This post was originally send out to my newsletter subscribers. The newsletter documents all my updates and imrpovements to the Lego Sorting bot. It is an almost monthly newsletter (in practice, I send out about 6 newsletters per year). You can read previous editions here, or you can subscribe using the form below.
Hello builders and makers,
This update is long overdue, thanks to an incredible ski season ⛷️! Although the current development isn’t fully complete, I didn’t want to delay this newsletter any longer. I’ve made significant improvements to the EV3 code. However, I’ve also realized that it ultimately leads to a dead end.
EV3 Code
Except for some cosmetic changes, I haven’t updated the code that runs on the EV3 since the start of the project. And it was starting to show.
The most important issue was when one of the motors would not be correctly connected. Because the contacts are starting to age, bad connections with the cables were occurring more frequently and, when it happened, it was crashing the EV3. This was terribly annoying.
At the same time, I also wanted to improve the way that you can install the software.
The new version that you can find on Codeberg does:
- Error checking. When something is not connected, it does not crash, but sends an error message through MQTT so you know what is wrong and can correct it.
- Installs as a Debian package. I still need to publish the package, but when it is done, the entire EV3 setup will be writing the SD card and executing one apt-get statement.
During the development, I wanted to buy some spare EV3 motors, however it turns out that these parts have become terribly expensive. If you wanted to buy all the EV3 parts required for the LEGO sorting machine on Bricklink, you would need to pay about €300/$300 😦
That’s just unacceptable, so replacing the EV3 parts with new PoweredUp parts is now a lot higher on my priority list!
What’s Next?
Here’s what I will be working on next:
- Documentation:
Both the EV3 code and last month’s server code need to be documented. When that is done, setup of the sorting machine’s software should be a matter of minutes or at most an hour and no training will be required. - EV3 Replacement:
I have known for quite some time, but the EV3 has got to go. It is expensive and outdated.
As always, your feedback is absolutely welcome. Thanks for following along on this journey. Happy sorting, and I look forward to sharing more updates soon!
Peter