<?php

require_once "src/display.php";

run_application();
function run_application()
{
   display_page();
}
import re, os

class Sequence(list):
    def __init__(self, pattern):
        self.pattern = pattern.strip()
#         self.set_pattern(pattern, index)
        self.set_components()
        self.build_list();

#     def set_pattern(self, pattern, index):
#         if type(pattern) is not str:
#             index = int(index)
#             pattern = file("patterns/" + pattern).readlines()[index]
#         self.pattern = pattern.strip()

    def set_components(self):
        self.set_repetitions()
        self.set_parameters()

    def set_repetitions(self):
        match = re.match("^\(([0-9]+)[ \n]+(.*)\)$", self.pattern)
        if match is not None:
            self.repetitions = match.groups()[0]
            self.pattern = match.groups()[1]
        else:
            self.repetitions = 1

    def set_parameters(self):
        self.pattern = list(self.pattern)
        parameters = []
        while len(self.pattern) > 0:
            parameters += [self.read_parameter()]
        self.parameters = parameters

    def read_parameter(self):
        self.skip_whitespace()
        if self.pattern[0] is "(":
            return Sequence(self.read_until_close())
        else:
            return self.read_until_whitespace()

    def skip_whitespace(self):
        while re.match("[ \n]", self.pattern[0]):
            self.pattern.pop(0)

    def read_until_close(self):
        level = 0
        parameter = ""
        while True:
            character = self.pattern.pop(0)
            parameter += character
            if character is "(":
                level += 1
            elif character is ")":
                level -= 1
            if level is 0:
                break
        return parameter

    def read_until_whitespace(self):
        parameter = ""
        while len(self.pattern) > 0:
            character = self.pattern.pop(0)
            if character is " ":
                break
            parameter += character
        return parameter

    def build_list(self):
        sequence = []
        for iteration in range(0, int(self.repetitions)):
            for parameter in self.parameters:
                if isinstance(parameter, Sequence):
                    sequence += parameter.sequence
                else:
                    sequence += [parameter]
        self.sequence = sequence

    def __str__(self):
        return str(self.sequence)

    def __repr__(self):
        return self.__str__()

    def __getitem__(self, index):
        return self.sequence[index]

    def __len__(self):
        return len(self.sequence)
<?php

require_once "operations/include/include_config_file.php";

function __autoload($name)
{
   $path = str_replace("\\", "/", $name) . ".php";
   require_once $path;
}
function display_page()
{
   include_configuration_file(dirname(__FILE__) . "/config", "php");
   echo build_page();
}
function build_page()
{
   return new entities\evr\Emoticon_Vs_Rainbow();
}
<?php
namespace entities\html;

class Link extends Element
{
   public function __construct($rel=null, $href=null)
   {
      parent::__construct("link", null, null, false);
      $this->add_attribute("rel", $rel);
      $this->add_attribute("href", $href);
   }
}
<?php
namespace entities\html;

class Checkbox extends Input
{
   public function __construct(
      $name=null, $value=null, $class=null, $checked=false)
   {
      parent::__construct($name, "checkbox", $value, $class);
      $this->checked = $checked;
   }
   protected function build_assignments()
   {
      $assignments = parent::build_assignments();
      if ($this->checked)
      {
         $assignments .= " checked";
      }
      return $assignments;
   }
}
<?php
namespace entities\html;

class Div extends Element
{
   public function __construct($id=null, $class=null, $content=null)
   {
      parent::__construct("div", $id, $class);
      $this->content = $content;
   }
   protected function build_content()
   {
      return $this->content . "\n";
   }
}
<?php
namespace entities\html;

class Element
{
   private $attributes = array();
   public function __construct($name, $id=null, $class=null, $close=true)
   {
      $this->name = $name;
      $this->add_attribute("id", $id);
      $this->add_attribute("class", $class);
      $this->close = $close;
   }
   protected function add_attribute($name, $value)
   {
      $this->attributes[$name] = $value;
   }
   public function __toString()
   {
      return $this->build_html();
   }
   protected function build_html()
   {
      $markup = $this->build_opening_tag();
      $markup .= $this->build_content();
      if ($this->close === true)
      {
         $markup .= $this->build_closing_tag();
      }
      return $markup;
   }
   private function build_opening_tag()
   {
      $tag = "<" . $this->name;
      $tag .= $this->build_attributes();
      $tag .= ">";
      return $tag;
   }
   protected function build_attributes()
   {
      $attributes = "";
      foreach ($this->attributes as $name => $value)
      {
         if (!is_null($value) && $value !== false)
         {
            $attributes .= " $name";
            if ($value !== true)
            {
               $attributes .= "=\"$value\"";
            }
         }
      }
      return $attributes;
   }
   protected function build_content()
   {
      return null;
   }
   private function build_closing_tag()
   {
      return "</" . $this->name . ">";
   }
   protected function get_attribute($name)
   {
      return $this->attributes[$name];
   }
}
216.73.216.32
216.73.216.32
216.73.216.32
 
January 23, 2021

I wanted to document this chat-controlled robot I made for Babycastles' LOLCAM📸 that accepts a predefined set of commands like a character in an RPG party 〰 commands like walk, spin, bash, drill. It can also understand donut, worm, ring, wheels, and more. The signal for each command is transmitted as a 24-bit value over infrared using two Arduinos, one with an infrared LED, and the other with an infrared receiver. I built the transmitter circuit, and the receiver was built into the board that came with the mBot robot kit. The infrared library IRLib2 was used to transmit and receive the data as a 24-bit value.


fig. 1.1: the LEDs don't have much to do with this post!

I wanted to control the robot the way the infrared remote that came with the mBot controlled it, but the difference would be that since we would be getting input from the computer, it would be like having a remote with an unlimited amount of buttons. The way the remote works is each button press sends a 24-bit value to the robot over infrared. Inspired by Game Boy Advance registers and tracker commands, I started thinking that if we packed multiple parameters into the 24 bits, it would allow a custom move to be sent each time, so I wrote transmitter and receiver code to process commands that looked like this:

bit
name
description
00
time
multiply by 64 to get duration of command in ms
01
02
03
04
left
multiply by 16 to get left motor power
05
06
07
08
right
multiply by 16 to get right motor power
09
10
11
12
left sign
0 = left wheel backward, 1 = left wheel forward
13
right sign
0 = right wheel forward, 1 = right wheel backward
14
robot id
0 = send to player one, 1 = send to player two
15
flip
negate motor signs when repeating command
16
repeats
number of times to repeat command
17
18
19
delay
multiply by 128 to get time between repeats in ms
20
21
22
23
swap
swap the motor power values on repeat
fig 1.2: tightly stuffed bits

The first command I was able to send with this method that seemed interesting was one that made the mBot do a wheelie.

$ ./send_command.py 15 12 15 1 0 0 0 7 0 1
sending 0xff871fcf...


fig 1.3: sick wheels

A side effect of sending the signal this way is any button on any infrared remote will cause the robot to do something. The star command was actually reverse engineered from looking at the code a random remote button sent. For the robot's debut, it ended up with 15 preset commands (that number is in stonks 📈). I posted a highlights video on social media of how the chat controls turned out.

This idea was inspired by a remote frog tank LED project I made for Ribbit's Frog World which had a similar concept: press a button, and in a remote location where 🐸 and 🐠 live, an LED would turn on.


fig 2.1: saying hi to froggo remotely using an LED

😇 The transmitter and receiver Arduino programs are available to be copied and modified 😇