STEM Smart Labs // Micro:bit Robot Controller

STEM Smart Labs Bluetooth Controller Hub

Offline

Control Board

Drive with keys: ▲ ▼ ◀ ▶ or WASD (Stop: SPACE)

Steer X: 0

Drive Y: 0

Action Switches

Actuators (Servo)

Servo Angle S1 90°

Servo Angle S2 90°

Steer (Roll): 0

Speed (Pitch): 0

Activity: OFFLINE

Packet Console

[System] Console initialized. Ready to connect...

Quick Protocol Reference

Data packets are sent as UTF-8 strings terminated by a newline character (\n):

D-PAD Codes

Sends on press: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT.
Sends on release: up, down, left, right.

Joystick & Tilt Codes

Sends: X+xx,Y+yy\n (where xx, yy are signed integers -90 to 90, e.g. X+00,Y-45).

Action buttons & Sliders

Buttons transmit: Press A, B, C, D; Release a, b, c, d.
Sliders transmit: cVal\n (Slider 1) or xVal\n (Slider 2) padded to 3 digits (e.g. c090, x180).

Follow these steps to connect and control your micro:bit robot using STEM Smart Labs Controller:

Ensure your micro:bit is powered on and Bluetooth is enabled on your computer or phone.
Flash your micro:bit with a program that listens for UART serial data over Bluetooth. See the templates below.
Click the Pair Micro:bit button in the top bar to scan and connect!

MakeCode (Blocks) Programming

In Microsoft MakeCode, configure the following block setup:

Open MakeCode, click Extensions, and search/add bluetooth.
In on start, insert the bluetooth uart service block.
Create a on bluetooth connected block to display a checkbox.
Create a on bluetooth disconnected block to display a cross.
Create a on rx line received event block. In it, read the line value, clean it, and write conditional statements (e.g. if line == "UP" then driveForward() and if line == "up" then stop()).

MicroPython Programming (V2)

# Copy & flash onto micro:bit V2
from microbit import *
import bluetooth

# Setup Bluetooth UART service
uart = bluetooth.Uart()
uart.start()

display.show(Image.ASLEEP)

while True:
    if uart.is_connected():
        display.show(Image.YES)
        # Check for incoming commands
        if uart.any():
            data = uart.readline().decode('utf-8').strip()
            
            # Simple D-Pad actions
            if data == "UP":
                # Drive motors forward
                pass
            elif data == "DOWN":
                # Drive motors backward
                pass
            elif data == "LEFT":
                # Spin left
                pass
            elif data == "RIGHT":
                # Spin right
                pass
            elif data in ["up", "down", "left", "right"]:
                # Stop motors
                pass
            
            # Action Buttons
            elif data == "A":
                # Button A pressed
                pass
            elif data == "a":
                # Button A released
                pass
            
            # Slider 1/C (parse "c180" -> 180)
            elif data.startswith("c"):
                try:
                    servo_val = int(data[1:])
                    # Set servo 1 angle to servo_val
                except:
                    pass
                    
            # Slider 2/X (parse "x180" -> 180)
            elif data.startswith("x"):
                try:
                    servo_val = int(data[1:])
                    # Set servo 2 angle to servo_val
                except:
                    pass

            # Joystick actions (parse "X+45,Y-90")
            elif data.startswith("X") and ",Y" in data:
                try:
                    parts = data.split(',')
                    joyX = int(parts[0][1:])
                    joyY = int(parts[1][2:])
                    # Map joyX and joyY to motor speeds
                except:
                    pass
    else:
        display.show(Image.NO)
        sleep(200)

Control Board

Action Switches

Actuators (Servo)

Setup & Programming Guide

MakeCode (Blocks) Programming

MicroPython Programming (V2) Copy Code

MicroPython Programming (V2)