uKit AI Main Control Box
The uKit AI main control box (MCB) is the brain of the uKit AI robots. Working with the uKit AI Beginner and Intermediate kits, the MCB is what is programmed during robot operation.
The uKit AI MCB boosts added features including dual microphones, a speaker and WiFi capabilities. These features enable uKit AI to perform real-time AI interactions including: ASR (automatic speech recognition) and NLP (natural language processing).
Connection
uKit AI MCB connects to both the uKit EDU app and uCode. Follow the below steps to connect.
uKit EDU App
Step 1
If upgrading from UKIT (1.0), in the app, go to settings –> Model –> select AI Main Control Box.
*If new to the app, when first opened, you will have the option to select the MCB, make sure to click uKit AI
Step 2
uKit AI MCB connects to the app via Bluetooth. Once in the coding environment, select the Bluetooth icon in the upper right hand corner and follow the prompts to connect. *Bluetooth must be enabled on the device.
The first time you connect you will be prompted to connect to WiFi and update firmware.
The uKit AI MCB acts as an IoT device (similar to Alexa) and relies on the internet in order to interact with the voice recognition functions. In order to use the voice recognition, text-to-speech and NLP blocks, the MCB must be connected to WiFi.
However, if you do not have access to WiFi, the MCB can be connected locally without WiFi but will not have access to the AI block drawer within the app.
Firmware must be updated first with WiFi.
uCode
Step 1
Go to idena.ubtrobot.com (for optimal performance, use the Google Chrome Browser)
Step 2
From the dropdown menus Select Device, click uKit AI.
Step 3
uKit AI can connect to uCode via Bluetooth or USB connections. For either connection, the uCode Connection Assistant must be downloaded and installed on the device. This driver runs silently on computers and is only downloaded once. Follow the prompts to install. Please note that the program does require Admin access to the computer, if using a student device you may need to change permissions. Once installed, refresh uCode. Reach out to [email protected] if you need assistance.
Step 4
Follow prompts to connect. Once connected you may be asked to update firmware. Firmware update is always recommended but not required.
Unlike the uKit EDU app, WiFi connection is not necessary within uCode and will not be prompted upfront. However, the MCB will still need to be connected to WiFi to use the voice recognition functions.
To connect the MCB to WiFi, select the gear icon next to the connection menu and select Network Setting.
Step 5
Once connected, uCode offers a stage mode for drag and drop graphical coding and an upload mode for block to text conversion coding.
In upload mode, the students can convert blocks to Python or code directly in Python with the Python 3.0 text editor. Select the Python icon to open.