Microsoft MakeCode for LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 v1.1.19
Today we released a few bug fixes for the https://makecode.mindstorms.com editor and a couple new blocks.
Open source!
It is worth mentioning that this editor has been open source for a quite a while now. We thank all our users who have been reporting issues and submitting pull requests on the project!
- GitHub repo: https://github.com/microsoft/pxt-ev3
First LEGO League
For teams planning to use MakeCode the FLL City Shaper challenge, read the FLL + MakeCode page. Good luck in competitions!
Offline app
Install the offline app to run the editor when you’re not connected, or you don’t always have access to the internet.
More tutorials and examples
We have been adding more content on the home screen to help you get started. Check it out!
Bug fixes
We fixed a number of user-reported issues.
- always exit Sometimes, programs with tight loops would prevent the ESC button to work.
- multiple sensor initialization Using multiple sensors would introduce a 6 second delay.
- gyro reset takes too long Gyro reset is now immediate. We have added a new calibrate block that does a more extensive reset procedure.
- tank woes The tank block would… tank for some values.
- deleting files on the brick We have prepared a special program that lets you delete UF2 files from the brick. Download these PDF instructions and drop the PDF on the brick drive. This will present you with an menu for deleting files.
Modified blocks
calibrate gyro
Our users complained that resetting the gyro was very slow and unreliable. The calibration logic in gyro reset has been moved to a new block calibrate. The reset block now simply sends a reset command to the sensor.
set brake settle time
The motor used to have a 200ms brake settle time, the time to pause after braking to allow the robot to stabilize. The default brake settle time has been reduced to 10ms and a new block, set brake settle time has been added to specify that value. (Thanks maximmasterr and THEb0nny)
New blocks
ramp
The ramp block under motors allows to schedule speed with a ramped acceleration and deceleration phase. This allows you to create smoother movement for your robots
set run phase
This block allows to configure a default acceleration and/or deceleration phase for a motor. It gets automatically applied once you use the run block on the motor.
battery property
The battery property block under brick lets you query the state of your battery: charge level, voltage and current. You can use it to detect low battery situation proactively. (Thanks to maximmasterr)
Raw RGB colors
We also added the ability to read the raw color values and raw reflected light from the color sensor. (Thanks to THEb0nny)
storage (beta!)
The storage extension allows to write data to files. The generated files will automatically be deleted once the brick is restarted. You can use this extension to collect and analyze data from your robot.
Support for I2C
We thank our user maximmasterr for submitting support for I2C sensor. It is now possible to write extensions for additional EV3 sensors, see example.