This PXT package allows the micro:bit to generate Bluetooth beacons to which droids from the droid depot will respond.
As of December 2020, this extension does not work with the default MakeCode environment, which has changed since this extension was first created. In order to use this extension you will need to use the Version 1 MakeCode editor at https://makecode.microbit.org/v1.
This extension will also not work with V2 micro:bit. V2 micro:bit uses the CODAL runtime, which does not include the mbed API this extension utilizes.
Reference:
In MakeCode, open an existing project or create a new project. Click on the gear icon at the top-right and select extensions from the drop-down menu. In the search box enter github:ruthsarian/pxt-swge-beacon, press enter, and select swge-beacon when it comes up. Your project will now include SWGE beacon blocks under the Bluetooth section with some more advanced versions of those blocks under the more subsection.
MakeCode Examples
Video Tutorial
zone: Select from a drop-down list the location the beacon should represent.- numeric version: there is a version of this block that accepts a numeric value for
zoneunder "bluetooth : more"
personality: Select from a drop-down list the personality the beacon should represent.- usage note: Droids will not react to this type of beacon for up to 2 hours after last encountering a location beacon.
- numeric version: there is a version of this block that accepts a numeric value for
personalityunder "bluetooth : more"
zone: Set the location zone for the beacon. Valid values are 1 - 7.react_interval: Controls how long the droid will wait before its next reaction to the same beacon. This value is in seconds, then multiplied by 5. For example, a value of 24 would cause the droid to react every 2 minutes (24 x 5 = 120 seconds or 2 minutes). The minimum reaction time interval is 1 minute. This means any value less than 12 will be treated as 12 (12 x 5 = 60 seconds) by the droid.rssi: The minimum signal strength the droid must receive the beacon before it reacts. Value is in dBm and the default value is -90 which offers maximum distance (tens of feet). A value of around -26 will be a minimum distance of a few inches.- note: this block can be found under the bluetooth "more" subsection.
mfr_id: A 2-byte value (0-65535) that identifies the manufacturer for the beacon. For droid beacons this should be set to0x0183.beacon_data: The raw beacon data; see tables below for details.- input values: input values will be treated as hexadecimal if they begin with
0xotherwise they are treated as an array of bytes. - note: this block may be found under "bluetooth : more"
Droid beacons are typically 6 bytes long. Below is a table that describes the purpose of each byte for droid and location beacons.
This beacon identifies a location. These beacons are placed throughout the park and droids will react to them as they are encountered.
Example value: 0x0A040102A601
| BYTE | Description | Example Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Beacon Type | 0x0A | Location Beacon |
| 02 | Beacon Data Length | 0x04 | Value does not include the first two bytes; just the data that comes after |
| 03 | Zone | 0x01 | Valid values are 1 - 7 |
| 04 | Reaction Interval | 0x02 | Multiply this value by 5 to get the number of seconds between droid reactions. Any value below 12 (60 seconds) will be treated as 12 (60 seconds) by the droid. A value of 0xFF will cause the droid to react once and then never again until power is cycled or the droid encounters enough other beacons (10) to make it forget it had encountered this beacon. |
| 05 | Minimum RSSI in dBm | 0xA6 | A way to determine how close a droid must be to the beacon before it reacts. 0xA6 (-90 dBm) essentially tells the droid to respond at any signal strength. 0xE6 (-26 dBm) would tell the droid not to react until it is within about 1 foot of the droid. |
| 06 | ? unknown ? | 0x01 | Droids will not react to the beacon is this byte is a value other than 0 or 1. |
This beacon identifies a location. These beacons are placed throughout the park and droids will react to them as they are encountered.
Example value: 0x030444818201
| BYTE | Description | Example Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Beacon Type | 0x03 | Droid Beacon |
| 02 | Beacon Data Length | 0x04 | Value does not include the first two bytes; just the data that comes after |
| 03 | ? unknown ? | 0x44 | |
| 04 | Paired with Remote | 0x81 | 0x01 + (0x80 if the droid is paired with a remote). |
| 05 | Affiliation | 0x82 | 0x80 + (Affiliation ID * 2) |
| 06 | Personality | 0x01 | Personality Chip ID; 0x01 for unchipped R-unit, 0x02 for unchipped BB-unit. |
| Personality Chip | Chip ID | Affiliation | Affiliation ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unchipped R-unit | 1 | Scoundrel | 1 |
| Unchipped BB-unit | 2 | Scoundrel | 1 |
| Blue | 3 | Resistance | 5 |
| Gray | 4 | Scoundrel | 1 |
| Red | 5 | First Order | 9 |
| Orange | 6 | Resistance | 5 |
| Purple | 7 | Scoundrel | 1 |
| Black | 8 | First Order | 9 |
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