Modular Robotics Moss Zombonitron 1600 User manual

Zombonitron 1600
Guide to Getting Started

www.modrobotics.com
MOSS is designed and assembled by Modular Robotics in
Boulder, CO USA from components made all over the world.
Modular Robotics
3085 Blu Street
Boulder, CO 80301
[phone]
For questions and more robots, visit:
Ver. 3.0

1. Getting Started
Every MOSS robot needs a Battery Block. The Zombonitron 1600 kit
includes one Extended Battery Block. Flip the power switch on and the
green LED will tell you that your Extended Battery Block is charged.
It’ll turn red when it’s getting low, but you can recharge it using the
included Micro USB cable. Just plug it into your computer until the
yellow charging light turns o!
Attach a Motor Block so that one of its green power faces is
connected to a green power face on the Extended Battery Block. Now
the Motor Block is plugged in, but it still needs an input to tell it how to
spin.
Attach a Proximity Sensor with one of its green faces connected to a
green power face on the Extended Battery Block. Make sure that the
red data-output face of the Proximity Sensor is connected to one of
the Motor’s brown data-input faces.
Woo! You just created a simple MOSS robot. The Motor now responds
to the Proximity Sensor. Move your hand in front of it to nd the sweet
spot where the Motor stops and changes direction.
Extended
Battery
x1
Motor
x1
Proximity
Sensor
x1
A
B
C
D
A
B
C
D

2. Face Colors
Power
Green faces route power
throughout a MOSS robot.
Once a block is powered by
connecting a green face to a
Battery Block, its other
green faces will power more
blocks.
Data In
Brown faces listen for data
to tell that block what to do.
Connect a red face on a
sensor to the brown face on
a motor block and it’ll drive
according to the sensor’s
output.
Pass-through
Blue faces can conduct
either Power or Data, but not
both at once. You can use
the blue faces on a Flexy
Block to connect two faces
that can’t be arranged to
touch.
Data Out
Red faces broadcast data.
For instance, the red face on
a Proximity Sensor sends out
data according to how close
it is to an object.
Understanding the colors of MOSS faces is essential to building robots. Power and
Data must ow through your construction without mixing. If they do, you won’t hurt
MOSS, but your robot may misbehave.

Robot 347: Kapreblewrongtron
The Kapreblewrongtron is a reactive MOSS robot inspired by the
Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse, a species endemic to the area
around Modular Robotics HQ in Boulder, CO. Its front-facing
Proximity Sensor causes it to stay close to large animals but not too
close. It’s a bit of a tailgater.

1
Robot 347: Kapreblewrongtron
page 1 of 3
Extended
Battery
x1
Motor
x1
Brightness
Sensor
x1
Proximity
Sensor
x1
Corner
x1

2
Robot 347: Kapreblewrongtron
page 2 of 3
Wheel
x1 Motor x1
Long Flexy
x1 Hub x1 Corner x1

3
Robot 347: Kapreblewrongtron
What happens when you rotate
the Motor Blocks so the brown
faces switch positions?
page 3 of 3
Wheel
x1 Arch Brace x4 Short Brace x1
??

Robot 347:
Kapreblewrongtron

Robot 1031: Zombonitron
The Zombonitron is a kinematic MOSS robot that uses joints and
hinges to create a crocodilian crawling robot. It might look a bit
slithery and creepy but this revolutionary robot is just curious. The
Proximity Sensor on the front will keep it from getting too close.

1
Robot 1031: Zombonitron
page 1 of 3
Extended
Battery
x1
Motor
x2
Hub
x1

2
Robot 1031: Zombonitron
page 2 of 3
Long Flexy
x1 Proximity
Sensor
x1
Brightness
Sensor
x1
Short Brace
x1

3
Robot 1031: Zombonitron
page 3 of 3
Corner
x2 Arch Brace
x4
Try swapping the Proximity and
Brightness sensors. Shine a
ashlight on the Brightness
Sensor for best results!
??

Robot 1031:
Zombonitron

Robot 65: Paranoid Robosaurus
The Paranoid Robosaurus is a nervous little robot which uses a
feedback loop to scoot with a momentum-driven shue. 65 million
years ago, its dino-relatives ruled the world. Now this twitchy terror
is the king of the kitchen oor. It’s still not a fan of anything
hovering above it, especially asteroids.

1
Robot 65: Paranoid Robosaurus
page 1 of 3
Extended
Battery
x1
Motor
x1
Hub
x1
Proximity
Sensor
x1
Corner
x1
Arch Brace
x1

Long Flexy
x1
2
Robot 65: Paranoid Robosaurus
page 2 of 3
Wheel
x1 Motor x1
Corner
x1 Arch Brace x1

Long Flexy
x1 Short Brace x1
3
Robot 65: Paranoid Robosaurus
page 3 of 3
Arch Brace
x2
Brightness
Sensor
x1

Robot 65:
Paranoid Robosaurus

4. Available Blocks
Double Brain
The Double Brain Block uses
Bluetooth wireless communication
to link your robot to a mobile
device or computer.
Mic Sensor
The Mic Sensor measures the
level of noise around it.
Proximity Sensor
The Proximity Sensor helps your
robot measure distance to the
closest object using infrared
light.
Knob Sensor
The Knob Sensor uses a
potentiometer to precisely
control a data value.
Brightness Sensor
The MOSS Brightness
Sensor is tuned to respond
to bright sources of light, like
a ashlight or the sun.
Extended Battery
The Extended Battery is a
rechargeable LiPo battery that
powers your robots.
The MOSS robot construction system is comprised of blocks that you can combine to build a multitudinous
variety of robots. Use the following index of blocks to see what is available or visit www.modrobotics.com/moss
to discover new MOSS robots.