropdown menu. We will be sticking to TeleOp programs stored in the right menu.

Select the OpMode from the list.

Now we can click Initialize, which let the robot run any set up code we made.

And press Play when ready.

In this example, we can see the message on the right! Pressing Stop will halt the code at any time.

Let's briefly look at what happens if our telemetry block is not in the loop of our OpMode. Try dragging it to be below "Put initialization blocks here" and test it out after saving!

Now try moving the call to update telemetry with it in the initialization area.

In the next section, we'll get the actuators on the testbed spinning!