Line follower array not supported in scratch?

[tech_support]

Hi tommyvandenbempt,

You can find the example Arduino program for line follower array on the official website.

When you use the line follower array with Me Auriga board, you need figure out the pins for each RJ25 Port on Auriga board corresponding to which pins on Arduino Mega board, then you can modify the pin setting on the example program and you can use the line follower array with Auriga board.
For further program, you may need figure it out by yourself.

[Moni]

Hi everybody!
We are interested in knowing the code in Mblock for the Simple ME LINE FOLLOWER, not in Arduino.
Is there any extension block we could use?
I mean año extension block in Mblock as the one published before for the ME LINE FOLLOWER ARRAY.

Thank you for your help!

[chuckmcknight]

There is a link to an extension further up in this thread.

[Moni]

Yes, I know, but it is for the ARRAY.
I just have the simple me LINE FOLLOWER .

This is the one Imam asking an extension for.

[chuckmcknight]

There is no extension for the line follower. It is a block in mBlock and if you are using the Arduino environment, the object is MeLineFollower.

There are coding examples in the Makeblock mBot tutorial (link) and I have an example in my eBook (link).

[Moni]

Thank you.
What I would like is to see that arduino translated into scratch code. I know it is a block but instead of reading it in Arduino (which I do not understand), I would like to read those orders in scratch in Mblock…I don’t know if I explain myself crearly…

[chuckmcknight]

Check out the link to the Makeblock tutorial that I posted earlier. It has an example of using the line follower.

[Moni]

Thank you

[Stivy]

Hello,
I’ve just baught a LineArray v1.0 sensor for my students.
Obviously, the extension available in the app “MakeBlock” is not working : we have problem at the compilation stage.
In the extension center, I can see the library was updated two weeks ago, maybe it can be a part of the problem ? Can someone at MakeBlock can give me support @tec_support @chuckmcknight ?
It’s quite odd to sell HW without SW library…
I need this extension for a robotic challenge in two weeks, so it’s a bit urgent…
Thanks in advance for your support
Stivy

[tech_support]

Hi Stivy,

Do you use the mBlock 3.4.11?
May we know what is your program and the compile error message?
Here we have tested an simple program with using the line follower array extension, there is no problem to compile and upload, you may try it and let us know if there is also compile error?

[Stivy]

Hello @tec_support ! Many thanks for your reactivity

I’m happy to see that, normally, it should work.

At school, we use ChromeBook, then we program mbot with the mblock app IDE.
Everything is working fine, but as soon as we add the extension for the LineArray and we use it, the compilation fail with the message “File LineArray.h not found” (it’s not the exact message, but at the end, it just says he has some trouble with the #include “LineArray.h”).

Then we tried with a computer directly with mBlock, and once again, problem at the compilation with the file LineArray.cpp.o => I will ask my collegue to ensure we use the latest version of mBlock and try again, then copy/past the exact message as soon as possible.

Do you already have some clue ?

Many thanks,
Stivy

[Stivy]

Hi again @tec_support,

Here is the last update, following your message :

• On the latest version of mBlock we installed (3.4.11) on a laptop, now it’s working fine.
• On the ChromeBook, we still have the error message with the mBlock app (cfr screenshot).

What should we do ?

Many thanks

[tech_support]

Hi Stivy,

Yes, we have realized you are using mBlock 4.x. There does have such error message when uploading program with line follower array extension block. Our engineers is checking on the problem, will let you know when there is update.
Actually, the mBlock 4.0.4 is experimental version, it is suggested to use the official version mBlock 3.4.11?
Are all the computers in the school Chromebook?

[Stivy]

Hi @tec_support,

First, I really appreciate your reactivity. It’s always good to feel supported !!
Yes, all the students have a dedicated ChromeBook, so at the end, we’d like to be able to use the LineArray with the mBlock app for the robotic cup.
Were you aware of this problem ? Is it ‘easily’ and quickly solvable ?

Many thanks, from my students and from myself !
Stivy

[tech_support]

Hi Stivy,

Thanks for your info.
Currently, I am unknown of the cause for this issue since there is fileLineArray.h in the extension.
When the engineers figured it out, they will let me know. Will keep you informed once there is any update.

[Stivy]

Hi @tec_support,

Waiting for your update !
Thanks from Belgium.

[chuckmcknight]

Just a thought, but don’t the Chromebooks run on a custom version of the Linux kernel? If that’s the case, I would suggest checking for case sensitivity in the file name. The Windows operating system is still case-insensitive (especially the FAT32 system) so it might not pop up if the testing is occurring under Windows. I don’t have a Chromebook or I’d check it myself.

[tech_support]

Hi Stivy,

The problem is that the arduino compile server does not have this extension. Our engineer has fixed this issue, please check it.

[Stivy]

Hello @tec_support,

I’ve just realized I’ve never answered your last message ! Sorry !!
Indeed, with your modification it works fine - thank you very much for your great reactivity and support

At the end, it’s difficult to use with Scratch, since we can only match the entire array. We’d like to use only 3 or 4 sensors, but we are obliged to address all the possibilities ; so it’s relatively heavy to implement. With methods allowing to check a single sensor ; it would be much more useful. Is it in your roadmap ?

Have a nice day,
Stivy

[tech_support]

Hi Stivy

It is okay! For your suggestion on the me line follow array’s mBlock extension, I have shared it to our product team. Will let you know when they have a decision on it.