The Toolchain

The Wombat broadcasts a WiFi network to which your computer can connect. First, note the SSID and Password. From your devices WiFi settings, look for a network that matches the SSID, then use the password. If you aren’t sure if something is the letter “O” or the number “0”, it is the number “0.”

Once your computer is connected, open a browser and type the the address you see on the WiFi line in on the Wombat about page, followed by “:8888.” For example:

• Battery charged and connected; the Wombat boots to its home screen.
• I found the Wombat’s network name and joined it from my computer.
• I found the IP address on the Wombat’s screen and typed it into a browser.
• I added the port number 8888 after the address, and the IDE loaded.
• I created a user folder for my projects.
• I created my first project.

Write these in your notebook as well. You will type them at the start of every session.

Python is read line by line rather than compiled ahead of time, but the same rules from C still hold — the machine cannot guess what you meant. Unlike C, indentation is part of the instruction, so incorrect indentation will cause an error.

• I can say what hardware is on my robot and point at three pieces.
• I can say what software is and where mine is stored.
• I know what pressing Run actually does, and that it cannot guess what I meant.

Make a new project called hello and type this in. Do not paste it — type it.

#!/usr/bin/python3
import os, sys
sys.path.append("/usr/lib")
import _kipr as k

def main():
    print("Ready?")
    print("Go!")

main()

Anatomy of This Program

For now, treat every line except the two print lines as boilerplate — standard pieces you copy into every program. Those lines connect Python to the Wombat’s robot commands, mark the part of the program that runs, and start it. You will learn how they work later.

The lines to understand today are print("Ready?") and print("Go!"). print displays the text between the quotation marks in the IDE’s output area. Each print starts a new line after its message, which is why Ready? and Go! appear on separate lines.

An f-string lets you put a value inside a message. Put f before the opening quotation mark and put the value inside curly braces:

print(f"Trial: {1}")

The curly braces are a placeholder for the value inside them, so the output is Trial: 1. An f-string can contain more than one pair of curly braces when you need to insert more than one value.

• I typed it myself and it ran with no errors.
• I ran it on the robot and saw Ready? appear on one line, then Go! on the next.
• I made an indentation error on purpose, read the message, and fixed it.

Shutdown Guide

Do not just flip the switch. Do it in this order:

• On the Home Screen, press Shutdown.
• Press Yes to confirm.
• Wait for it to finish, then flip the power switch off.
• Unplug the battery — hold the yellow connectors, never the wires.

• I can find my saved projects again after the Wombat is switched off and back on.
• Our team has agreed how projects are named, so we can find each other’s work.
• I know where a copy of our code is kept off the robot.
• I know our Wombat’s password is not shared outside the team.