Thymio II Wireless Creator Kit – Advanced Mobile Educational Robot with Remote/LinkVest

FAQ

How to program Thymio with a tablet

Thymio Suite Mobile can be installed on tablets (iOS and Android). However, Thymio robots cannot be connected directly to the tablet; a relay computer is needed. This relay computer should also run Thymio Suite; then you will be able to see on your tablet the same list of available robots as on your computer. It works with both real and simulated robots.

Easy steps to get Thymio Suite up and running on tablets

Install & launch Thymio Suite on computer

Connect one or more Thymio robots to it

Install & launch Thymio Suite Mobile on the tablet

Make sure that both the tablet and the relay computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network

You should see the same robots appear on both the computer and the tablet

What kind of microSD card can I use with Thymio?

We advise you to use very low storage cards (not bigger than 8GB if possible). Avoid very high capacity cards including XD, UC or HC

What are the system settings and how do I access them?

Thymio has three options in the special settings mode: sound volume setting mode, motor calibration mode, and wireless pairing mode.

After turning Thymio on, simultaneously touch the left and right buttons for 3 seconds to enter the settings menu.

Once the red lights around Thymio start blinking, you can use the arrows to change the color and choose a setting. Then enter the setting mode by touching the center button.

Orange: set the volume

Use the forward and backward arrows to set the volume. The volume is displayed on the robot using the yellow LED circle. To save your choice and exit the setting mode, just power Thymio off by pressing the central button for 3 seconds.

Green: motor calibration

This mode allows users to fine tune the speed of the motors when the robot doesn’t drive straight.

Print this pdf file on two A4 pages at 100%, tape them together on a table or the ground, and place the robot between the lines.  (Or you can print it on a single A3 page.)

The “front” and “back” buttons make the robot move forward and backward. Press them once, twice, or three times to modify its speed. You can check if the robot travels straight at different speeds.

The “left” and “right” buttons increase or decrease the correction in the direction of travel: If the robot turns right, press the left button several times to correct the direction until it goes straight, and conversely if it turns left, press the right button several times. The more times you press, the bigger the correction.

When the robot goes straight, press the central button for 3 seconds. This will turn off the robot and store the correction values in the long-term memory.

Power on the robot and check the results of the calibration by running the pre-programmed obedient (magenta) behavior.

Here is a video showing a calibration example:

How to charge my Thymio? Is my robot’s battery defective?

In order to correctly charge Thymio, you should connect it with the USB cable to a computer or a wall charger.

Please note that Thymio charges the fastest when it is turned off and connected to a wall charger. Sometimes, a computer or a USB hub will not provide sufficient current to charge the robot efficiently.

When charging, a red light shows on the robot next to the micro USB connector. Once the robot is fully charged, a blue light will show.

If your robot seems unable to charge, it might be for the following reasons:

◆ Your cable is defective or loose, or the robot’s connector is damaged

Try again with a different micro USB cable, one that you know is in good condition. Move the cable slightly: does the red light on the robot blink when you move? It should remain steady.

◆ A damaged connector means the robot needs to be repaired

If your warranty is still valid, please contact your reseller. Otherwise visit the Thymio support center page.

◆ You have not installed the drivers on your computer (Windows)

Under Windows, Thymio must be recognized by the computer to be charged. Unplug your robot and try to download and install the software.

◆ Your Thymio is fully discharged

Full discharge can happen when the robot is used for a long time without recharge, or on the contrary, when it is left unused for several months or years. In this state, the robot’s behavior is erratic: blinks, beeps, doesn’t respond to buttons, or doesn’t turn on.

To recover from deep discharge:

– Connect the robot to a wall charger (a computer will not provide sufficient power).

– Reset the robot (insert a pin into the small hole on the left of the robot).

– Allow it to charge for at least 3 hours with the wall charger. Try to turn it off if it turns on; if it does not work, wait for 1 hour before trying to turn it off.

If it still does not work after this, the battery is probably faulty.

◆ Your battery is faulty (very rare)

The usual symptom is a robot that charges very quickly, with the blue led near the cable showing the end of charging lights after a few minutes.

Once unplugged, the robot’s autonomy is almost zero. Sometimes both the red and blue LEDs close to the cable light up at the same time. Sometimes the robot will not turn on at all.

In that case, the robot needs a new battery. If your warranty is still valid, please contact your reseller, otherwise visit the Thymio support center page.

How do I install Thymio Suite on my system?

Thymio Suite is available on different operating systems. Installing Thymio Suite will allow you to connect to your Thymio from your computer, and program (Aseba, VPL, Blockly, Scratch), configure or update it.

To install Thymio Suite, go to the download page and choose the operating system of your computer.

How do I program Thymio? What programming languages are officially available?

To program Thymio, you must first download and install the software. Then connect your robot via cable or wireless dongle and turn it on. The official programming languages of Thymio are :

Is there a risk of erasing the basic behaviors if I program Thymio?

There is no way you can erase Thymio’s basic behaviors by programming it. If you want to clear your program and access the basic behaviors again, simply disconnect Thymio from the computer, turn it off, and turn it on again.

How do I upgrade my Thymio?

Before starting, make sure that your Thymio is properly charged: the battery indicator must show three bars when the robot is not connected.

Thymio Suite 2.0

1. Download and install the latest version of Thymio Suite.
2. Connect Thymio to your computer with the USB cable.
3. Start Thymio Suite.
4. Launch VPL or any programming language.
5. If an update is available, there will be an update icon over the robot. Right click on the robot you want to update and select “update firmware” or simply click the update icon.
6. Wait until the blue progress bar is complete. Once it’s complete the update is finished!

What are the pre-programmed behaviors?

Thymio has pre-programmed behaviors that allow you to interact with it, even without programming it.

The pre-programmed behaviors always remain in the robot, and you can go back to them by disconnecting from Thymio Suite (if you were connected) and restarting Thymio.

How to configure the pairing of Wireless Thymio with its dongle?

Out of the box, your Wireless Thymio robot and its dongle are correctly configured and ready to use. There is no need to configure anything for normal use!

If you want to create a network with several Thymio connected together and on one single dongle, you must satisfy the following conditions:

• All the robots must be on the same channel
• All the robots must have the same network identifier
• Each robot must have a different and unique node identifier  (Do not modify this value)

Note: We advise not to group more than 6 robots in one network with one single dongle (with firmware 13+ and Thymio Suite)

If you want to program different robots independently each with one dongle, you must satisfy the following conditions:

• Assign each robot that you want to use independently to its own unique channel
• Each robot must have a different and unique network identifier
• Each robot must have a different and unique node identifier. Do not modify this value!

How to pair the robots and dongles on the computer:

Plug your dongle into your computer

Open the “Wireless Thymio Network Configurator” (in the tools when you start Thymio Suite)

Choose a channel either 0, 1 or 2 (it must be the same channel for robots in the same network, default channel is 1)

You can choose a network identifier (default 0x404F)

Do not change the dongle node identifier

Press “Enable pairing”

How to pair robots and dongles on Wireless Thymio:

Turn on your Wireless Thymio robot (if it was already turned on, turn it off and turn it on again.)

Put the Wireless Thymio into configuration mode by holding both the right and left buttons for 3 seconds. Then select the light purple mode by touching the right or left buttons. Finally, enter configuration mode by touching the center button.

The dongle and Thymio red LEDs must flash at the same frequency. Bring Thymio and the dongle close to each other until that is the case.

Turn Thymio off (touch the center button for several seconds), to save the configuration.

On the computer, click Flash Into Dongle to save the new settings.

It seems my robot has a hardware problem, what should I do?

The battery, a motor, a sensor or another part of your robot needs to be replaced or repaired

If your robot is still under warranty, contact us directly for a free repair. Describe the technical problem and explain which part you think is broken and why.

If the warranty is over, there may be additional fees for repairs/replacements.

One of the buttons of Thymio doesn’t work sometimes

The buttons have filters that automatically adapt. If you let your finger on the button too long, it won’t be detected anymore. Avoid touching the buttons for 10 seconds to let the filters reset.

My robot does not turn on, what should I do?

Sometimes a robot does not turn on; there are several possible causes and several things to try

◆ Wait 10 seconds before trying again: there is automatic filtering on each button’s signal. If you leave your finger on the center button for too long, the robot adapts to this condition and your finger is not detected anymore. Avoid touching it for 10 seconds and the filters should reset.

◆ Push the reset button: on the left side of the robot there is a small hole. Insert a pin to reset the robot.

◆ Recharge the robot: your robot might not respond because it is fully discharged. Follow the instructions to recharge it correctly.

◆ Restore the firmware: if a firmware upgrade goes wrong, the robot is left without functional firmware and doesn’t do anything. Follow the instructions here to restore the firmware.

My robot does not move in the pre-programmed behaviors, what is happening?

In the magenta mode, you can easily check that the motors work. The robot should drive straight forward if you press forward and backwards if you press backwards. If you suspect a hardware issue, please adjust the wheel calibration in the green settings mode (hold down left and right buttons for 3 seconds).

If in the red, yellow or green pre-programmed behaviors, the robot should detect your hand (indicated by light and sound), but if it does not move, it probably cannot detect the ground. In those modes, Thymio is programmed to stop at the edge of the table.

If you place it on a surface that does not reflect IR light (such as a black or dark surface, a transparent surface, some carpets) the surface is not detected and the robot stops.

Try it on a white surface. If it still does not move then, there is probably a problem with the ground sensors. If you suspect a hardware issue, please contact the company you purchased it from.

Why doesn’t my robot drive straight?

Thymio’s motors can have small variations in speed, therefore, it is common that they don’t all turn exactly at the same speed.

To test how your robot drives, please use the obedient (magenta) mode. In this mode, on a flat surface, the robot should drive straight forward when you press the forward arrow, and straight backwards when you press the backward arrow.

If that is not the case, you can calibrate the motors with the light green settings mode. If the calibration doesn’t help and your robot deviates strongly or one wheel doesn’t turn at all, there is probably a hardware problem.

What should I do if my robot cannot follow the line in the investigator (light blue) mode?

You can try calibrating the sensor values by hand:

– To calibrate the black level, with Thymio’s ground sensors positioned over the track (black line on the ground), press both forward and backward arrow buttons simultaneously.

– To calibrate the white level, with Thymio’s ground sensors positioned over the white area, press both left and right arrow buttons simultaneously.

If you draw the track yourself, make sure it is sufficiently wide (4cm) and with high contrast (black on white is best). If some turns are too sharp, the robot can lose the track.

I would like my program to stay in Thymio’s memory even if I turn it off (VPL, Blockly or Aseba)

Normally, if you program Thymio and then turn it off, the program you created is erased. If you want your program to stay in memory, you can flash one program in the permanent memory of the robot. Doing so will create a 7th basic behavior which will have no color. This colorless mode will be your program. To save the code in Thymio II:

Once you have written your program in Aseba Studio, press Stop, then Run

Click on “Tools” -> “Write the program(s) …” -> “… inside Thymio II” (if you renamed your robot, you will see the new name instead of “Thymio II”)

Check that the event window displays “Flashing OK”

In order to erase your additional program, simply update the robot (This only works with programs developed with VPL, Blockly or Studio)

How to pair a Wireless Thymio with its dongle in Thymio Suite

In the tools of Thymio Suite, click on “Pair a Wireless Thymio to a Wireless dongle”

If a warning appears, just click “Yes”

Connect the dongle and the Thymio you want to pair

Click on “Pair!”

Repeat the same for each robot and dongle you want to pair.

TIPS: If you want to create a network with all Thymio in one group, communicating with each other, use the same dongle to pair each Thymio. This feature will only be correctly supported in Aseba Studio.

There are also more options in the advanced mode.

TIPS: You can also use “Pair a case of Wireless” to assign one dongle per robot over unique channels.

How to record and use a sound effect for Thymio?

(See the process on Mobsya)

Recording from a computer

Make sure to have a micro SD card that you can connect to your computer and that is compatible with Thymio. Avoid cards that are too high-capacity or too fast. Use a capacity between 2 GB and 4 GB, and do not use SDHC or SDXC formats.

First, start Audacity. Once the app has started, create a new project and change the default value of 44100 Hz to 8000 Hz. Use only one track by selecting 1 recording channel.

You can now record your sound with the record button. You should see the cursor moving and the sound wave visualization. Once your sound is done, click stop.

Before exporting the sound, check that the metadata of the file are empty. Click on the Edit menu (arrow 5) and then metadata.

Once the window is open, if data is written under Value, erase it by clicking Delete, then Validate.

You can now export the sound file. Click on the File menu, Export, and then Export as WAV .

Name your file in the following way: P followed by a number. For example P0.wav (the number after P lets you find the sound when you program), select the file type Other non compressed formats.

Under Format Options, choose WAV header (Microsoft) and under Encoding choose Unsigned 8 bit PCM.

Save the file to the SD card.

You can also find this procedure in an explanatory video by following this link.

Play the SD card sound on Thymio

VPL3

Use the customizable mode. Select the blocks related to the SD card and close the configuration panel.

Use block 15 to play your sound. The arrows allow you to select the right number. Block 16 stops the playback.

Aseba

Use function sound.play which takes as a parameter a recording number between 0 and 32767. To interrupt the playback, call sound.play with the parameter -1.

Scratch

In code, go to category Thymio, block jouer son carte SD ().

Recording sound directly from the robot

Scratch

In code, go to category Thymio, you will find the block enregistrer son () which allows you to record sound. To stop recording, use arrêter l’enregistrement du son () and to replay a sound use rejouer son ().

Aseba

You can record sounds to the SD card using native function sound.record which takes a recording number from 0 to 32767 as a parameter. The file is then saved to the SD card under the name Rx.wav, where x is the parameter given to the function sound.record. To stop recording, call sound.record with -1 as argument.

You can then replay the recorded sound with the native function sound.replay . As a parameter, this function takes a number from 0 to 32767 and replays file Rx.wav from the SD card, where x is the parameter passed to the function sound.replay . To stop the playback, call sound.replay with -1 as argument.