KNEX Education 79100 Manuale utente

ROBOTICS

Building System

USER’S

GUIDE

79100/79484

Education®

Building Programs

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A NOTE ABOUT SAFETY:

Safety is of primary concern in science and technology classrooms. It is recommended that

you develop a set of rules that governs the safe, proper use of K’NEX in your classroom.

Caution students to keep hands, face, hair and clothing away from all moving parts.

USER’S

GUIDE

ROBOTICS

Building System

K’NEX and K’NEX Education are registered trademarks of K’NEX Limited Partnership Group.

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD – Small parts.

Not for children under 3 years.

CONTENTS

HARDWARE GUIDE .........................................3

SOFTWARE GUIDE ........................................16

Education®

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V01 8-2016

The K’NEX ROBOTICS CONTROL BOX

The K’NEX Robotics Control Box is the link between the computer and the electrical

components in a model. It provides power for the electrical components and also acts

as a buffer between the components and the computer. It can store and play up to 10

different programs.

The K’NEX Robotics Control Box is equipped with:

A4 Motor Outputs To precisely control motor speed and direction.

B6 Sensor Inputs

To provide feedback and input to the Control Box. The sensors

may be digital on/off switches (such as push button) or analog

measurements (such as distance sensor).

CPower Switch To turn the Control Box on and off.

DPower Supply Socket To power the Control Box via the provided power supply.

EUSB Port

To connect the Control Box to a PC via a standard USB cable.

Allows the PC to operate the Control Box directly or download

programs for later use.

F2 Digital Outputs To operate LEDs.

GLCD Screen

To display a list of programs and user options. Can also be

used to display user generated images when running a

program.

H4 Buttons To navigate user options and select and run programs

downloaded to the Control Box.

ISpeaker To play sounds.

JMicrophone To detect sound levels.

KBattery Compartment To house 6 “AA” batteries used to power models when not

connected to the power supply.

Wi-Fi Compartment

(behind battery

compartment)

(Optional) To house Wi-Fi module. When installed, Wi-Fi

module allows wireless connection to the PC. (sold separately)

The K’NEX Robotics Control Box has the ability to recognize what is connected to it.

For example, if you connect a motor to port A and another to port D, it will recognize that

motors have been connected. The same is true for remote sensors and digital outputs.

K’NEX ROBOTICS

HARDWARE GUIDE

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K’NEX Robotics User’s Guide HARDWARE

STOP or BACK

Button

ENTER or SELECT Button

SCROLL Up Button

SCROLL Down Button

LCD Screen

USB Port

BatteryPower Level Indicator

Digital Outputs 1 and 2

Inputs 1 - 6

for Sensors

Power Supply Socket

Power Switch

K’NEX ROBOTICS CONTROL BOX BUTTONS

The ENTER button is used to start programs, progress to the next screen,

or confirm a choice.

The square STOP button is used to stop programs from running (press and hold)

or return tothe previous screen.

Outputs A - D for Motors

Speaker

The SCROLL buttons are used to scroll through menus on the LCD screen.

Microphone

Power Supply

Plugged In

USB Plugged In

The K’NEX ROBOTICS

CONTROL BOX

K’NEX Robotics User’s Guide

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HARDWARE

Serial Number

Firmware Version Number

Press and Hold to Stop Program

Wi-Fi screens start

on next page

Optional Wi-Fi screen

Sensors needed for program to run

will disappear upon insertion

See pages 6 and 7 for Wi-Fi

Navigation Screens

K’NEX ROBOTICS CONTROL BOX

SCREEN NAVIGATION GUIDE

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K’NEX Robotics User’s Guide HARDWARE

exit without saving

exit and save

K’NEX ROBOTICS

WI-FI SCREEN

NAVIGATION

GUIDE

(If equipped with

optional Wi-Fi)

Chart continues

on next page

K’NEX Robotics User’s Guide

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HARDWARE

Move forward and back

through characters

MOTORS

Motors provide motion to models and contain a rotation sensor

that allows precise control of the motor. Motors can be built into

K’NEX models using the Power Take Off (PTO) Drive and rod

loop on the motor housing. Connect motors only to sockets A,

B, C or D along the top of the Control Box.

Commands in the K’NEX Robotics software can be used to control

the speed and direction for each motor. Motors can be operated

for a set number of seconds or a precise number of rotations.

SENSORS

Sensors provide feedback to the Control Box to allow it to interact with its environment.

Five different types of sensors are provided including 3 remote sensors and 2 sensors that

are part of the Control Box.

The sensors and LED can each be assembled to a K’NEX model two ways; either by snapping

the squared rod ends into a K’NEX connector or pressing the pins on the other side of the

housing into the side openings of a K’NEX connector.

Touch Sensor

A simple push button switch is one type of touch sensor. When the button is

pressed (input ON) the contacts connect together and allow current to ﬂow.

When the button is released (input OFF) the contacts are open and no current

ﬂows.

Distance Sensor

This sensor uses ultrasonic pulses to measure distance between the sensor

and an object. The sensor has two components; an emitter and receiver.

The emitter sends out an ultrasonic pulse which bounces off the object

in front of it and is echoed back to the receiver. The receiver picks up the

“echo” and calculates the distance between the sensor and the object

based on how long it took for the pulse to travel from the sensor to the

object and back. This same technology is used in rear parking systems in

many modern cars and is very similar to echo location used by dolphins.

The Distance Sensor will work best when detecting large, hard, ﬂat surfaces. Small or curved

surfaces, surfaces with many holes, and thin surfaces may not work properly with the sensor.

Multiple distance sensors operated near each other may interfere with each other and cause

incorrect readings.

PTO Drive Rod Loop

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Color/Light Sensor

This is a dual use sensor which is capable of measuring either light levels

or the color of an object. The sensor contains two separate sensor chips

and a white LED which are visible behind the clear window on the end

of the housing.

When used to measure light, the sensor will return values between 0%

(dark or black) and 100% (light or white). Either sensor 1 or sensor 2 can

be selected to measure light values independently. Additionally, a “light

difference” option is available to measure the absolute difference between

sensor 1 and sensor 2.

When used to measure color, the sensor will identify one of 6 color values: red, orange,

yellow, green, blue or violet. When measuring color, only sensor 1 is used.

Microphone

This sensor is built into the Control Box and can only be used to measure sound levels.

OUTPUTS

Three different types of outputs are provided, two contained in the Control Box and one

remote.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

The monochrome LCD is built into the front of the Control Box. When the power is switched

on, the display shows a welcome screen and then defaults to the main menu, which displays

program and user options. The LCD can also be programmed to display text, variables or

user generated graphics.

Speaker

The 8khz mono, speaker is built into the bottom of the

Control Box and can be used to playback short sounds.

L.E.D. (Light Emitting Diode)

The LED has four output states: Off, Red, Green or Yellow.

CABLES

Four different cable lengths are provided for connecting the motors and sensors to the

Control Box. Each cable length has a uniquely colored plug end for easy identiﬁcation;

9” black, 13” red, 17” blue, and 21” yellow.

Only the provided cables should be used to connect components to the Control Box.

DO NOT attempt to connect the Control Box to any device or component other than those

provided by K’NEX. Doing so could damage the component, the Control Box or both and

void all warranties.

A standard USB to mini

USB cable is provided

for connecting the Control

Box to a PC.

K’NEX Robotics User’s Guide

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HARDWARE

WHITE

LED

POWER SUPPLY

The power supply “transforms” the AC power from your household electrical outlet into

DC power similar to that supplied by batteries. The power supply can be used to power

the Control Box to conserve battery power. It is recommended that it be used to power the

Control box when creating and testing control programs.

The power supply can be used at any time, either

with or without batteries installed in the Control Box.

The power supply cannot be used to charge batteries,

as internal electronics prevent it from doing so.

DO NOT connect the Control Box to a power supply

except the one supplied by K’NEX. Doing so could

damage your unit and void the warranty. Please contact

K’NEX for a replacement if your power supply becomes damaged or is lost.

Setting Up for the First Time

The K’NEX Robotics Control Box is the link between the computer and the electrical

components on a model. It provides power for the electrical components and also acts

as a buffer between the components and the computer. In order to use a computer to

control these components, you will need to download the K’NEX Robotics software.

You will need:

• A PC (not Mac compatible) with an available

USB port

• The K’NEX Robotics software (supplied at

www.knex.com/robotics)

• The K’NEX Robotics Control Box (supplied)

• A USB connection cable (supplied)

• The power supply (supplied)

• Input and Output devices such as motors, LEDs,

and various sensors (supplied)

Step 1

Install the K’NEX Robotics software on your computer. For additional details of how to install

and use the software, please refer to the software portion of this user guide.

Step 2

Connect the power supply lead to the socket on the side of Control Box and plug the power

supply into a standard wall socket. Switch the Control Box on and the LCD will display the

welcome screen and other information.

Step 3

The ﬁrst time a Control Box is connected to the USB port on a computer, the USB drivers will

be installed by the computer.

• Connect the Control Box to the USB port on your computer with the USB cable.

• Windows will automatically detect a new device and install the necessary drivers.

A notiﬁcation window will pop up in the taskbar along the bottom of your screen to

conﬁrm the driver status.

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