Search icon CANCEL
Subscription
0
Cart icon
Your Cart (0 item)
Close icon
You have no products in your basket yet
Save more on your purchases! discount-offer-chevron-icon
Savings automatically calculated. No voucher code required.
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Newsletter Hub
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
timer SALE ENDS IN
0 Days
:
00 Hours
:
00 Minutes
:
00 Seconds
Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript
Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript

Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript: Build robotic projects using Johnny-Five and control hardware with JavaScript and Raspberry Pi

Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Kassandra Perch
Arrow right icon
$19.99 per month
Paperback Aug 2018 214 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€23.99 €26.99
Paperback
€32.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Kassandra Perch
Arrow right icon
$19.99 per month
Paperback Aug 2018 214 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€23.99 €26.99
Paperback
€32.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m
eBook
€23.99 €26.99
Paperback
€32.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!
Product feature icon Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!
Product feature icon 50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.
Product feature icon Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.
Product feature icon Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.
Subscribe now
View plans & pricing
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript

Creating Your First Johnny-Five Project

Now that we've set up our development environment, it's time to start writing code and making LEDs light up! We'll start by running the Hello World! of Johnny-Five robotics: making an LED blink. In the process, we'll look at how to navigate the Johnny-Five and Raspi-IO API documents, and examine the event system in Johnny-Five.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

  • Creating a project folder
  • Installing Johnny-Five and Raspi-IO
  • Wiring up an LED
  • Making an LED blink

Technical requirements

You'll need the Raspberry Pi that you set up in Chapter 1, Setting Up Your Development Environmenta breadboard, and a Pi Cobbler for easier pin access. You can get a Pi Cobbler (also sometimes called a Pi Wedge) from Adafruit, SparkFun, or Amazon. A Pi Cobbler also comes in the kits recommended in Chapter 1Setting Up Your Development Environment.

The following diagram shows two different Raspberry Pi Cobblers, both from Adafruit. The one on the right has the ribbon cable attached:

We'll talk about how to set up the cobbler later in this chapter. You'll also need an LED, some jumper or breadboard wires, and a 330-ohm resistor.

In case you're asking yourself what's a resistor...

Creating a project folder

I find the best way to organize your Raspberry Pi is to put each project in its own folder. In the source code that accompanies this book, I've done just that. But let's walk through how to set up your own project folders. First, you'll want to create the folder itself. For the project in this chapter, which we'll call led-blink, you'll want to run the following:

cd ~
mkdir led-blink

Make sure that you're running this in your SSH session to the Raspberry Pi, and not on your desktop.

From here on out, unless the text directly says to run something on your desktop, you should run all of your commands in the SSH session to your Raspberry Pi that we set up in Chapter 1Setting Up Your Development Environment.

Setting...

Getting started with Johnny-Five and Raspi-IO

Now that our project folder is ready for dependencies, we'll start exploring the Johnny-Five and Raspi-IO documentation that'll help us create the projects in this book.

Gathering resources and documentation

There are two main sources of documentation that we'll be using for the projects in this book:

The following screenshot shows the Raspi-IO README on GitHub:

 

We will be using the Johnny-Five documentation at johnny-five.io to look up API calls and other information about the Johnny-Five library, and the Raspi-IO...

Wiring up an LED

Now that we've gone through the documentation and figured out what goes where, we can start assembling our Raspberry Pi project. You'll need your Raspberry Pi, Pi Cobbler, two breadboard wires, an LED (doesn't matter what color), and a 300-ohm resistor.

Putting together and attaching the cobbler

In order to make sure the cobbler is seated correctly, you'll want to make sure that the ribbon cable points outward from the Raspberry Pi when placed on the GPIO pins, and that the little tab on the side of the connector faces the right way in the cobbler itself (this is usually ensured by a plastic wall around the pins that the ribbon cable plugs into; make sure that you check that it's lined...

Making the LED blink

In order to make the LED blink, we'll need to install the code on the Raspberry Pi, and then run it!

Putting your code on the Raspberry Pi

If you wrote your code on your desktop and need to transfer it to your Raspberry Pi, there are a couple of ways to go about it: you can use rsync on an macOS X or Linux machine:

rsync ./blink-led.js 
pi@raspberrypi.local:~/<project folder>/

Replace <project folder> with the folder you want to transfer into (for example, the book folder would be hands-on-robotics-with-javascript/ch2/blink-led).

For Windows, follow the guide for installing and using WinSCP at https://winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_commander.
...

Summary

Congratulations! You've made a Johnny-Five bot! In this chapter, you've learned how to wire up an LED, navigate the documentation for Johnny-Five and Raspi-IO, and run your code on the Raspberry Pi!

Questions

  1. Look in the Johnny-Five documentation, under the LED heading in the section on the API. Look for the strobe function. What does the first argument do? What would happen if you passed 500 as that first argument?
  2. What is the second argument in the LED.strobe() function? How would this come in handy for applications waiting for the LED to be off?
  3. Does the Johnny-Five LED object emit any events? Why, or why not?
  4. Using the Raspi-IO documentation, what does the Raspberry Pi pin P1-29 translate to in terms of GPIO #?
  5. Using the Johnny-Five documentation, name a function that is an alias for the LED.strobe() function.
  6. What happens before the board's ready event fires in a Johnny-Five application?

Technical requirements


You'll need the Raspberry Pi that you set up in Chapter 1, Setting Up Your Development Environment, a breadboard, and a Pi Cobbler for easier pin access. You can get a Pi Cobbler (also sometimes called a Pi Wedge) from Adafruit, SparkFun, or Amazon. A Pi Cobbler also comes in the kits recommended in Chapter 1Setting Up Your Development Environment.

 

The following diagram shows two different Raspberry Pi Cobblers, both from Adafruit. The one on the right has the ribbon cable attached:

We'll talk about how to set up the cobbler later in this chapter. You'll also need an LED, some jumper or breadboard wires, and a 330-ohm resistor.

Note

In case you're asking yourself what's a resistor, and what does it do?, the short explanation is that a resistor will prevent the 5V electricity from the pin from burning out your LED, which needs closer...

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon
Download code icon Download Code

Key benefits

  • Program robots that light up, make noise, move around, and interact
  • Leverage JavaScript and Node.js to enhance your robotic programming skills
  • Connect your Johnny-Five projects to external APIs and create your own IoT projects

Description

JavaScript has an effective set of frameworks and libraries that provide support for embedded device programming and the robotics ecosystem. You’ll be able to put your JavaScript knowledge to work with this practical robotics guide. The book starts by guiding you in setting up an environment to program robots with JavaScript and Rasberry Pi 3. You will build beginner-level projects, such as a line-following robot, and then upgrade your robotics skills with a series of projects that help you get to grips with the Johnny-Five library. As you progress, you’ll learn how you can improve your projects by enabling advanced hardware components and programming concepts. You’ll even build an advanced AI-enabled robot, connect its NodeBots to the internet, create a NodeBots Swarm, and explore Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT). By the end of this book, you will have enhanced your robot programming skills by building a range of simple to complex projects.

Who is this book for?

If you want to explore the world of IoT with JavaScript, this book is for you. You’ll also find this book useful if you’re interested writing JavaScript sketches. A basic knowledge of JavaScript and Node.js is necessary to understand the concepts covered.

What you will learn

  • Install and run Node.js and Johnny-Five on Raspberry Pi
  • Understand how to assemble, code, and run an LED project
  • Use JavaScript libraries to enhance your robotics skills
  • Explore the use of sensors to collect data
  • Add internet capabilities to your Johnny-Five projects
  • Delve into AI robotics and build AI-enabled robots

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Aug 31, 2018
Length: 214 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789342055
Category :
Languages :
Concepts :

What do you get with a Packt Subscription?

Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!
Product feature icon Unlimited ad-free access to the largest independent learning library in tech. Access this title and thousands more!
Product feature icon 50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.
Product feature icon Innovative learning tools, including AI book assistants, code context explainers, and text-to-speech.
Product feature icon Thousands of reference materials covering every tech concept you need to stay up to date.
Subscribe now
View plans & pricing

Product Details

Publication date : Aug 31, 2018
Length: 214 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789342055
Category :
Languages :
Concepts :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
$19.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
$199.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
$279.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total $ 130.97
Learn Robotics Programming
€52.99
Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript
€32.99
Artificial Intelligence for Robotics
€44.99
Total $ 130.97 Stars icon

Table of Contents

13 Chapters
Setting Up Your Development Environment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Your First Johnny-Five Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building Interactive Projects with RGB LED Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Bringing in Input with Buttons Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using a Light Sensor to Create a Night-Light Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Motors to Move Your Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Servos for Measured Movement Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The Animation Library Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Getting the Information You Need Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using MQTT to Talk to Things on the Internet Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Building a NodeBots Swarm Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Assessments Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is included in a Packt subscription? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

A subscription provides you with full access to view all Packt and licnesed content online, this includes exclusive access to Early Access titles. Depending on the tier chosen you can also earn credits and discounts to use for owning content

How can I cancel my subscription? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

To cancel your subscription with us simply go to the account page - found in the top right of the page or at https://subscription.packtpub.com/my-account/subscription - From here you will see the ‘cancel subscription’ button in the grey box with your subscription information in.

What are credits? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Credits can be earned from reading 40 section of any title within the payment cycle - a month starting from the day of subscription payment. You also earn a Credit every month if you subscribe to our annual or 18 month plans. Credits can be used to buy books DRM free, the same way that you would pay for a book. Your credits can be found in the subscription homepage - subscription.packtpub.com - clicking on ‘the my’ library dropdown and selecting ‘credits’.

What happens if an Early Access Course is cancelled? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Projects are rarely cancelled, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If an Early Access course is cancelled or excessively delayed, you can exchange your purchase for another course. For further details, please contact us here.

Where can I send feedback about an Early Access title? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

If you have any feedback about the product you're reading, or Early Access in general, then please fill out a contact form here and we'll make sure the feedback gets to the right team. 

Can I download the code files for Early Access titles? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

We try to ensure that all books in Early Access have code available to use, download, and fork on GitHub. This helps us be more agile in the development of the book, and helps keep the often changing code base of new versions and new technologies as up to date as possible. Unfortunately, however, there will be rare cases when it is not possible for us to have downloadable code samples available until publication.

When we publish the book, the code files will also be available to download from the Packt website.

How accurate is the publication date? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The publication date is as accurate as we can be at any point in the project. Unfortunately, delays can happen. Often those delays are out of our control, such as changes to the technology code base or delays in the tech release. We do our best to give you an accurate estimate of the publication date at any given time, and as more chapters are delivered, the more accurate the delivery date will become.

How will I know when new chapters are ready? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

We'll let you know every time there has been an update to a course that you've bought in Early Access. You'll get an email to let you know there has been a new chapter, or a change to a previous chapter. The new chapters are automatically added to your account, so you can also check back there any time you're ready and download or read them online.

I am a Packt subscriber, do I get Early Access? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Yes, all Early Access content is fully available through your subscription. You will need to have a paid for or active trial subscription in order to access all titles.

How is Early Access delivered? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Early Access is currently only available as a PDF or through our online reader. As we make changes or add new chapters, the files in your Packt account will be updated so you can download them again or view them online immediately.

How do I buy Early Access content? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Early Access is a way of us getting our content to you quicker, but the method of buying the Early Access course is still the same. Just find the course you want to buy, go through the check-out steps, and you’ll get a confirmation email from us with information and a link to the relevant Early Access courses.

What is Early Access? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Keeping up to date with the latest technology is difficult; new versions, new frameworks, new techniques. This feature gives you a head-start to our content, as it's being created. With Early Access you'll receive each chapter as it's written, and get regular updates throughout the product's development, as well as the final course as soon as it's ready.We created Early Access as a means of giving you the information you need, as soon as it's available. As we go through the process of developing a course, 99% of it can be ready but we can't publish until that last 1% falls in to place. Early Access helps to unlock the potential of our content early, to help you start your learning when you need it most. You not only get access to every chapter as it's delivered, edited, and updated, but you'll also get the finalized, DRM-free product to download in any format you want when it's published. As a member of Packt, you'll also be eligible for our exclusive offers, including a free course every day, and discounts on new and popular titles.

Modal Close icon
Modal Close icon