A Node CLI Tool for Sphero BB8 Robot using the Sphero Javascript SDK
Not yet on npm so you'll have to do it the good'ol fasioned way with a cheeky git clone
git clone git@github.com:mintuz/bb8-commander.gitnpm installnode index.js setup- Use commands below
node index.js setup- Command to save your BB8 Unit UUID to config for future referencenode index.js disconnect- Command to disconnect from your BB8 Unit
node index.js disco- Command to turn your BB8 Unit into a shining disco ball in the nightnode index.js roll- A simple command to make your BB8 Randomly roll in any direction.node index.js desk-buddy- A command to keep you company whilst working at your desk. Place in it's charging station to watch its head move round randomly.node index.js weather --city="manchester" --country="uk" --api-key="ABCD"- Command to turn your BB8 Unit into your very own weather reporter, uses OpenWeather so be sure to get your own API keynode index.js tweet --hash-tag="bb8" --delay=5000- Command to search twitter and run the first hashtag it finds as a command. Eg a tweet "#disco #bb8" would run thediscocommand --consumer-key xxx --consumer-secret xxx --access-token-key xxx --access-token-secret xxxnode index.js power- A command to get details of the battery state.node index.js drive- A command to enable you to take input from the keyboard and 'drive' your BB-8 with the arrow keys.node index.js express --port=4000- Command to run an express server which has a single POST endpoint which you can send a JSON object to. See below for more details.
Having the ability to run an Express server to issue commands to the BB8 unit opens up a bunch of possibilities. One of the main benefits of having an Express server is that you can integrate into IFTTT and at that point, you have entered the Internet of things.
To get started is really easy, all you need to do is run node index.js express --port=4000 adn once your BB8 is connected, an Express server will be started.
You can then send commands directly to it via a POST request. It supports any SpheroSDK command as well as custom commands we have created. See below for some examples.
With native commands, the response body will include information the BB8 exposes once that command has been executed. Read the Sphero documentation on what data it returns. http://sdk.sphero.com/community-apis/javascript-sdk/
Post Request - localhost:3000/
Request Body
{
"mode":"sphero",
"command":"color",
"value": "yellow"
}
Post Request - localhost:3000/
Request Body
{
"mode":"sphero",
"command":"roll",
"value": [130, 50]
}
With this request, we are passing an array and that's because the roll command in Sphero SDK requires multiple parameters. This is just a simple way to pass those values to that command.
Post Request - localhost:3000/
Request Body
{
"mode":"custom",
"command":"disco"
}
POST Request - localhost:3000/
Request Body
{
"mode":"custom",
"command":"tweet",
"value": {
"delay": 30,
"consumerKey": "YOUR_CONSUMER_KEY",
"consumerSecret": "YOUR_CONSUMER_SECRET",
"accessTokenKey": "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_KEY",
"accessTokenSecret": "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET"
}
}
Obviously you wouldn’t pass your OAuth information like this (BB8 Commander supports environment variables for secure data) but the important thing to note here is, anything that can be passed to the CLI tool can also be passed into the express server endpoint.
A suite difference between native commands and custom commands is that native commands that require multiple parameters will be passed as an array whilst custom commands will be objects. The reason for this is custom commands are key value pairs due to them sharing the same code as the CLI tool.
Go ahead, fork it, make a change, issue a PR. We welcome new actions and bug fixes.