Play

In this section, you can find the control cards for your robot and use them to play games.

Main control cards

Fighter Bot includes preset controls for the robot battle game.

Personalisation allows you to make your robot look unique. You can display content on the robot's screen, set the LED color, and record or play sounds on the robot.

Add New allows you to create your own custom control buttons for the robot. You can think of different games and build custom controls for them.

Additional things to know

If you press and hold a control card, a menu with four options appears:

Edit lets you change the name and icon of the controls. You can also choose between two layouts:

• Free Placement, which lets you place buttons anywhere
• Grid Template, which keeps the buttons more organized

If widgets have already been created, you cannot switch between Free Placement and Grid Template.

Share lets you share your custom game controls with other players by sending them the card file.

Duplicate creates a copy of the selected controls card. This is useful when you want to make a second version with only a few changes.

Delete deletes controls you created. Default control cards cannot be deleted.

Fighter Bot

This is the main controller for the robot battle game.

The battery icon shows the robot's current battery level.

Next to it, there is a Quick Setup button. This lets you quickly change what appears on the robot's screen and adjust the LED color.

There is also a connection indicator button. If it is crossed out, the app is not connected to the robot. Press it to connect the app to the robot.

By default, you will see three main widgets:

• Driving arrows to drive the robot
• Flip to move the robot's arm
• Honk to play the honk sound

There is also a toggle switch that lets you change the robot's speed if needed.

Custom controls

If you want to add an extra widget, delete a widget, or customize one of the default widgets, tap the green Edit button.

To edit a specific widget, tap the wrench button on that widget. You can also press and hold the widget body to open more options: Edit, Duplicate, or Delete.

To change the size of a widget, drag its bottom-right corner. To move a widget, drag it by the widget body.

How to add a custom widget

Tap the green Edit button. When the button changes to blue, you are in edit mode.

Tap the green plus icon to add a new widget. You can choose from different widget types.

• Button adds commands for what the robot should do when the button is pressed and released
• Selection adds a carousel for quick selection of images, animations, emotions, or LED colors
• Trigger performs a function when the accelerometer sensor is triggered
• Toggle adds commands for what the robot should do when the toggle is enabled and disabled
• Slider adds commands with values that change as the slider position changes
• Joystick controls the robot's movement using a digital joystick
• D-Pad controls the robot's movement using digital arrow keys
• Indicator shows output values from the robot in the app
• Lifter 0...100% is a preset widget for controlling the robot's arm
• D-Pad Driving is a preset widget for driving the robot with arrow controls

When you add a command to a widget, you will see a toggle option called Add to Quick Setup.

In the edit widget window, there is also a Style tab where you can enter the widget name, change the widget color, and choose a widget icon.

There is also a Controller tab. This is where you can assign widgets to an external gamepad, such as a PlayStation or Xbox controller.

How to connect an external gamepad controller

To control the robot with an external gamepad, first pair the gamepad with your iOS device.

The external gamepad controls the iOS device, such as an iPhone or iPad. The Dotbots app then sends the commands from the iOS device to the robot.

This means the Dotbots app and the selected controls must always stay open while you are using the gamepad to control the robot.

The robot cannot be controlled directly with the gamepad without an iOS device.

In the Play section, the gamepad uses whichever control card is currently open.

How to set up the gamepad controls

Each widget needs to be assigned to the button you want to use on the gamepad.

Open the Edit Widget window and go to the Controller tab.

Before doing this, make sure the widget function is already set.

Tap Add a Controller Action. Then press the button on the gamepad that you want to assign to this widget.

Please note that not all widgets work with all gamepad buttons.

Modes: In Steps and Parallel

In the command setup window, there is a Mode section. You can choose between two modes:

In Steps performs the commands one after another and waits for the current action to finish before starting the next one.

Parallel performs the commands at the same time.

Use Parallel when you want the robot to do several things at once, such as lifting the arm and playing a sound.

Use In Steps when order matters, such as driving forward first and turning only after that movement finishes.

Undo, Redo, and Reset

In the control window, if you make changes, you can go back step by step by tapping the left arrow. This is Undo.

If you undo too many steps, you can tap the right arrow to Redo.

The Undo and Redo arrows are only available while you stay in the same control editing window. If you go back to the Play section or turn the app off, the changes are saved.

If you edited a default control preset, such as Fighter Bot, and want to return it to its original version, go to the Play window and press and hold the control card you want to reset.

Personalisation

In the Play section, there is also a Personalisation control card. This is where you can make your robot look unique and personal.

You can set the robot's LED color, show emojis on the screen, and display animations.

You can also take a selfie using the Capture button and show it on the robot's screen. Alternatively, you can upload a photo from your phone.

You can record your voice or make funny sounds, then play them back through the robot. Your recorded sounds can also be used later when programming the robot.