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Jonathan Sun
Created December 31, 2019

Cute WALL-E Robot

Cute Wall-E Robot with 2 large motors and 1 medium motor to move around and look around the world following Alex voice commands. :-)

IntermediateFull instructions provided2 days18
Cute WALL-E Robot

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Mindstorms EV3 Programming Brick / Kit
LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Programming Brick / Kit
Used 2 large motors and 1 medium motor as movement engines.
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Amazon Alexa Echo Show 5
Echo Dot with its mobile app should also work.
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Edimax EW-7811Un 150Mbps 11n Wi-Fi USB Adapter
Wifi is not working smoothly in my used ev3dev image, so add this wifi usb adapter to help on it.
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ASUS USB Bluetooth Adapter
Bluetooth is not working smoothly in my used ev3dev image, so add this bluetooth usb adapter to help on it.
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Ultra-Slim USB Hub
Only 1 USB port available in EV3, so connect Bluetooth usb adapter and wifi usb adapter to the only EV3 USB port through this USB hub.
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SanDisk 16G MicroSD Card
MicroSD card to store the OS which support Python functions.
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Apple MacBook Air Laptop
Install Visual Code, edit and debug the codes. You can choose other PC or laptop and make sure PC/laptop, EV3 and Alex Dot/Show in the same internal network.
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Software apps and online services

ev3dev-stretch-ev3-generic-2019-10-23 image
This image is with Python support in it. Unzip it to get the inside .image file and then use balenaEtcher to burn that image file to MicroSD card. And this MicroSD card will be inserted into EV3 SD card slot to boot from this SD to get Python supported OS.
balenaEtcher
balenaEtcher is to burn OS to microSD card.
VS Code
Microsoft VS Code
Code editing and debug tool
Alexa Gadgets Toolkit
Amazon Alexa Alexa Gadgets Toolkit
Alexa Skills Kit
Amazon Alexa Alexa Skills Kit

Story

Read more

Schematics

Schematics

Used 2 large motors for move around, and 1 medium motor to move IR sensor to "look" around.

Code

Move_Around_and_Look_Around

Python
Move around and look around following Alex commends
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# Copyright 2019 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.  All Rights Reserved.
# 
# You may not use this file except in compliance with the terms and conditions 
# set forth in the accompanying LICENSE.TXT file.
#
# THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. AMAZON SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS, WITH 
# RESPECT TO THESE MATERIALS, ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING 
# THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

import os
import sys
import time
import logging
import json
import random
import threading

from enum import Enum
from agt import AlexaGadget

from ev3dev2.led import Leds
from ev3dev2.sound import Sound
from ev3dev2.motor import OUTPUT_A, OUTPUT_B, OUTPUT_C, OUTPUT_D, MoveTank, SpeedPercent, MediumMotor

# Set the logging level to INFO to see messages from AlexaGadget
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, stream=sys.stdout, format='%(message)s')
logging.getLogger().addHandler(logging.StreamHandler(sys.stderr))
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)


class Direction(Enum):
    """
    The list of directional commands and their variations.
    These variations correspond to the skill slot values.
    """
    FORWARD = ['forward', 'forwards', 'go forward']
    BACKWARD = ['back', 'backward', 'backwards', 'go backward']
    LEFT = ['left', 'go left']
    RIGHT = ['right', 'go right']
    STOP = ['stop', 'brake']


class Command(Enum):
    """
    The list of preset commands and their invocation variation.
    These variations correspond to the skill slot values.
    """
    MOVE_CIRCLE = ['circle', 'spin']
    MOVE_SQUARE = ['square']
    PATROL = ['patrol', 'guard mode', 'sentry mode']
    # FIRE_ONE = ['cannon', '1 shot', 'one shot']
    # FIRE_ALL = ['all shot']
    HEAD_MOVE= ['look around', 'look', 'around'] # move head to look around


class MindstormsGadget(AlexaGadget):
    """
    A Mindstorms gadget that performs movement based on voice commands.
    Two types of commands are supported, directional movement and preset.
    """

    def __init__(self):
        """
        Performs Alexa Gadget initialization routines and ev3dev resource allocation.
        """
        super().__init__()

        # Gadget state
        self.patrol_mode = False

        # Ev3dev initialization
        self.leds = Leds()
        self.sound = Sound()
        self.drive = MoveTank(OUTPUT_B, OUTPUT_C)
        self.look  = MediumMotor(OUTPUT_D) # move head to look around
        # self.weapon = MediumMotor(OUTPUT_A)

        # Start threads
        threading.Thread(target=self._patrol_thread, daemon=True).start()

    def on_connected(self, device_addr):
        """
        Gadget connected to the paired Echo device.
        :param device_addr: the address of the device we connected to
        """
        self.leds.set_color("LEFT", "GREEN")
        self.leds.set_color("RIGHT", "GREEN")
        logger.info("{} connected to Echo device".format(self.friendly_name))

    def on_disconnected(self, device_addr):
        """
        Gadget disconnected from the paired Echo device.
        :param device_addr: the address of the device we disconnected from
        """
        self.leds.set_color("LEFT", "BLACK")
        self.leds.set_color("RIGHT", "BLACK")
        logger.info("{} disconnected from Echo device".format(self.friendly_name))

    def on_custom_mindstorms_gadget_control(self, directive):
        """
        Handles the Custom.Mindstorms.Gadget control directive.
        :param directive: the custom directive with the matching namespace and name
        """
        try:
            payload = json.loads(directive.payload.decode("utf-8"))
            print("Control payload: {}".format(payload), file=sys.stderr)
            control_type = payload["type"]
            if control_type == "move":

                # Expected params: [direction, duration, speed]
                self._move(payload["direction"], int(payload["duration"]), int(payload["speed"]))

            if control_type == "command":
                # Expected params: [command]
                self._activate(payload["command"])

        except KeyError:
            print("Missing expected parameters: {}".format(directive), file=sys.stderr)

    def _move(self, direction, duration: int, speed: int, is_blocking=False):
        """
        Handles move commands from the directive.
        Right and left movement can under or over turn depending on the surface type.
        :param direction: the move direction
        :param duration: the duration in seconds
        :param speed: the speed percentage as an integer
        :param is_blocking: if set, motor run until duration expired before accepting another command
        """
        print("Move command: ({}, {}, {}, {})".format(direction, speed, duration, is_blocking), file=sys.stderr)
        if direction in Direction.FORWARD.value:
            self.drive.on_for_seconds(SpeedPercent(speed), SpeedPercent(speed), duration, block=is_blocking)

        if direction in Direction.BACKWARD.value:
            self.drive.on_for_seconds(SpeedPercent(-speed), SpeedPercent(-speed), duration, block=is_blocking)

        if direction in (Direction.RIGHT.value + Direction.LEFT.value):
            self._turn(direction, speed)
            self.drive.on_for_seconds(SpeedPercent(speed), SpeedPercent(speed), duration, block=is_blocking)

        if direction in Direction.STOP.value:
            self.drive.off()
            self.patrol_mode = False

    def _activate(self, command, speed=50):
        """
        Handles preset commands.
        :param command: the preset command
        :param speed: the speed if applicable
        """
        print("Activate command: ({}, {})".format(command, speed), file=sys.stderr)
        if command in Command.MOVE_CIRCLE.value:
            self.drive.on_for_seconds(SpeedPercent(int(speed)), SpeedPercent(5), 12)

        if command in Command.MOVE_SQUARE.value:
            for i in range(4):
                self._move("right", 2, speed, is_blocking=True)

        if command in Command.PATROL.value:
            # Set patrol mode to resume patrol thread processing
            self.patrol_mode = True

        # if command in Command.FIRE_ONE.value:
        #     self.weapon.on_for_rotations(SpeedPercent(100), 3)

        #if command in Command.FIRE_ALL.value:
        #    self.weapon.on_for_rotations(SpeedPercent(100), 10)
        
        if command in Command.HEAD_MOVE.value: # move head to look around
            self.look.on_for_rotations(SpeedPercent(30), 0.5)
            self.look.on_for_rotations(SpeedPercent(-30), 1)
            self.look.on_for_rotations(SpeedPercent(30), 0.5)

    def _turn(self, direction, speed):
        """
        Turns based on the specified direction and speed.
        Calibrated for hard smooth surface.
        :param direction: the turn direction
        :param speed: the turn speed
        """
        if direction in Direction.LEFT.value:
            self.drive.on_for_seconds(SpeedPercent(0), SpeedPercent(speed), 2)

        if direction in Direction.RIGHT.value:
            self.drive.on_for_seconds(SpeedPercent(speed), SpeedPercent(0), 2)    


    def _patrol_thread(self):
        """
        Performs random movement when patrol mode is activated.
        """
        while True:
            while self.patrol_mode:
                print("Patrol mode activated randomly picks a path", file=sys.stderr)
                direction = random.choice(list(Direction))
                duration = random.randint(1, 5)
                speed = random.randint(1, 4) * 25

                while direction == Direction.STOP:
                    direction = random.choice(list(Direction))

                # direction: all except stop, duration: 1-5s, speed: 25, 50, 75, 100
                self._move(direction.value[0], duration, speed)
                time.sleep(duration)
            time.sleep(1)


if __name__ == '__main__':

    gadget = MindstormsGadget()

    # Set LCD font and turn off blinking LEDs
    os.system('setfont Lat7-Terminus12x6')
    gadget.leds.set_color("LEFT", "BLACK")
    gadget.leds.set_color("RIGHT", "BLACK")

    # Startup sequence
    gadget.sound.play_song((('C4', 'e'), ('D4', 'e'), ('E5', 'q')))
    gadget.leds.set_color("LEFT", "GREEN")
    gadget.leds.set_color("RIGHT", "GREEN")

    # Gadget main entry point
    gadget.main()

    # Shutdown sequence
    gadget.sound.play_song((('E5', 'e'), ('C4', 'e')))
    gadget.leds.set_color("LEFT", "BLACK")
    gadget.leds.set_color("RIGHT", "BLACK")

model.json

JSON
Alex model skill json
{
  "interactionModel": {
    "languageModel": {
      "invocationName": "mindstorms",
      "intents": [
        {
          "name": "AMAZON.CancelIntent",
          "samples": []
        },
        {
          "name": "AMAZON.HelpIntent",
          "samples": []
        },
        {
          "name": "AMAZON.StopIntent",
          "samples": []
        },
        {
          "name": "AMAZON.NavigateHomeIntent",
          "samples": []
        },
        {
          "name": "MoveIntent",
          "slots": [
            {
              "name": "Direction",
              "type": "DirectionType"
            },
            {
              "name": "Duration",
              "type": "AMAZON.NUMBER"
            }
          ],
          "samples": [
            "{Direction} now",
            "{Direction} {Duration} seconds",
            "move {Direction} for {Duration} seconds"
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "SetSpeedIntent",
          "slots": [
            {
              "name": "Speed",
              "type": "AMAZON.NUMBER"
            }
          ],
          "samples": [
            "set speed {Speed} percent",
            "set {Speed} percent speed",
            "set speed to {Speed} percent"
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "SetCommandIntent",
          "slots": [
            {
              "name": "Command",
              "type": "CommandType"
            }
          ],
          "samples": [
            "activate {Command} mode",
            "move in a {Command}",
            "fire {Command}",
            "activate {Command}"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "types": [
        {
          "name": "DirectionType",
          "values": [
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "brake"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "go backward"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "go forward"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "go right"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "go left"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "right"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "left"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "backwards"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "backward"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "forwards"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "forward"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "CommandType",
          "values": [
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "circle"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "square"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "patrol"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "look around"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "look"
              }
            },
            {
              "name": {
                "value": "around"
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Full source codes (skill-nodejs, lambda, python)

Full source codes (skill-nodejs, lambda, python)

Credits

Jonathan Sun

Jonathan Sun

1 project • 0 followers

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