VEXcode GO gives you the ability to drive a VEX GO robot directly from your device using a virtual remote control.
Note: Drive Mode is not available on iPads running iOS 12.
Access the Drive tab in VEXcode GO
To access the Drive tab in VEXcode GO, first ensure the VEX GO Brain is connected to your device. For more information on connecting the Brain to your device, view the connection article from the VEX Library that matches your device.
Next, select the Drive tab. VEXcode GO will switch from coding mode to the driving mode.
Drive Mode
Once in Drive mode, you can drive your VEX GO robot using the joysticks at the bottom of the screen.
Note: Be sure to follow the motor connections within the Code Base build. The left drive motor goes in Port 4 and right drive motor goes into Port 1
You can change the type of joystick control for your robot by switching the Drive Mode to one of four different options:
- Tank Drive
- Left Arcade
- Right Arcade
- Split Arcade
Tank Drive
Tank drive uses both joysticks. Select the Tank Drive icon. Two joysticks will be visible.
The left joystick will move the left motor forward when moved up, and the left motor backwards when it is moved down. The right joystick works in the same way for the right motor.
- To move your robot forward, move both joysticks up.
- To move backward, move both joysticks down.
- To turn your robot to the right, move your left joystick up and/or the right joystick down.
- To turn your robotto the left, move the right joystick up and/or the left joystick down.
Left Arcade
The left arcade only uses one joystick. Select the left arcade icon. The left joystick will be visible.
- To move your robot forward, move the joystick up.
- To move your robot backward, move the joystick down.
- To turn your robot to the right, move the joystick to the right.
- To turn your robot left, move the joystick to the left.
Right Arcade
The Right arcade only uses one joystick. Select the Right arcade icon. The Right joystick will be visible.
- To move your robot forward, move the joystick up.
- To move your robot backward, move the joystick down.
- To turn your robot to the right, move the joystick to the right.
- To turn your robot to the left, move the joystick to the left.
Split Arcade
The Split arcade uses two joysticks. Select the Split arcade icon. Both joysticks will be visible.
- To move your robot forward, move the left joystick up.
- To move your robot backward, move the left joystick down.
- To turn your robot to the right, move the right joystick to the right.
- To turn your robot left, move the right joystick to the left.
Arrow Icons
The Remote Interface also has Arrow icons. These are two sets of green and red arrows.
The left set of arrows controls either the LED Bumper or a motor depending on which is plugged into Smart Port 2. The right set of arrows controls either the Electromagnet or a motor depending which is plugged into Smart Port 3.
The Smart Port 2 arrows make:
- LED Bumper turn green (green arrow)
- LED Bumper turn red (red arrow)
- Spin the motor in Smart Port 2 forward with the green arrow (similar to using the VEX GO Switch)
- Spin the motor in Smart Port 2 in reverse with the red arrow (similar to using the VEX GO Switch)
If no arrows are pressed, the LED Bumper turns off or the motor stops spinning.
The Smart Port 3 arrows make:
- The Electromagnet boost (green arrow)
- The Electromagnet drop (red arrow)
- Spin the motor in Smart Port 3 forward with the green arrow (similar to using the VEX GO Switch)
- Spin the motor in Smart Port 3 in reverse with the red arrow (similar to using the VEX GO Switch)
If no Arrows are pressed, the Electromagnet is not activated or the motor stops spinning.
Changing the settings in the middle boxes selects what kind of device you have in Smart Port 2 and 3.
Note: There is also a timer you can use to measure your drive time.
The Remote Interface will allow you to control two Drive motors and also control up to two additional motors using the Direction icons.
Sensor Display
The Drive tab display also has a set of feedbacks and measurements for the VEX GO Sensors.
These include feedback from the:
- Brain
- Drivetrain
- LED Bumper
- Eye Sensor
Brain: The Sensor display provides feedback from the Brain for the percent battery charge and the onboard accelerometer with readings for acceleration in the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis.
Drivetrain: The Sensor Display for the Drivetrain provides measurement for velocity, heading, and rotation.
LED Bumper: The Sensor Display for the LED Bumper indicates whether the LED Bumper is pressed (TRUE) or not (FALSE).
Eye Sensor: The Sensor Display for the Eye Sensor indicates whether an object is found, if the sensor has detected the colors red, blue, or green, the brightness of the light the sensor is measuring, and the degree hue of color the sensor is measuring.
Using the Drive Tab with a VEX GO Competition Robot
All VEX GO Competition robots can be driven with the Drive Tab in VEXcode GO. Build instructions for the VEX GO Competition Hero Robots can be found here.
The Competition Base and Competition Base + Claw Hero Robots can be driven using any of the four Drive modes (left arcade, right arcade, split arcade, and tank drive) shown above.
The Competition Advanced Hero Robot can be driven using any of the Drive modes. The arm motor, however, needs to be configured in order to move the arm using the Drive Tab.
In order to control the movement of the arm for the Competition Advance robot, the Port needs to be set to 'MOTOR' in the Drive Tab. Since the arm motor is plugged into Port 2, switch Port 2 to control the arm of the Hero Robot as shown in this image.
To control the arm motor, select the red and green arrows. Note that this controls the direction the motor spins, not necessarily the direction the arm moves. Students will need to press the red arrow in order to move the arm of the robot up and the green arrow to move the arm down.