Sphero SDK

Greetings adventurous students, developers, hackers, and makers! RVR is one of the best starting points into the vast world of robotics, and we’re here to help you get started with using our approachable development tools.

First things first

Getting Started

Visit our Getting Started to learn more about the ins-and-outs of working with RVR, including some important details on the getting started process.

More information and documentation

Visit our SDK website to find more information about RVR, the SDK and the API!

Where to get help

Visit our community forum to get help, share your project, or help others!

Staying up to date

Consider signing up for our SDK email list to stay current on new features being released in our robot firmware as well as our SDKs, including new platform / language support.

micro:bit Python SDK

This module contains the set of commands that allow the micro:bit to communicate with the Sphero RVR robot.

In order to use the SDK, sphero.py will need to be copied onto the micro:bit, along with the Python file to be run.

The drive commands can be accessed by typing from sphero import RVRDrive, RawMotorModes at the top of the Python file.
The RawMotorModes class is only used to specify the left_mode and right_mode values of the set_raw_motors command, and may be excluded from the import statement if the user does not wish to use this command.

The LED commands can be accessed by typing from sphero import RVRLed, LEDs at the top of the Python file.
The LEDs class is only used to specify the index value of the set_rgb_led_by_index command, and may be excluded from the import statement if the user does not wish to use this command.

The power commands can be accessed by typing from sphero import RVRPower at the top of the Python file.

Note: Due to the micro:bit's memory constraints, sphero.py contains a lot of seemingly arbitrary hexadecimal values. This is not good programming practice, and was only used to allow as much space for the user as possible in the micro:bit's limited memory.

RVRDrive

The class containing all RVR drive commands. All drive commands are static, and can be called by typing RVRDrive.<command>.

Examples:

RVRDrive.drive(60, 90)
RVRDrive.set_raw_motors(RawMotorModes.FORWARD, 80, RawMotorModes.FORWARD, 80)
RVRDrive.reset_yaw()

Note: Unless stated otherwise, the commands will not work if the provided values are outside of the specified ranges.

• drive(speed, heading): drives the robot at the given speed with the given heading.
  • speed (int): an integer from 0-255
  • heading (int): an integer from 0-359 degrees (0 is forwards, 90 is to the right, 180 is backwards, and 270 is to the left)
• stop(heading): tells the robot to stop driving. The heading should be the robot's current heading.
  • heading (int): an integer from 0-359 (0 is forwards, 90 is to the right, 180 is backwards, and 270 is to the left)
• set_raw_motors(left_mode, left_speed, right_mode, right_speed): sets the motors' modes and speeds individually. If a mode value outside of the 0-2 range is given, the mode will default to 0 (off).
  • left_mode (RawMotorModes): a member of the RawMotorModes class representing the drive mode for the left motor (OFF, FORWARD, BACKWARD)
  • left_speed (int): an integer from 0-255
  • right_mode (RawMotorModes): a member of the RawMotorModes class representing the drive mode for the right motor (OFF, FORWARD, BACKWARD)
  • right_speed (int): an integer from 0-255
• reset_yaw(): sets the robot's current yaw angle to zero.

RVRLed

The class containing all RVR LED commands. All LED commands are static, and can be called by typing RVRLed.<command>.

Examples:

RVRLed.set_all_leds(0, 0, 255)
RVRLed.set_rgb_led_by_index(LEDs.RIGHT_STATUS, 140, 125, 240)

Note: The commands will not work if the provided values are outside of the specified ranges.

• set_all_leds(red, green, blue): sets all of RVR's LEDs to the color represented by the given red, green, and blue values.
  • red (int): an integer from 0-255 indicating the desired red value
  • green (int): an integer from 0-255 indicating the desired green value
  • blue (int): an integer from 0-255 indicating the desired blue value
• set_rgb_led_by_index(index, red, green, blue): sets the indicated LED to the color represented by the given red, green, and blue values.
  • index (LEDs): a member of the LEDs class used to specify which LED is to be set
  • red (int): an integer from 0-255 indicating the desired red value
  • green (int): an integer from 0-255 indicating the desired green value
  • blue (int): an integer from 0-255 indicating the desired blue value

RVRPower

The class containing all RVR power commands. All power commands are static, and can be called by typing RVRPower.<command>.

Examples:

RVRPower.sleep()
RVRPower.wake()

• sleep(): puts the robot in a soft sleep state.
• wake(): wakes the robot from sleep.