This lesson will show you how to program the mBot Neo to avoid obstacles. It will then show you how test your program on the mBot Neo.

The parts below are required to complete this lesson. Note that all parts except the styrofoam blocks are included in the mBot Neo kit that can be purchased on Amazon.

1. Assembled mBot Neo from Lesson 1
2. USB Cable
3. Styrofoam Blocks that are at least 5in tall and 2in thick

1. Connect the USB cable to the CyberPi on the mBot Neo and plug the cable into your computer
   
   

   This will charge up your mBot Neo while you create the program

2. Open the mBlock app on your computer
   
   

   You can download the mBlock app from mBlock Download if it isn't already installed

   

3. Click on the Extension button
   
   

   

4. Click the Add button under the mBot2 shield
   
   

   

5. Click on the Extension button
   
   

   

6. Click the Add button under the Ultrasonic Sensor 2
   
   

   

7. Click the Upload button under the Mode Switch section
   
   

   This allows you to write your program without having the mBot Neo connected to your computer

   

8. Click the Events selector and drag the “when CyberPi starts up” block to the coding pane
   
   

   

9. Click the Display selector and drag the “print makeblock and move to a newline” block to the coding pane and snap it to the bottom of the stack
   
   

   

10. Change the “makeblock” to “Press B to start obstacle avoidance and A to stop” in the “print makeblock and move to a newline” block
    
    

    

11. Click the Control selector and drag the “wait until < >” block to the coding pane and snap it to the bottom of the stack
    
    

    

12. Click the Sensing selector and drag the “button A pressed?” block to the coding pane and snap it into the “wait until < >” block
    
    

    This allows you to control when the mBot Neo starts running the obstacle avoidance after you power it on

    

13. Change the “A” to “B” in the “when button A pressed” block
    
    

    

14. Click the Control selector and drag the “forever” block to the coding pane and snap it to the bottom of the stack
    
    

    This will allow your program to keep running until you press the A button on the CyberPi

    

15. Drag the “if < > then else” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the forever block
    
    

    

16. Click the Operators selector and drag the “( ) > 50” block to the coding pane and snap it into the if - then block
    
    

    

17. Click the Ultrasonic Sensor 2 selector and drag the “ultrasonic 2 1 distance to an object (cm)” block to the coding pane and snap it into the “( ) > 50” block
    
    

    

18. Change the “50” to “10” in the “( ) > 50” block
    
    

    

19. Click the mBot2 Chassis selector and drag the “moves forward at 50 rpm” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the top section of the if-then-else block
    
    

    This will cause the mBot to move forward whenever it does not sense an obstacle within 10cm

    

20. Click the Control selector and drag the “if < > then else” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the bottom section of the if-then-else block
    
    

    

21. Click the Operators selector and drag the “( ) = 50” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the if-then block
    
    

    

22. Drag the “pick random 1 to 10” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the “( ) = 50” block
    
    

    

23. Change the “50” to “1” in the “( ) = 50” block
    
    

    

24. Change the “10” to “2” in the “pick random 1 to 10” block
    
    

    

25. Click the mBot2 Chassis selector and drag the “turns left 90 until done” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the top section of the if-then-else block
    
    

    This will cause the mBot Neo to turn left whenever it senses an obstacle within 10cm and the random number is 1

    

26. Drag the “turns left 90 until done” block to the coding pane and snap it inside the bottom section of the if-then-else block
    
    

    

27. Change the “left” to “right” in the “turns left 90 until done” block
    
    

    This will cause the mBot Neo to turn right whenever it senses an obstacle within 10cm and the random number is not 1

    

28. Click the Events selector and drag the “when button A pressed” block to an empty area of the coding pane
    
    

    

29. Click the Control selector and drag the “restart CyberPi” block to the coding pane and snap it to the bottom of the when button A pressed block
    
    

    This will cause the mBot Neo to restart things when when the A button is pressed no matter what is happening in the forever loop

    

30. Change the name of the program in the upper left to “ObstAvoid”
    
    

    

31. Slide the power switch on the mBot2 Shield to the ON position and click the Connect button
    
    

    

32. Click the Upload button and wait for the upload to complete
    
    

    

33. Slide the power switch on the mCore mainboard on the mBot to the OFF position and disconnect the USB cable from the mBot Neo

Follow the steps below to test out the program you just created

1. Place some of the styrofoam blocks on the floor
2. Place the mBot on the floor and slide the power switch on the mBot2 Shield on the mBot Neo to the ON position
3. Press the B button on the CyberPi to start the mBot Neo moving
4. When you're finished watching the mBot Neo avoid obstacles, press the A button
5. Create a maze out of the styrofoam blocks and see if the mBot Neo can find its way out of it

Return to Main mBot Neo page