Confused about ScratchBot vs Mbloick?

#1

There are 3 or more places to download Makeblock related graphical programming systems. I need to be 100% sure I’m on the right track.

I downloaded ScratchBot. Hmmm. Is that old / outdated??

What IS the latest and supported software? What is the correct download page? My guess right now:
http://www.mblock.cc/ (At least for Windows)…

What about MAC?? Many schools in USA use only MAC and that is essential to any educational use.

Please get me started right on this!

Regards, Terry King
…In The Woods in Vermont, USA
terry@yourduino.com

#2

Confusing example:
http://app.makeblock.cc/program/scratch/ points to “ScratchBot” . But is ScratchBot the same as Mblock??

#3

AND:
http://learn.makeblock.cc/learning-scratch/ has two graphics… One shows ScratchBot and the other shows Mblock. I am still confused. Any pointers/suggestions welcome!

#4

You can get the current version of mBlock at http://www.mblock.cc/download/. I should mention that when Apple released El Capitan that the new serial stack breaks the ability to connect with the USB cable because the Makeblock board apparently does not use a standard FTDI serial interface. There are also signing issues with the driver. mac-usb-serial.com offers a beta driver for El Capitan, but I was unable to get it to work with the mBot. It does enable communication with a genuine Arduino via FTDI though. Not sure what’s going on, but fortunately, you can tether via WiFi or Bluetooth once you have done the initial firmware upload to run programs from the mBlock IDE.

#5

  1. In order to program your mBot you will need to dowload the MBlock Software:
    http://www.mblock.cc/download/

  2. In the MBlock sofware:
    A. click on "Connect"
    B. Install Arduino Driver
    c. Make sure the driver is dowloaded

  3. Make sure you dowload the Driver needed as well: http://learn.makeblock.cc/driver_installation/

  4. To run programs on your Mbot you can connect via Bluetooth Make sure Mbot is on then in mBlock click:

     		A.Connect
 		B.Bluetooth
 		C.Discover (wait awhile)
 		D.bluetooth paired !

*note if you are not sure if the mBot is connected (in MBlock) you can always click on the “Robots” tab then you will see a little circle next to the word mBot green means it’s connected, red means it is not.

5… You do not need to connect the black USB Cable from the mBot to the computer in order to be able to run programs you have written in MBlock!!!
Just make sure your mBot is connected via bluetooth then: write your program then click on the program (it should turn yellowish) then it will run !

6… If you do want to upload the programs to the mBot via the Arduino you will probaly have to reset the mBot afterwards because the remote control & app will not be able to control Mbot anymore
to Factory reset the mBot do this:

		A. Plug in the USB Cable to your computer 
		B. Click on "Connect" --> SerialPort
		C. Wait a while until you see your USB cable COM Show Up in the Serial Port (For me my USB cable is COM 4)
		D.Then Click on "Connect" again then you should see the "Reset to Default Program" show up click it
		E. Wait until it's complete and your mBot will be reset! (so you can use the App  & Remote control again!)
#6

Hi everyone,

I do not need/want to program an Mbot at this time; I need to help students use Mblock to program Arduinos. Thanks for that info though.

I am working on a how-to page on http://ArduinoInfo.Info that will walk through getting Mblock installed and running. It is not complete, but I would appreciate comments and suggestions (and corrections and critique!) over the next week or so as I try to get it ready for others to use. See:
http://arduino-info.wikispaces.com/Mblock-Info

I have it working now with my version of the Arduino UNO.

Regards, Terry King
…In The Woods in Vermont, USA
terry@yourduino.com