NetLogo Models Library:
Code Examples/Extensions Examples/gogo

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GoGoMonitor

Note: If you download the NetLogo application, every model in the Models Library is included.

WHAT IS IT?

This model communicates with the sensors and output ports of a GoGo Board, an open source, easy-to-build, low cost, general purpose circuit board designed for educational projects.

This model helps you test your connection to your GoGo Board, and serves as a starting point for building NetLogo activities that interact with the physical world. For a simpler version of this model, try the GoGoMonitorSimple.

HOW IT WORKS

The GoGo Extension for NetLogo provides primitives for communicating with a Gogo Board connected to your computer's USB or serial port. You can get information from sensors and control motors, LEDs, light, and relays.

HOW TO USE IT

Connect a GoGo Board to your computer's USB port . Then connect sensors, motors, LEDs, relays, and lights to the board.

The GoGo board will beep when it is plugged in, letting you know it is connected. Try clicking the BEEP, LED ON, and LED OFF buttons to confirm the board is receiving data from the model. These three buttons control on-board features of the GoGo board, so no additional sensors need be connected.

The sensor monitors -- SENSOR 1 through SENSOR 8 -- show the value of each of the sensors on the GoGo Board.

The output port controls let you control the motors and lights connected to the four available output ports of your GoGo board: A, B, C, and D. In the following examples, we use output port "A."

A-ON turns the output port(s) on.

A-OFF turns the output port(s) off.

A-CLOCKWISE/COUNTER-CLOCKWISE control the direction of current to the output port(s). If a motor is connected to the output port, this determines the direction of motion.

To change the amount of current going to the output port(s), set the A-POWER slider, then press the SET-A-POWER button.

The same applies to the other output ports B, C, and D.

To plot sensor values, first choose which ones you want to plot using the switches, and start the UPDATE-PLOTS forever button. At any time, you can clear the plot with the CLEAR PLOT button. To export the data in your plot, right-click (on Macs, control-click) on the plot and choose "Export...".

THINGS TO TRY

Try connecting different sensors to the GoGo Board: temperature sensors, light sensors, pressure sensors, etc.

Connect various motors, lights, and other circuits to the GoGo Board's output ports.

To find out where to buy sensors and motors, go to the GoGo Board website.

EXTENDING THE MODEL

Add filters and normalization to the sensor data. Using a light sensor, make a turtle move forward when it's dark, and stop when there is light. Create animations that are controlled by sensors Create Bifocal Models (see bifocal modeling)

NETLOGO FEATURES

This model uses the NetLogo GoGo Extension. For more information, see the GoGo Extension section of the NetLogo User Manual.

CREDITS AND REFERENCES

To learn about GoGo Boards, see https://gogoboard.org.

This model was created by Paulo Blikstein at Stanford's Transformative Learning Technologies Lab.

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