<?php

require_once (dirname(__FILE__) . "/fetch.php");

// Move file pointer to the corresponding closing bracket of the current
// element.
function move_to_closing_bracket($fp, &$char)
{
   if ($char == CLOSE_ELEMENT_CHAR) return;

   $ii = 1;
   while (($char = fgetc($fp)) != NULL && !feof($fp))
   {
      if ($char == OPEN_ELEMENT_CHAR) $ii++;
      else
      {
         if ($char == CLOSE_ELEMENT_CHAR) $ii--;
         if ($ii == 0) break;
      }
   }
}

// Store the file contents as a string, replace the specified string with a new
// string, and re-write the file.
function replace_string_in_file($file_name, $old, $new="")
{
   $file_contents = file_get_contents($file_name);
   $file_contents = str_replace($old, $new, $file_contents);

   $fp = fopen($file_name, 'w');
   
   fwrite($fp, $file_contents);
}

// Erase file contents between and including element's brackets.
function read_raw_element_string($fp, &$char)
{
   $element_open_position = ftell($fp)-1;
   move_to_closing_bracket($fp, $char);
   $element_close_position = ftell($fp);

   if (char_is_white_space($char = fgetc($fp)))
   {
      skip_white_space($fp, $char);
      $element_close_position = ftell($fp)-1;
   }

   $byte_range = $element_close_position - $element_open_position;
   fseek($fp, $element_open_position);
   $element = fread($fp, $byte_range);

   return $element;
}

// If the submitted element points to an object, convert the element to its
// raw string representation.  Otherwise, leave the string unchanged.
function convert_element_to_raw($element)
{
   if (is_object($element))
   {
      $element = $element->convert_to_raw_string();
   }

   return $element;
}

// Replace in a file the element identified by specified ID w/ a new element.
// The new element can be an object, element string, or empty.  If empty, the
// old element will be removed and replaced with nothing.
function replace_element_by_id($file_name, $id, $element="")
{
   if (file_exists($file_name))
   {
      $fp = fopen($file_name, 'r+');
      move_to_element_by_id($fp, $char, $id);
      if (feof($fp)) return;
      $old_raw_element = read_raw_element_string($fp, $char, $id);
      $new_raw_element = convert_element_to_raw($element);
      fclose($fp);

      if ($old_raw_element != NULL)
      {
         replace_string_in_file(
            $file_name, $old_raw_element, $new_raw_element);
      }
      return $old_raw_element;
   }
}

// Replace an element with a new element.  If the new element is unspecified,
// the old element will be deleted.
function run_replace($file_name, $id, $element)
{
   if (!file_exists($file_name)) return;

   replace_element_by_id($file_name, $id, $element);
   $message = "!! Removing element $id... !!\n\n";
   if ($element != NULL)
   {
      $message .= "Replacing with\n--------------\n";
      $message .= convert_element_to_raw($element);
      $message .= "\n\n";
   }
   $message .= "New file\n--------\n";
   $message .= run_parse($file_name);

   return $message;
}
<?php

require_once (dirname(__FILE__) . "/fetch.php");
require_once (dirname(__FILE__) . "/replace.php");

// Insert a string into the file, leaving the current data intact.
function insert_string_at_cursor($fp, $string)
{
   $position = ftell($fp);
   $file_meta_data = fstat($fp);
   $length = $file_meta_data["size"] - $position;

   $tail = fread($fp, $length);
   fseek($fp, $position);
   $new_content = $string . $tail;

   ftruncate($fp, $position);
   fwrite($fp, $new_content);
}

// Insert the element data at the end of the file.
function insert_element_into_file($fp, $element)
{
   fwrite($fp, $element);
}

// Insert an element into the element referenced by id.  This will create a new
// child for the referenced element.
function insert_element_into_element($fp, $element, $id)
{
   move_to_element_by_id($fp, $char, $id);
   move_to_closing_bracket($fp, $char);
   fseek($fp, ftell($fp)-1);
   insert_string_at_cursor($fp, $element);
}

// Move to the position either before or after the element currently under the
// cursor.
function move_cursor_based_on_insertion_method($fp, $char, $before)
{
   if ($before == False)
   {
      move_to_closing_bracket($fp, $char);
   }
   else
   {
      fseek($fp, ftell($fp)-1);
   }
}

// Insert an element before or after the element referenced by id.
function insert_element_at_id($fp, $element, $id, $before=False)
{
   move_to_element_by_id($fp, $char, $id);
   move_cursor_based_on_insertion_method($fp, $char, $before);
   insert_string_at_cursor($fp, $element);
}

// Open file for writing or appending based on where the new element will be
// inserted.
function open_file_based_on_method($file_name, $id)
{
   if ($id != NULL)
   {
      $fp = fopen($file_name, 'r+');
   }
   else
   {
      $fp = fopen($file_name, 'a');
   }

   return $fp;
}

// Choose one of three methods for insertion based on the existence and values
// of the id and child parameters.
function apply_insertion_method($fp, $raw_element, $id, $child, $before)
{
   if ($child == True)
   {
      insert_element_into_element($fp, $raw_element, $id);
   }
   elseif ($id != NULL)
   {
      insert_element_at_id($fp, $raw_element, $id, $before);
   }
   else
   {
      insert_element_into_file($fp, $raw_element);
   }
}   

// Insert an element into the specified file.  The before parameter indicates
// whether or not the incoming element should be placed before the referenced
// element.
function insert_element(
   $file_name, $element, $id=NULL, $child=False, $before=False)
{
   $fp = open_file_based_on_method($file_name, $id);
   $raw_element = convert_element_to_raw($element);
   apply_insertion_method($fp, $raw_element, $id, $child, $before);
}

// Insert an element into the specified file.  Return relevant messages for
// verbose output.
function run_insert($file_name, $element, $id=NULL, $child=False, $before=False)
{
   $message = "Inserting\n---------\n";
   $message .= convert_element_to_raw($element) . "\n\n";

   $child = ($child && $child != '0') ? True : False;
   $before = ($before && $before != '0') ? True : False;
   insert_element($file_name, $element, $id, $child, $before);

   $message .= "New File\n--------\n";
   $message .= run_parse($file_name);

   return $message;
}
216.73.216.53
216.73.216.53
216.73.216.53
 
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 😇