Bluetooth Controller with mBot2 and iPad - mBlock - Learn Coding

#1

My kids have mBot 2 and the mBlock - Learn Coding app on iOS. We have the Bluetooth controller that came with the kit, and I want to help them learn to program the bot to respond to the controller input.

In the app, we added the Game Controller extension and see two blocks, but the blocks are not available (greyed out). I figured this was maybe because we hadn’t paired the controller yet, so I attempted to pair the controller, but it failed to pair with the CyberPi/mBot 2 while it was connected to the iPad. After disconnecting the iPad, the controller connected fine… but then I couldn’t connect the iPad.

So it seems the CyberPi cannot connect with both the controller and the iPad at the same time. Am I missing something? How are we supposed to use the Game Controller module in the mBlock app?

I also tried pairing a game controller to the iPad to see if that worked, but it didn’t…

If there is a hardware limitation preventing more than one bluetooth connection (why?), can you please update the mBlock app to use the iOS GameController framework for this functionality instead?

#2

@jeremyhu
The mBot 2 probably can only connect to one Bluetooth device at a time. You would have to write code using the game controller blocks, then upload the code and connect the game controller after the code is uploaded, I guess.

#3

There doesn’t seem to be a way to upload to the device from an iPad. Am I missing something? Is see how to do it from a laptop, but I’m hoping to let my kids use their iPads for this.

#4

There is not a compiler for tablets. Use your laptop for that, or run the program in live mode.

#5

Wait- I just saw “mBot 2.” In order to upload from a tablet, you have to have the mBlock app.