Strawbees micro:bit User manual

ONBOARDING
ROBOTIC
INVENTIONS
for the micro:bit
For activities, lesson plans and
support material please go to:
LEARNING
PLATFORM learning.strawbees.com
© Strawbees AB. All rights reserved.

WELCOME TO
ROBOTIC
INVENTIONS
ONBOARDING
Assemble the Strawbees Robotics
Board for the micro:bit.
Use a battery to power the micro:bit.
Use motors with the Robotics Board
and the micro:bit.
Connect the micro:bit to Strawbees
structures.
Installing and Getting Started with the
Strawbees MakeCode extension.
Use the micro:bit Coding cards.
You will learn how to:
You will need:
A computer with MacOS 10.6 or Windows
7 or newer, or a smart phone or tablet
Internet connection
BBC micro:bit
Servo motor, arm, mount
and screwdriver
Robotics Board
for micro:bit
USB cable
micro:bit Clip
3 x AAA Batteries
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BATTERIES AND POWER
The Robotics board runs on 3 AAA batteries
The batteries power:
• Connected Servo Motors
• Built-in RGB LEDs
• The micro:bit board
The Robotics Board gives power to the
micro:bit, but the micro:bit does NOT give
power to the Robotics board.
Strawbees Robotics
Board for the micro:bit
with 3 AAA batteries
Servo motors
micro:bit
Build in
RGB LEDs
Strawbees Robotics
board for the micro:bit
micro:bit
powered by USB
This means that if you power the micro:bit
from the USB cable that will not automatically
give the motors power. The motors always need
the Robotics Board have batteries and the
power switch to ON to work.
Batteries
& Power

INSERT BATTERIES AND POWER ON
OFF ON
1 2
Insert the
batteries like this:
Switch ON the power
to test the batteries:
3
It’s good practice to switch the power OFF when adding or removing
motors. Also when plugging and unplugging the board.
The green LED
should light up if
the batteries work
Batteries
& Power

INSERTING THE MICRO:BIT
Slide the micro:bit to the Robotics board like this:
1 2
Insert
board

HOW TO ATTACH SERVO
MOUNTS AND ARM
1
2
Servo
Motor

It’s possible to connect up to 3servo
motors at a time.
CONNECTING THE MOTOR
Make sure the the
black cable is aligned
with this marked
arrow.
Servo
Motor

ADD THE CLIP
Snap on to the Robotics board
or onto the micro:bit itself Connect Clip to straws
The Clip makes it possible to connect the Robotics board
or just the micro:bit to a Strawbees construction.
12
OR
Clip

RGB LEDs
There are 2 RGB LEDs on the board and you can
program them using the MakeCode editor.
RGB
LED

WHAT IS MAKECODE?
MakeCode is a way to program
your micro:bit directly from
the browser. It has support for
the Robotics Board.
You can open the MakeCode
editor by going to:
makecode.microbit.org and
click New Project
Makecode

INSTALLING THE
STRAWBEES EXTENSION
To use the Robotics Board with make code, you should
add the Strawbees Extension to your project like this:
Click Extensions under
Settings:
1Type in Strawbees in the Search
bar, press enter and click on
robotic-inventions.
2Strawbees will now
appear with your
MakeCode editor.
3
Makecode

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZegjmbyBUs8
1
GETTING STARTED
WITH MAKECODE
If you have never used Makecode before we suggest that you
become familiar with the basics before moving on to
program with the Robotics Board.
Best places to get started are:
"Tutorials" section on
https://makecode.microbit.org
2
Makecode

Coding cards are small snippets of
code that can be used to explore
different concepts.
They are not meant to be used as
they are but for you to tweak the
numbers and combine the cards to
get the expected result.
You can nd the coding cards on
Strawbees Learning and at the
Robotic Inventions' Makecode "learn
more" page.
WHAT ARE CODING CARDS?
BLINK
YOU WILL NEED
makecode.microbit.org
RGB LED
A white
1000
A black
1000pause (ms)
set RGB LED to
pause (ms)
set RGB LED to
forever
STRAWBEES BOARD
+
micro:bit
https://learning.strawbees.com/product/microbit/
https://makecode.microbit.org/pkg/strawbees/pxt-robotic-inventions
Coding
cards

Coding cards are grouped by hardware in use.
WHAT ARE CODING CARDS CATEGORIES?
Button Press Radio ReceiverAccelerometer Light Sensor
Servo Motor RGB LED Radio Transmitter
Coding
cards

HOW TO TWEAK CODING CARD:
BASIC CARD
GRADUALLY CHANGE POSITION
YOU WILL NEED
makecode.microbit.org
SERVO MOTOR
+
ARM & MOUNTS
STRAWBEES BOARD
+
micro:bit
Basic card
Coding
cards

Try different numbers
Try different
numbers
Duplicate block and
try different inputs
HOW TO TWEAK CODING CARD:
Coding
cards

HOW TO COMBINE CARDS
CODING CARD A
CHANGE POSITION WHILE PRESSING BUTTON
YOU WILL NEED
makecode.microbit.org
SERVO MOTOR
+
ARM & MOUNTS
STRAWBEES BOARD
+
micro:bit
BUTTON
Coding
cards

HOW TO COMBINE CARDS:
CODING CARD B
CHANGE COLOR 10 TIMES
YOU WILL NEED
makecode.microbit.org
RGB LED
STRAWBEES BOARD
+
micro:bit
Coding
cards

HOW TO COMBINE CARDS:
CODING CARD A + B
CHANGE POSITION WHILE PRESSING BUTTON
YOU WILL NEED
makecode.microbit.org
SERVO MOTOR
+
ARM & MOUNTS
STRAWBEES BOARD
+
micro:bit
BUTTON
CHANGE COLOR 10 TIMES
YOU WILL NEED
makecode.microbit.org
RGB LED
STRAWBEES BOARD
+
micro:bit
CODING CARD A
CODING CARD B
How would you name this card?
Coding
cards

GRADUATED!
Now you know how to:
Next steps:
Pick an Activity from the
Learning Platform to build
Make a project
with two motors
Use two micro:bits in
the same project
Pair with a friend to
program a complex project
Assemble the Strawbees Robotics
Board for the micro:bit.
Use a battery to power the micro:bit.
Use motors with the Robotics Board
and the micro:bit.
Connect the micro:bit to Strawbees
structures.
Installing and Getting Started with the
Strawbees MakeCode extension.
Use the micro:bit Coding cards.
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Graduate!