Movement Script

The Movement Script skill lets ARC run a script automatically whenever your robot’s movement direction changes (for example: Forward, Left, Right, Stop, etc.). This is useful when you want your robot to do “extra actions” whenever it moves—such as turning on lights, playing a sound, changing camera settings, moving an arm, logging data, and more.

In ARC, movement is controlled by a Movement Panel (for example: Modified Servo, Auto Position, H-Bridge, Omnidirectional, etc.). When you press a direction button on a movement panel (or when a script sends a movement command), ARC changes the robot’s “current movement state.” The Movement Script skill listens for that change and runs the script you assigned for that direction.

Important beginner concept: Movement commands are global in ARC. That means there is one “active movement direction” for the whole project. So regardless of which movement panel you use, when ARC goes Forward, the Movement Script skill will run your Forward script (if you configured one).

How it works (beginner-friendly example)

You can do this for each direction (Forward, Reverse, Left, Right, Stop, and any other directions your ARC build supports). Each script is optional—if you leave a direction script empty, nothing runs for that direction.

Using direction and speed inside your scripts

Sometimes you want your script to know what direction the robot is moving and how fast. The Movement Script skill runs your code, and inside that code you can read:

• $DIRECTION (global variable): the current movement direction.
• Speed using the available getSpeed functions.

If you want more background on how direction and speed relate to Movement Panels, the Movement Panel document is the best place to start: Movement Panels (Support Document) .

Main Window

1. Pause Checkbox

When checked, the Movement Script skill will not run any direction scripts. This is helpful for testing movement without triggering extra actions, or for temporarily disabling automation.

2. Movement Command Display

Shows the most recent movement command that was activated (for example: Forward, Left, Stop). Use this to confirm ARC is receiving the movement change you expect.

3. Movement Panel

Movement Panels can be controlled by clicking direction buttons, using a joystick, or sending movement commands from scripts. Whenever the active movement direction changes, the Movement Script skill will run the script that matches that direction.

Settings

The Settings window is where you connect a script to each movement direction. Each direction has a button. Clicking a button opens the script editor so you can write (or paste) the script that should run when that direction is activated.