Asked
Resolved Resolved by DJ Sures!

Mobile Code (Interface Help)

I have found the mobile version of ARC and found out that i can't run anything, for it says i need to have at least one mobile interface... i can run my sounds, but not my scripts or servo pads, what am I missing? How do i make or chose something as a mobile interface... i am hoping i can run my scripts


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Synthiam
#1   — Edited

Create an interface and add buttons to trigger your scripts. Or move your scripts into the buttons themselves: https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/User-Interface/Interface-Builder?id=16063

keep in mind that the future of ARC does not include mobile due to way too many limitations to list. So many ARC features aren’t supported and there’s no further development

This is because the alternative is to use an sbc on the robot which you can control from a phone still. Simply use vnc or the http server or exosphere. There are a list of suggested sbcs on the supported hardware page. I recommend the rock pi

#3  

DJ Sures, not familiar with the SBC, ARC it self is not going away, correct?

Dave, yes i read through it:) thanks

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Synthiam
#4  

Oh gosh no - ARC is only getting better:). It’s that arc mobile app is too limited so we focus on pc and sbc development. That’s where the real power is.

The getting started guide in the support tab of this website explains in more detail.

however, here’s details on the rock pi: https://synthiam.com/Support/Hardware/Rock-Pi-X

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Synthiam
#6  

Oh BTW, here's a direct link to the page on the getting started guide I was referring to: https://synthiam.com/Support/Get-Started/How%20to%20Make%20a%20Robot/computer-configuration

You see, we originally set out to have mobile devices run ARC. That was a good idea, in theory... but practice demonstrated otherwise. Mobile devices used to be too slow for running applications like ARC. However, nowadays they are actually pretty powerful. The recent limitation to the devices is their displays and uncontrolled and overly controlled operating systems.

What I mean by uncontrolled operating systems is like Android. There are so many flavors and sure, some applications easily work across those flavors. The trouble arises when "plugins" or "3rd party add-ons" can be added to ARC mobile. There may be dependencies that aren't included or simply not compatible. The most difficult part is diagnosing the kabillion flavors of android. We already ran into that problem by merely attempting to use the microphone on Android... which still causes is grief across devices.

The other is overly controlled operating systems. And of course, we're not referring to Apple IOS. Because boy what a mess that is.  The system is so locked down that nothing addition can be installed alongside another program, so that removes the ability to have robot skills. Also, they don't allow programs that provide users input to a compiler. That's because a user would be able to write a program in the program to access the IOS operating system or file system. So any attempts at getting ARC on apple devices with a compiler have failed. We are only allowed to provide Blockly, which generates runtime code but that's it.

There are other issues like the mobile UIs are really limited. You can't have "windows" and robot skills across tabs would be a nitemare.

But, back to SBCs.... An SBC is a single board computer. Essentially a tiny computer without a screen. You can connect to the computer from a remote device, such as a phone or another computer. The SBC runs on your robot directly. And, if you're using an Arduino or EZ-Robot EZ-B v4, then you can connect them directly to the SBC via USB for fast and reliable performance.

PRO
Synthiam
#7  

Oh, and i should add that Windows 11 runs great on a Raspberry Pi 4 with 8gb RAM... It's cheaper than a Rock Pi/x. I haven't checked the performance comparison yet though....

#8  

thanks all, this was helpful