Edison EdPack1 Setup Manual

Getting started with Edison

Guide to setting up for success

The Getting Started with Edison Guide by Microbric Pty Ltd is licensed under

a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Contents

Welcome! ................................................................................................................... 3

Setting up Edison ....................................................................................................... 3

Get Edison ready .................................................................................................... 3

Get your programming devices ready ..................................................................... 4

Setting up Windows computers ........................................................................... 4

Setting up Mac computers .................................................................................. 5

Setting up tablets ................................................................................................ 5

Meet Edison ............................................................................................................... 7

Edison’s sensors, buttons and switches ................................................................. 7

Connecting Edison to a computer or tablet ............................................................. 8

Programming Edison .................................................................................................. 9

Barcodes .............................................................................................................. 10

EdBlocks ............................................................................................................... 11

EdWare ................................................................................................................. 12

EdPy ..................................................................................................................... 13

Teaching with Edison ............................................................................................... 14

What to teach first ................................................................................................. 14

Teaching the programming languages ................................................................. 14

Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................... 15

Where to start ....................................................................................................... 15

Line tracking ......................................................................................................... 15

Obstacle detection ................................................................................................ 15

Where to get help ................................................................................................. 16

Looking for more ideas? ........................................................................................... 16

Checklist: setting up for success with your Edison robot .......................................... 17

Welcome!

You are now the proud owner of an Edison robot. Edison is the perfect tool to help
teach you about electronics, programming and robotics in a fun and engaging way.

This guide will help you to get the most out of Edison, including all of the robot’s
built-in sensors, outputs and motors. Remember, Edison is a tool designed to
introduce you to the amazing world of robotics. Proper care and maintenance are
important to help keep your Edison in the best shape possible.

Setting up Edison

Each Edison robot arrives in a small orange box. Open the box and remove Edison
by unrolling the interior cardboard. You will then need to complete some quick set up
on both Edison and the computing device you are planning to use to program
Edison.

Get Edison ready

To get Edison ready for use, you need to:

1. Open the battery compartment at the back of Edison and remove the
EdComm programming cable. The EdComm cable is used to download
programs to Edison. It connects into the headphone socket on your computer
or tablet. Please remove this from the battery compartment but keep it
somewhere safe!

2. Insert 4 ‘AAA’ batteries. Please refer to the picture to ensure that the
batteries are inserted correctly. Be sure to reclose the battery case by clipping
the battery cover back on.

Ensure the batteries are in the right way.

Special note—Edison and
batteries:

• Low or flat batteries can cause
issues with Edison. For this
reason, please be sure to use
fresh, fully charged batteries.

• Only use regular disposable
alkaline batteries or nickel metal
hydride (NiMH) rechargeable
batteries. Never use super heavy
duty or heavy-duty batteries.

• Be sure that the batteries are
inserted correctly to avoid
damaging Edison.

3. To turn Edison on, flip the robot over. Slide the power switch to the ‘on’
position, as shown in the picture. This will turn Edison on, and the red LED
lights will start flashing.

Please note: While Edison will turn
off automatically if not used after
five minutes, we recommend you
turn the robot off manually when
not in use.

Get your programming devices ready

Edison can be programmed using a range of different computers and tablets.
Different computing devices require slightly different initial setup. Please find your
device type listed below.

Setting up Windows computers

Step 1: disable sound enhancements

The most critical set-up item with Windows machines is disabling any sound
enhancements. Sound enhancements, sometimes called ‘audio enhancements’ are

audio enhancement software packages designed to improve how your computer’s

specific hardware sounds. Windows machines often have these sound
enhancements automatically enabled, which can cause problems when using
Edison. You will find step-by-step video guides showing you how to disable sound

enhancements for standard Window’s sound enhancements as well as the most

common third-party software programs on our website at

https://meetedison.com/edison-robot-support/trouble-shooting/#soundenhancements

If your school or organisation uses an image to control the network computers’

settings, we recommend you speak to your network administrator about having
sound enhancements disabled on the image.

Push the switch towards the ‘on’ symbol.

Special note—managed networks:

If you are using computing devices on a network with a managed firewall,
common at schools, please ensure that the URL of the programming
application you are using has been added to your proxy white-list (e.g.

www.edblocksapp.com for the EdBlocks app). Contact your network

administrator for assistance in this instance.

Step 2: check the volume

Many devices have built-in safety settings that reduce the volume when an audio
device is connected using the headphone jack. Please check that your volume is
turned all the way up to 100% after plugging in the EdComm programming cable to
your device.

Some devices, especially in Europe, have a hard lock on volume whenever an audio
device is detected. This means that the device is ‘locked’ to only deliver a maximum
volume of approximately 75% of the device max volume when an audio device is

detected. To correct this, go into the device’s settings and disable the hard lock, to

enable the device to emit true full volume, even with an audio device plugged in.

Step 3: check your browser

Ensure you have a compatible web browser installed. We recommend running all of
the programming applications using Chrome for best results.

Setting up Mac computers

Step 1: check the volume

Some Macs experience audio clipping errors when attempting to program Edison. If
you experience these issues, please try dropping your volume from 100% to
between 50% and 90% instead.

Many devices have built-in safety settings that reduce the volume when an audio
device is connected using the headphone jack. Please check that your volume is set
to the correct volume level after plugging in the EdComm programming cable to your
device.

Step 2: check your browser

Ensure you have a compatible web browser installed. We recommend running all of
the programming applications using Chrome for best results.

Setting up tablets

Step 1: check the volume

Many devices have built-in safety settings that reduce the volume when an audio
device is connected using the headphone jack. Please check that your volume is
turned all the way up to 100% after plugging in the EdComm programming cable to
your device.

Some devices, especially in Europe, have a hard lock on volume whenever an audio
device is detected. This means that the device is ‘locked’ to only deliver a maximum

volume of approximately 75% of the device max volume when an audio device is

detected. To correct this, go into the device’s settings and disable the hard lock, to

enable the device to emit true full volume, even with an audio device plugged in.

Step 2: check your browser

Ensure you have a compatible web browser installed. We recommend running all of
the programming applications using Chrome for best results.