TABLE OF CONTENTS
DIY Robotics Introduction

1. DIY Robotics Overview
2. Using The Robot Program
3. Introduction to Robotics
4. Developer Kit Box Contents
5. Battery Care & Charging
​6. Powering Your EZ-B v4 or IoTiny
7. Using a USB Wi-Fi Dongle
8. Serial/USB Connectivity
9. EZ-B v4 & IoTiny Datasheet & Communication Protocol
​10. WiFi Client Status on Digital Port
​11. Firmware Upgrade
12. 360 HDD Servo Overview

3D Print Files
1. 3D Print Files for JD
2. 3D Print Files for Six
3. 3D Print Files for Roli
4. 3D Print Files for AdventureBot

General Courses

Software 

1. ARC for Windows PC
​2. Example Projects
3. Controls
4. Getting Help with Controls
5. ControlCommand()
6. Virtual Desktops
7. RoboScratch
8. Blockly
9. EZ-Script

Mobile Software 

1. Create a Mobile App

Linear Programming 

1. Create a Scene Using RoboScratch (Big Hero Six)
2. Create a Scene using Blockly (Avengers)

Logical Programming 

1. Programming Concepts (Variables, If/Else, Logic)
2. Counting Up
3. Counting Down

Camera Input 

1. Introduction to the EZ-B Camera
2. Face Detection with RoboScratch
3. Face Detection with Blockly
4. Face Detection with EZ-Script
5. Color Tracking with Servos
6. Color Tracking with Movement
7. Detecting Multiple Colors
8. Line Following with Roli, AdventureBot and Shell-E
​9. Vision - Object Training & Recognition
10. Glyphs to Control Robot Movement
11. Detecting Glyphs & Augmented Reality
12. QR Code Detect
13. Microsoft Cognitive Emotion
14. Microsoft Cognitive Vision

Audio Input 

1. Speech Recognition

RGB Output 

1. RGB Animations

Positioning 

1. Servo Control
2. Introduction to Servo Motors
3. Create a Robot Dance
4. Program Robot to Dab
5. Program Robot to Play Piano
6. MYO Gesture Armband

Navigation and Movement 

1. Movement Panels
2. Navigating using RoboScratch
3. Navigating using Blockly

Creative Applications 

1. Customize Your EZ-Robot
2. Control Robot From Twitter
3. Nest Thermostat

EZ-B v4 Robot Brain 

1. EZ-B v4 Robot Brain Overview
2. DIY Autonomous Robot Vehicle
3. EZ-B v4 and IoTiny Wi-Fi Modes
4. Change WiFi Name
5. Resetting Your EZ-B v4 or IoTiny
6. USB WiFi or Ethernet Adapter

​Robot Troubleshooting
1. Which Robot are You Using?

DIY  Robotics  Overview

Introduction to DIY Robotics
Whether you have the EZ-Robot Developer Kit, Shell-E, or a custom collection of robotics parts, building a robot has never been easier.  EZ-Robot and the world-class ARC software empower everyone to make the robot of their dreams. 


Robot Controllers
All EZ-Robots are powered by either the EZ-B v4 Smart Robot Controller or the IoTiny.

These powerful robot controllers offer huge capabilities in a very small footprint.  Both controllers share the same communication protocol and connection method. 

The IoTiny is, essentially, a compact version of the EZ-B v4.  All connections and uses described in these tutorial steps apply to both the IoTiny and EZ-B v4 users.  Of course, the IoTiny has less I/O and no UART.  Other than that, they operate the same.  IoTiny users may follow lessons in this tutorial section for connecting and using their IoTiny.

The EZ-B v4 and IoTiny are amazing tools for building custom DIY robots or teaching old toys new tricks.  Watch our team introduce a few robots that they have built using the IoTiny and EZ-B v4 in this Robot Program episode. 

*Note:  This video shows an unboxing of the Developer Kit 1.0.  The current version of the Developer Kit (2.0) is powered by an IoTiny instead of an EZ-B and also includes 2 LED lights and some extension wires to help you build larger robots with greater distances between the servos and the controller.  
Inside the EZ-B v4
With the electronics protected by a stylish plastic shell, the EZ-B v4 brain fits perfectly in your Revolution EZ-Robot and is easily programmed over Wi-Fi using our Software.
If you're new to robotics and this next section sounds a little more technical than you understand, don't be worried.  Our tutorials will walk you through the connections and functions.  EZ-Robot makes it easy for everyone to build and program powerful robots.

As your knowledge grows, each of the terms below will begin to make more sense.  The important thing to know is that our controllers are very powerful and they'll help you do incredible things!


Technical Specifications
The EZ-B v4 boasts:
  • Two 32-bit CPUs at 200mhz (ARM Cortex M3 & Microchip PIC32)
  • Energy Efficient Digital Switching Power Supply
  • Wi-Fi Connectivity with security
  • Embedded Web Server
  • Amplified Digital Audio with Speaker
  • 3 x i2c ports
  • 3 x UARTs
  • 24 x Multi-Function I/O
  • 73 x Servos (Dynamixel & PWM)
  • 8 Analog ports, and Integrated Video...

...all in a compact 2.1" x 2.2" size!

EZ-B v4 Port Summary
The EZ-B v4 has 24 Digital Ports and 8 Analog Ports.  The Digital Ports are labelled D0 through D23, and run down the left side and along the bottom.

​The ADC Analog Ports are labelled A0 through A7, and run down the right side.

Each port has 3 pins, which are GND (Ground), VCC and Signal.  The GND and VCC are for powering the device connected to the port.  The Signal pin is connected to the EZ-B Microchip for reading or writing data from Digital or ADC.  The GND and VCC pins are not connected to the Microchip, they are only used for powering the peripheral connected to the EZ-B v4.

For example, a servo has a 3 wire plug that connects to one of the EZ-B Digital Ports.  The wires of a servo connector are GND, VCC and Signal.  The GND and VCC provide power to the servo's motor and circuit.  The Signal wire carries the information to tell the servo what position to move.

*Note:  When plugging a servo into a Port on the EZ-B or IoTiny, it's critically important that the black wire plugs into the black pin.  The other two white wires will plug into the white and red pins.

IoTiny Port Summary
The IoTiny has 8 Digital Ports and 2 Analog Ports.  The Digital Ports are labelled D0 through D7.  The ADC Analog Ports are labelled A0 through A1.
​
3 PIN (GVS) Connectors
Each port has 3 pins, which are GND (Ground), VCC, and Signal.  The GND and VCC are for powering the device connected to the port.  The Signal pin is connected to the EZ-B Microchip for reading or writing data from Digital or ADC. 

​The GND and VCC pins are not connected to the Microchip, they are used only for powering the peripheral connected to the IoTiny.

For example, a servo has a 3 wire plug that connects to one of the EZ-B Digital Ports.  The wires of a servo connector are also GND, VCC, and Signal.  The GND and VCC provide power to the servo's motor and circuit.  The Signal wire carries the information to tell the servo what position to move.

Connecting the Camera
The EZ-Robot Camera connects to the EZ-B v4 with a 6 pin cable.  Notches on the male connector match the EZ-B's female connector.  This prevents the plug from connecting incorrectly.  The camera connection is unique, making it easy to identify where to connect.  It is impossible to connect the camera cable to the wrong connector, as it only fits in the matching plug.

Connecting Servos & I/O
Much like your home theater speakers, the cables of the EZ-B and peripherals are color coded.  The BLACK wire on the peripheral (i.e. servo) will connect to match the BLACK pin of the EZ-B connector.
​
EZ-B v4 Ports Overview
Unregulated Power I/O
If you plan on building your own custom robots, it is important that you know how the power pins work, as you may need custom power requirements.

The EZ-B v4 does not regulate the power on the I/O pins.  This means that if you provide 12V to the EZ-B v4, the I/O pins will output 12V.  Of course, this will damage any +5V peripherals that you connect to the EZ-B v4 when using 12V.  You must be aware of how much power is being provided to the EZ-B v4 and what you are connecting to the I/O pins. 

​For example, the EZ-Robot Servos do not like power above 7.4 volts - which is why we recommend using an EZ-Robot LiPo battery or Rechargeable AA batteries in the provided holder.  If you are wishing to use an alternate power source, please be aware of this message and select a voltage rating that works with your application and peripherals.

*Note: The only ports that have regulated power are the Camera, i2c and UART #0 Expansion.
​Learn Your Port Types
Digital
Working with digital means True (On) or False (Off).  True means any voltage above 1 volt, and False means GND.  There are 24 digital ports on the EZ-B v4 (D0 to D23).

Output is writing to a port:  When a port has its digital value set to True, then a +3.3 voltage will be outputted on that port.  If the port has its digital value set to False, then the port will be GND.

Input is reading from a port:  You can read the value of a specific port.  This is how you can check for voltage, On or Off.  Any voltage above GND (and below +5 volts) will be returned as True, a short to GND will be returned as False.

Some examples of peripheral devices for digital ports are Switches, Servos, Ultrasonic Distance Sensors, and Buttons.
​ADC
ADC is short for Analog Digital Converter, and is read only (input only).  This method reads voltages into the EZ-B Robot Controller.  There are 8 analog input port on the EZ-B (A0 to A7).
​
Reading Relative Voltage:  The returned value will be between 0-255 in 8 bit mode and 0-4095 in 12 bit mode.  These values represent the input voltage on the specified port.  The value will be relative to the input voltage that will between 0 and 5 volts.  Example in 8 bit mode: Value 0 = 0 Volts, Value 127 = 2.5 Volts, Value 255 = 5 Volts.

Reading Absolute Voltage:  Returns the value in actual volts on the specified port.

Example peripherals for analog input are Sharp GP2 Analog Distance Sensors, Pressure Sensors, Light Sensors, Sound Sensors, Color Sensors, and reading voltages.
Serial (tx only)
Every digital port of the EZ-B Smart Robot Controller can transmit serial data.  Serial Communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time in a sequence.  Serial communication is common with many peripherals because it allows commands to be transmitted over one wire.  The transmission works similar to Morse code.
​
The Sender and Receiver need to be configured for the baud rate (speed) in which the data will be transmitted.  Common baud rate speeds are 300bps, 4800bps, 9600bps, 19200bps, 38400bps, 57600bps and 115200bps.

There are also 3 high speed UART ports on the EZ-B which allow transmit and receive abilities.  The buffer size for input on each of the 3 high speed UART ports is 5,000 Bytes.

Example peripherals for serial communication are LCD Screens, Motor Controllers, Servo Controllers, Computer Communication, Arduino Communication, iRobot Roomba, and more.
I2C
The I2C is also referred to as the "Two Wire Interface".  There are three I2C connectors on the EZ-B v4.  I2C is a communication method that is used to communicate with peripherals.  The I2C uses two wires for communication, Serial Data Line (SDL) and Serial Clock Line (SCL).
I2C devices can be chained together in a network formation.  Each device is given a unique address.  The EZ-B v4 has three I2C ports which provide both signal wires and +3.3v power.

Example peripherals for I2C communication are LCD Screens, I2C enabled Servos, BlinkM Multicolor LEDs, and more.
​
UART Serial (bi-directional)
The V4 UARTx ports are used to connect to Serial TTL devices for both input and output. Contrary to the digital port Serial Output, these peripherals will also receive data into an input buffer as well. The input buffer of each UART is 5,000 Bytes.

​There are 3 UARTs, the first is the hardware labelled port, second and third are digital pins. These UARTs are controlled using the UARTInit(), UARTWrite(), UARTRead() and UARTAvailable() commands. The speed of these UARTs can be any integer between 1 and 3750000 bps.

UART0 TX: Expansion Connector
UART0 RX: Expansion Connector
UART1 TX: D5
UART1 RX: D6
UART2 TX: D18
UART2 RX: D19