Cubelets - 1 of 6

Cubelets Brief Summary You don’t need to know how to code or wire to construct robots with Cubelets. Snap the robot blocks together and the magnetic faces do the rest. Every unique arrangement is a new robot with novel behaviors emerging from the construction. Invention made easy.

Equipment Required Black bin of cubelets

Cubelets

Main Teaching Points

A robot does three things: sense, plan and act. You can build a simple robot with just 3 cubelets.

Robots are used in many ways including space exploration. (For example, see Robot Geologist on Mars Exhibit near Planetarium).

Set Up

1. Cubelets are stored in the far left cabinet under the Experiment Bar. 2. Unplug all the battery cubelets, leaving charging cords in the cabinet. 3. Place black bin on counter and turn on battery cubelets. Begin building robots!

Cubelets - 2 of 6

Suggested Ways of Presenting this Demo Introduce the activity to guests by saying something like “Can you build a robot using these these blocks? All robots sense, plan and act. All cubelet robots must have a gray battery cube, a black Sensing cube, and a clear Action cube. Investigate how many different ways you can make your robot behave by changing the way you put the Cubelets together. If your robot doesn’t work right away, try putting the cubes in a different order. Investigate how many different ways you can make your robot behave by rearranging the Cubelets into different configurations. See if you can figure out what the robot is sensing. Try to make a theory and then try different ways of testing it.” To facilitate more interaction with the guests, ask questions such as the following:

What do you think is causing your robot to move? What could your robot be sensing? How can you test for this? Encourage them to try something like clapping, speaking to it, etc. Help them notice that whenever they come close to the black Sense Cubelet the robot moves

What makes your robot stop moving? Your robot is moving forward, can you get it to move backward? Can you get your robot to move in a circle? How many different configurations can you make, and how does each effect the action of

your robot? Can you build your robot to be taller than one cube high? Are there other ways to get your robot to move besides using your hand? If you could use this robot for a task, what might you get this robot to do?

If you could add another act cube to this robot what might that act cube be, and what might your robot be able to do?

Take Down Procedure

Turn off the battery cubelets

Place all cubelets back in the black bin.

Place the black bin of cubelets under the Experiment Bar in the far left cabinet.

Plug the charging cords in the cabinet into all the battery cubelets.

Cubelet Blocks

Battery

This battery cubelet provides the energy needed to

make your robots spin, drive and squawk.

Cubelets - 3 of 6

Blocker

The Blocker Cubelet is a basic building block that

"blocks" data from its neighbors. It still passes power,

but effectively stops communication and can insulate

one side of a robot from another.

Brightness

Detects the amount of light hitting it's sensor. The

Brightness Cubelet has a photocell that responds to

varying light conditions. Expect values near zero in a

dark room, and values near one when the sensor is in

front of a bright light.

Distance

The Distance Cubelet detects how far it is from an

object. It uses infrared light and is accurate for

distances between 10 and 80 cm. The sensor is

directional, so it outputs the distance to the object in

front of the sensor. At 10cm, the block will output

values near 1, and toward 80cm it will output values

near 0.

Drive

The Drive Cubelet contains a motor and roller wheels

for moving on a horizontal surface. The Drive

Cubelet only moves in one direction, slowing to a

stop with a value of zero and moving faster with

higher input values.

Flashlight

The Flashlight Cubelet emits a focused beam of light

from a powerful white LED. The light is off with a

value of 0, and becomes brighter with higher input

values.

Cubelets - 4 of 6

Inverse

The Inverse Cubelet calculates a value that is the

opposite of the values it receives. Specifically, the

Inverse Cubelet will calculate a weighted average of

its inputs and then output a value of one minus that

average.

Passive

The Passive Cubelet is a basic building block. It

carries power and data from its neighbors, but it

basically acts like a smart brick. It doesn't move,

sense, or change the data in any way.

Robots in Space (Article from Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/43750/robots-in-space/)

When it comes to exploring the hostile environment of space, robots have done a lot (if not

most) of the exploring. The only other planet besides Earth that humans have set foot on is

the Moon. Robotic explorers, however, have set down on the Moon, Mars, Venus, Titan and

Jupiter, as well as a few comets and asteroids. Robotic missions can travel further and faster,

and can return more scientific data than missions that include humans. There is much

debate on whether the future of space exploration should rely solely on robots, or whether

humans should have a role.

As contentious as this issue is, there is no doubt that robots have and will continue to

contribute to our understanding of the Universe. Here’s a short list of past, current, and future

robotic missions that have done or will do much in the way of exploration of our cosmos.

The most famous robots in space have to be the

series of orbiters, rovers and landers that have

been sent to Mars. The first orbiter was Mariner

4, which flew past Mars on July 14, 1965 and

took the first close up photos of another planet.

The first landers were the Viking landers. Viking

Cubelets - 5 of 6

1 landed July 20, 1976, and Viking 2 on September 3, 1976. Both landers were

accompanied by orbiters that took photos and scientific data from above the planet.

The landers included instruments to detect for life on the surface of Mars, but the data

they returned is somewhat ambiguous, and the question of whether there is life on

Mars still requires an answer. Currently, Spirit and Opportunity are roving away on the

Martian surface, well past their expected mission lifetime, and the Phoenix

lander returned a wealth of information about our neighbor.

Mars isn’t the only place to go in the Solar

System, though. Both the U.S. and the Russians

sent numerous missions to Venus, with a lot of

successes and failures. The most notable firsts

are: Mariner 2 was the first successful Venus flyby

on December 14, 1962, and the Russian lander

Venera 7 was the first human-made vehicle to

successfully land on another planet and transmit data back to Earth on December 14,

1962.

Sputnik 1, of course, was the first robot in space, and was launched October 4th, 1957

by the USSR.

The Voyager missions are notable for the milestone of having a robot leave the Solar

System. Voyager 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 are still making their way out of the

Solar System, and have entered the heliopause, where the solar wind starts to drop

off, and the interstellar wind picks up.

Dextre, a robotic arm developed by the Canadian Space Association, is a very cool

robot aboard the International Space Station. Dexter allows for delicate manipulation

of objects outside the station, reducing the number of space walks and increasing the

ability of the ISS crew to maintain and upgrade the station.

There are many, many future robotic missions in the works and still in the “dreaming”

stage. For example, submarines may one day explore Europa, landers may crawl on

the Moon, and spacecraft will orbit comets.

Cubelets - 6 of 6

Background materials

Getting Started With Cubelets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPAOCOJibfQ&feature=youtu.be

Cubelets Lesson Plans http://www.modrobotics.com/education/#lesson-plans

Robots in Space http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/robots_in_space.htm

Robonaut 2 http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/R2/

NASA Robotics http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/index.html#.V6IiRIMrJQI

1860 38th St.Boulder, CO 80301

www.modrobotics.com

Getting Started Guide

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 2

1. Make Your First Robot

The Dimbot – Uses a clear Flashlight Action

block, black Distance Sense block, and a

blueish-gray Battery block. It doesn’t matter

where you put the Battery block.

When you snap together a Battery block, a

Distance Sense block, and a Flashlight Action

block, the Flashlight Action block lights up.

You control its brightness by moving your

hand or an object closer or further from the

“eyes” on the black Distance block.

This robot’s light dims when you move your

hand away, so you could call it a Dimbot.

2. Understanding Your Cubelets

Cubelets come in three types: Sense blocks,

Action blocks, and Think blocks. Sense

blocks are black, Action blocks are clear,

and Think blocks are different colors. Most

Cubelets have five connection faces and one

special face, which identifies the function

of that Cubelet. Others have six connection

faces and their function is indicated by their

color.

Every Cubelet has a small LED light in one

corner. When the Cubelet is part of a robot

and the robot’s Battery block is turned on,

the LED light is on, too. The LED light shows

that the Cubelet is getting power and talking

to its neighbors. Each Cubelet robot must

have one Battery block which powers all the

other blocks in the robot.

The Battery block has a small switch. When

you slide it to the “O,” the Battery block is off.

Slide to the line, “|,” and it is on. Turn it off to

save battery life when you aren’t playing with

your Cubelets.

The Battery block has an internal,

rechargeable battery. To recharge the

Battery block, plug it into a micro-USB power

source.

Each connecting face of a Cubelet has three

conductors. The outer ring and magnets

conduct ground; the inner metal ring

conducts power; and the center pin conducts

data from one Cubelet to the next. These

three conductors must connect with their

neighboring counterparts in order for two

Cubelets to communicate.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 3

3. What’s a Robot?

4. Swap Sense Blocks

A robot is a machine that senses its

surroundings and acts on its surroundings.

Every robot needs a Sense block and an

Action block. Sense blocks are black and

Action blocks are clear.

Every robot needs power. The blue-gray block

is the Battery block. The Battery block has

an on-off switch. Make sure it’s on before you

start to play; turn it off when you’re done.

To build a robot, you will need a gray block,

a black block, and a clear block. Just snap

them together and you’ve built a robot!

Now take out the Dimbot’s Distance Sense

block. Put a Brightness Sense block in its

place. You still have a flashlight robot, but now

its brightness depends on the light around it.

Test it: Cover the Brightness Sense block with

your hand and the flashlight dims. Move your

hand away and the Flashlight gets brighter.

These cubes are modular which means you

can swap any Sense block for any other Sense

block. You’ll still have a robot, just a different

robot. In the Dimbot we swapped a Distance

Sense block for a Brightness Sense block to

make a Light-sensitive Dimbot.

This guide is also available on the Modular

Robotics website!

Accelerate your learning with a quick and easy

getting started video, watch it on YouTube.

http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/cubelets-getting-started/

https://youtu.be/YPAOCOJibfQ

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 4

5. Swap Action Blocks

This simple brightness go-bot robot has a

Drive Action block (left) that moves the robot

when its Brightness Sense block sees light.

The gray block on the right is the Battery

block.

You can also swap Action blocks. With a Light-

sensitive Dimbot now put a Drive Action block

in place of the Flashlight Action block. Now

your robot has a Brightness Sense and a Drive

block (and, of course, a Battery block).

This robot moves when it senses light. In a

bright room it’s a fast robot. In a dark room

it’s a Slowbot.

Try more swapping.

What if you use a Speaker Action block

instead of the Drive Action block? You get a

Canarybot.

What about a Distance Sense block instead of

a Brightness Sense block? You get a Fraidybot

or a Friendlybot depending on the way the

wheels are positioned. By turning the Drive

Action block so that the robot goes backward

instead of forward, you’ll have a Friendlybot or

Fraidybot.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 5

6. How Numbers Flow

The arrow shows the flow of a number from

the Brightness Sense block to the Flashlight

Action block.

Each black Sense block senses some property

of its surroundings and turns it into a number.

Each Sense block tells its number to all its

neighbors. You can see them “talking” as

the green lights on each block flicker. (The

Bluetooth flashes different colors.)

For example, the Knob Sense block senses

how much you rotate its knob. When you

turn the knob all the way counterclockwise

(left), the Knob Sense block produces a small

number. Turn it clockwise, to the right, to

produce a big number.

The Brightness Sense block senses how light

the room is. In a dark place, the Brightness

Sense block produces a small number. In

a light place, the Brightness Sense block

produces a big number.

Each Action block takes numbers from its

neighbors and turns the numbers into an

action.

The Flashlight Action block takes a number

and lights its lamp. A big number makes

the lamp bright. A small number makes the

lamp dim. Think of the number as hopping or

flowing from one block to the next. Numbers

are flowing through the blocks of the robot

from Sense blocks to Action blocks all the

time. That’s what makes the robot behave

the way it does.

Numbers don’t flow through Sense blocks.

Each Sense block produces its own number,

so it doesn’t pass numbers from its

neighbors.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 6

7. Using the Bar Graph to See the Numbers

You can use the Bar Graph Action block to

understand what’s going on inside your

robot—to show the numbers flowing from

block to block.

Attach the Bar Graph Action block to any

block in a robot. The Bar Graph Action block

shows how big the number is. If the number

is big, all the cells in the bar graph light. If

the number is small, only a few light up. If the

number is very small (or zero) no cells light at

all.

Try it. Build a simple Brightness Gobot with

a Brightness Sense block and a Drive Action

block. Attach the Bar Graph Action block to

one of the blocks. If there’s a lot of light, the

Bar Graph Action block will show a full bar

(and the Drive Action block will move fast). If

there’s not much light, the Bar Graph Action

block won’t light much.

You don’t need the Bar Graph Action block to

understand what’s going on with this simple

robot. But, with bigger and more complicated

robots, the Bar Graph Action block can help.

8. Arrangement of Cubelets Makes a Difference

The pictured robots have different versions

because you can put the Drive Action block

into the robot in different ways. One way, the

robot goes straight. The other way, the robot

goes around and around--you could call it a

Turnabot.

It’s not just which Sensor and Action blocks

you choose. It’s also how you position and

situate the Cubelets. The same Cubelets

arranged in a different physical configuration

make different robots.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 7

For example, make a robot and place the

Brightness Sense block so its sensor face

points down. Now it doesn’t see the light. This

Gobot is a Nogobot. No matter how bright the

room is, the robot won’t go. Its Brightness

Sense block doesn’t sense the light.

Try placing the Brightness Sense block to face

in different directions. How does that impact

the robot’s behavior?

9. Stability

Some robots are more stable than others.

These robots all have a Distance Sense block

and a Drive Action block, but the differences in

their assembly produce different behaviors.

Try building a simple Gobot with a Distance

Sense block and a Drive Action block. It’s

stable if you build a train with all three blocks

(the Battery block, the Drive Action block, and

the Distance Sense block) arranged in a row.

The Distance Sense block produces a big

number when something gets near it. You can

chase this Fraidybot around with your hand.

When you get near the Fraidybot, it runs away.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 8

If you build this robot as a tower instead of

a train, it still works, but it’s no longer stable:

approach the Distance Sense block and the

Drive Action block starts moving. Accelerate

too quickly and the tower falls over.

You can fix this: add a block at the bottom

next to the Drive Action block. Any block will

do, but try one of the green blocks, either a

Passive block or a Blocker block.

Notice that you can build this Gobot in

different ways. If the Distance Sense block

faces the same direction that the Drive Action

block moves, your robot comes towards your

hand.

If you turn the Distance Sense so it faces the

opposite direction, it moves away. You can

chase it around with your hand or change the

direction of the wheels on the Drive Action

Block.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 9

10. A Sense Can Control Multiple Action Blocks

You can use a single Sense block to control

one or more Action blocks.

Build a Lighthousebot that uses the Knob

Sense block to control the speed and the

brightness of a rotating robot tower. The

Lighthousebot uses the Knob Sense block to

control the speed of the Rotate Action block

and the brightness of the Flashlight Action

block.

Build a simple Gobot with a Brightness Sense

block and a Drive Action block: It goes when it

senses light.

Add a Speaker Action block. Now it goes and

chirps when it senses light. Add a Flashlight

Action block. Now it goes and chirps and lights

up when it senses light. Add all the Action

blocks you want. They all respond to the same

Brightness Sense block.

With a lot of light on the Brightness Sense

block, all the Action blocks will act a lot.

Without light on the Brightness Sense block,

the Action blocks won’t do much.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 10

11. Think Blocks

You’ve met the Battery block, and the black

Sense blocks and the clear Action blocks. It’s

time to meet the colored Think blocks. Think

blocks are the colored blocks.

Because Robots are machines that sense

first, then think, then act, we need to be

sure Think blocks are placed between the

Sense block and the Action block you want to

impact.

In addition to the green Passive block, the

simplest Think block is the red Inverse Think

block.

12. The Inverse Think Block

To make a Nightbot light up when it’s in a dark

place, you need a Red Inverse block. Ooops!

This robot as pictured is wrong. Can you figure

out why?

Let’s go back to the Light-sensitive Dimbot. It

has a Brightness Sense block and a Flashlight

Action block. (It also has a Battery block, of

course, but we’re going to stop mentioning the

Battery block because every robot has one.)

The Dimbot made a silly flashlight. Its lamp

is bright when it’s in a bright room, and

dark when it’s in a dark room. We’d prefer a

flashlight robot that turns on when it’s dark,

and turns off when it’s light. That’s why we

need the red Inverse Think block.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 11

Put the red Inverse block between the

Brightness Sense block and the Flashlight

Action block. Remember the number flow

story: every Sense block produces a number.

The Brightness Sense block produces a big

number when it senses a lot of light. It tells

that big number to its neighbor (the Flashlight

Action block), which turns the big number into

a bright light.

The Inverse Think block turns a big number

into a small number (and a small number into

a big number).

When we put the Inverse Think block into the

robot, numbers pass through it from Sense

block to Action block. When the Brightness

Sense block senses a lot of light it produces

a big number, which the Inverse Think block

turns into a small number, and passes to the

Flashlight Action block, which dims its lamp.

It also works the other way. When you put the

robot in a dark room (or shade it with your

hand) the Brightness Sense block produces a

small number. The Inverse Think block turns

it into a big number, and the Flashlight Action

block makes its light bright: A Nightbot that

turns on in a dark room, and turns off in a

bright room.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 12

Swap out the Flashlight Action block and put a

Drive Action block in its place. Now you’ve built

a robot that goes when it’s dark, and stops

when it’s light.

The Inverse Think block in this Night-Gobot

inverts the number from the Brightness Sense

block before passing it to the Drive Action

block. In low light, the Brightness Sense block

produces a small number; the Inverse Think

block inverts it to a big number, which makes

the Drive Action block go fast. In bright light,

the Brightness Sense block produces a big

number, which the Inverse Think block inverts

to a small number, so the Drive Action block

moves slowly, or not at all.

13. Differential Drive

Put two Gobots together on a robot (facing

the same way) and you’ve built a Steeringbot.

The Steeringbot has two Gobot towers with a

Battery block in between. Each Gobot tower

responds to nearby objects. Put your hand

near the right side Gobot tower and its Drive

Action block will go, while the left side’s Drive

Action block stays still (or goes slower).

When one Drive Action block moves and the

other doesn’t, or turns the other way, the

Steeringbot turns. That’s called “differential

drive steering.”

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 13

14. Action Blocks Average Their Inputs

If your robot has two Sense blocks and one

Action block, which one controls the robot?

Build a Testbot with two Distance Sense

blocks and a Bar Graph Action block between

them.

The Bar Graph Action block shows a low value

if neither Distance Sense block senses an

object. Put one hand in front of each Distance

Sense block. They will both produce a high

number. The Bar Graph Action block shows a

high number.

Now put your hand in front of just one of

the Distance Sense blocks. This block now

produces a high number while the other

Distance Sense block produces a low number.

The Bar Graph Action block takes both

numbers and averages them. It shows a

number that is halfway between the numbers

it gets from its two Distance Sense neighbors.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 14

15. Gradients: Diffusion

This robot shows the gradient story. The Bar

Graph Action block is attached to one of two

Passive blocks between two Distance Sense

blocks, one at each end of the robot. The

closer Distance Sense block has a bigger

effect on the Bar Graph Action block. If your

robot has an Action block right between two

Sense blocks, the Action block averages the

numbers the two Sense blocks tell it.

If one Sense block is farther from the Action

block than the other, then the closer block

has a stronger effect. You can test this using

the Bar Graph block. Build a robot with the two

Distance Sense blocks on either end and two

Passive blocks between them. Add a Bar Graph

Action block to one of the Passive blocks.

Now play with your robot: put one hand in front

of each Distance Sense block, so that the Bar

Graph Action block reads high (all its cells

light). Take your hand away from the Distance

Sense block that is farther from the Bar Graph

Action block. Now put your hand back and try

the other Distance Sense block. The Bar Graph

Action block responds more strongly to the

closer Distance Sense block.

An Action block acts according to the average

of the Sense block numbers it gets, weighted

by the distances (number of blocks from

Sense block to Action block, or “hop count”)

they’ve travelled.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 15

16. Use The Minimum Block as a Switch

Suppose you want to make a light-sensitive

Gobot—it goes when it sees light. But you also

want to be able to turn it off. Of course, you

can just switch off the battery, or take out the

Battery block. But you can also use Cubelets

to make an on-off switch. Here’s how.

An ordinary Light-sensitive Gobot just has

two blocks: a Brightness Sense block and a

Drive Action block (plus a Battery block). The

number from the Brightness Sense block

tells the Drive Action block how fast to go. A

brighter light, a bigger number, a faster go-

bot.

Take out the Brightness Sense block and

put a Minimum Think block in its place. This

Minimum Think block will tell the Drive Action

block how fast to go. It will take all the

numbers its Sense block neighbors give it,

and choose the smallest (minimum) of those

numbers. This smallest number is what it will

pass on to its Action block neighbors.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 16

Attach the Brightness Sense block to the

Minimum Think block, and also attach a Knob

Sense block. Now, if you turn the Knob Sense

block all the way counterclockwise (left), then

the Minimum Think block tells the Drive Action

block, “zero”, because this is the smaller of

the numbers it’s getting. If you turn the Knob

Sense block all the way clockwise (right), then

the Minimum Think block will tell the Drive

Action block whatever number it’s getting

from the Brightness Sense block. With the

Minimum Think block, the Knob Sense block

acts like an on-off switch.

17. Use the Blocker Block to Separate Two Parts of a Robot

The dark green Blocker Think block passes

power but does not allow numbers to flow

through it. Use it to build a robot with two

parts that don’t talk to each other. Here’s

an example: One half of the robot is a

Lighthousebot with a spinning light; the other

half is a robot that chirps when it sees the

light from the Lighthousebot.

The Lighthousebot is Knob Sense block that

controls the speed of a Rotate Action block,

and on top of that, a Flashlight Action block

that points outward (sideways). When you turn

the Knob Sense clockwise (to the right), the

light goes on and spins.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 17

Now add a Blocker block to the base (say, on

the Battery). Then, on the other side of the

Blocker block add a Speaker Action block, and,

on top, put a Brightness Sense block with its

sensor face pointing towards the rotating

light. The Speaker Action block chirps (if the

room is bright).

To the right of the green Blocker block is a

mini lighthouse: a Knob Sense block, a Rotate

Action block and a Flashlight Action block. The

Flashlight Action block spins when you turn

up the Knob Sense block. When light from the

spinning Flashlight Action block strikes the

Brightness Sense block, the Speaker Action

block responds by chirping faster.

18. Using the Threshold

The Threshold Cubelet is a Think block with an

adjustable knob. Unlike most Think Cubelets,

the Threshold allows you to alter its effect

within the robot. The Threshold Cubelet acts

as an insulator, or blocker, of numbers below

a value established by the Threshold knob.

Numbers above the set Threshold value will

continue to flow from block to block.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 18

Construct a Testbot with a Battery, Bar Graph,

and Distance Sensor. The closer an object

is to the Distance Sensor, the higher the

value displayed on the Bar Graph Cubelet.

Now, place the Threshold Cubelet between

the Distance Sensor and Bar Graph. Set the

Threshold value to the lowest setting. You’ll

notice that the Threshold Cubelet doesn’t

seem to have any effect. That’s because we’ve

set the Threshold value at a low number… so,

any number above the Threshold value, 0, will

pass on from block to block.

If you turn the Threshold Knob up to about 50

percent, you’ll notice that numbers below the

halfway mark don’t appear on the Bar Graph

display. Once numbers from the Distance

Sensor exceed the Threshold value, you’ll

notice that the Bar Graph display will show

values normally.

You can adjust the Threshold Cubelet settings

to create robots that respond suddenly or to

build binary behaviors.

© Modular Robotics, 2016 www.modrobotics.comPage 19

19. Using the Bluetooth

The Bluetooth Cubelet is a THINK block with

special abilities. It has a Bluetooth radio

inside that enables devices like a computer,

tablet, or smartphone to communicate

with Cubelets. Using the FREE Cubelets App

you can control your robots with any iOS or

Android device. With the release of Cubelets

OS 4, Modular Robotics periodically releases

firmware updates and new features via the

Bluetooth Cubelet.

http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/bluetooth-getting-started/

http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/apps/cubelets-flash/

Need help? Email us!support@modrobotics.com

20. A Note to Experienced Programmers

Experienced programmers often ask, “So

which block is the IF-THEN block”. Or, “Which

block is the CPU?” We understand the

questions, but that’s not how Cubelets work.

Building robots with Cubelets is different

from the procedural programming (in C, Java,

or BASIC) that you may know. In procedural

programming, a robot’s behavior results

from executing a sequence of instructions

in the robot’s “brain” (usually a single

microcontroller).

Cubelets operate with a completely different

model: distributed programming.

Every Cubelet has a microcontroller.

The robot’s behavior results from local

interactions between Sense, Think, and

Action blocks and the numbers flowing from

block to block.

There’s no single “brain” block, and there’s

no sequence of instructions. There are

no variables, functions, or procedural

logic. Instead, in Cubelets, the robot is

the program. The way you put the blocks

together determines the way numbers

flow from Sense to Action blocks, and this

determines your robot’s behavior.