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RoboRemote Humanoid

Setup

You can setup the RoboRemote Humanoid App installed on your iPhone/iPad to communicate with your NXT and the RoboRemote Server on your Mac/PC/Android by following the next few steps:

Download and run the RoboRemote Server for MAC/Windows from the download section or from our home page.  If you want to use an Android device instead of your computer, you can download the RoboRemote Server App from Google Play ( Download HERE )

Download and run the RoboRemote Humanoid App from the App Store

This is the step where you connect the iPhone to the MAC/PC/Android and the Server to the NXT.  It requires a few additional steps described in more detail here. 

You are now ready to control the robot!  While all the connections are made iPhone->Server->NXT you can switch between the remotes on the iPhone without the need to reconnect. 

MAC/Windows Server Details

The interface between the NXT and the RoboRemote App on the iPhone is the RoboRemote Server.  The focus elements of the interface are:

Simulator “Turn ON” Button : by turning the Simulator Mode ON you can use the RoboRemote App without connecting to an actual NXT – the server receives the commands, updates it’s status and sends back simulated response feedback.  It is mutually exclusive with the NXT Connect Button: only one can be used at a time. 

iPhone Connect/Disconnect Button : this is the first step in establishing the NXT->PC->iPhone communication.  Use this button to connect to the RoboRemote on the iPhone.  After the connection is made the other two buttons are enabled and can be used.  This connection uses WiFi so make sure your are on a strong signal WiFi network. 

NXT Connect Button : use this button to connect to the LEGO NXT, this is mutually exclusive with the Simulator Button, and can only be used after the iPhone-Server connection has been established.  This connection uses bluetooth so make sure you have bluetooth turned on both on your NXT and on your PC. 

Feet Movement : this area is highlighted when the feet movement is activated on iPhone

Hands Movement : this area is highlighted when the hands movement is activated on the iPhone

Current Action : this area shows the current action that controlls Alpha Rex

Change color : this is where the detected color by the NXT color sensor is displayed.  When used in simulator mode, the buttons will emulate color detection, updating the color on the iPhone screen

Power : displays the current power that the robot runs on (the same power for all three motors)

Proximity : this area will emulate distance detected by the proximity sensor when used in simulator mode and will update the iPhone screen

RoboRemote Main Screen

The main screen is divided into five parts:

Button remote : drive Alpha rex by tapping buttons

Accel remote : move the phone through the air and the robot will follow

Website : tap this to visit our website. 

Friend Zone : here we can become friends so you can keep up to date with everything that is new about RoboRemote – like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and tell your friends about us. 

If there is no connection already established with the PC and the NXT, by tapping any of the three remotes you will be prompted to connect first:

After all the connections have been made, the red lights will, in turn, stop blinking and become green, as well as the start button, and you can now tap it to start controlling Alpha Rex:

Controlling Alpha Rex

The first remote uses button taps to drive the robot.  Below is explained what each zone does:

Hands : tap and hold the button to move the hands in the direction indicated by the arrow.  Release the button to stop. 

Feet Zone 1 move the robot forward or backward by tapping and holding down the buttons. 

Calibrate feet : if the robot moves in place, tap this button to calibrate the feet adjusting the correct distance between them. 

Turn : tap and hold the buttons here to turn the robot. 

Turn direction Select the robot’s turning direction – turn forward left or right – turn backward left or right

Color sensor : turn the color sensor on or off

Power : tap to enter the power menu

Proximity : this area will display distance

The second remote uses the accelerometer to drive the robot.  Below is explained what each zone does:

Feet : tap this button to enable the movement of the robot’s feet.  Tilt the phone through the air and watch Alpha Rex move.  It can move forward, backward, and turn in different directions. 

Hands tap this button to enable the movement of the robot’s hands.  Tilt left and right and the hands will folow. 

Calibrate feet : if the robot moves in place, tap this button to calibrate the feet adjusting the correct distance between them. 

Color sensor : this area will display the detected color

Action this box will display the current action in progress.  If the feet and the hands are disabled, the shake icon will be displayed.  Shake the phone and see Alpha Rex do a little dance

Power : tap to enter the power menu

Proximity : this area will display distance

Enter the power menu to adjust the power of the motors.  We recommend using the default power,and only slightly increase it as the batteries run out.  Using too much power will make Alpha Rex fall! 

Special Notes

The RoboRemote App connects to the PC/Android device using WiFi signal so it is important that you are on a WiFi network when attempting to establish the connection.  Also the signal must be very strong otherwise there might be communication delays. 

The RoboRemote Server connects to the NXT using bluetooth, so make sure you have bluetooth enabled on your PC/Android and on your NXT.