I’m trying to understand Flowbotics so I can use it effectively, and have looked at examples, tried different things and viewed a pretty good tutorial on YouTube.
In the YouTube tutorial, the guy starts off with lighting an LED with a switch, adding some Boolean operators…works okay. The example with the meter worked okay as well.
In the 3rd example, he did one for sound and used a module called Amp. I’m not sure if that is what he named it or if it was the Flowstone name, but in regardless, I cannot find any such module in Flowbotics.
Since this could have other implications, maybe there are lots of modules missing, I want to know where this module came from. As it is, I couldn’t duplicate this schematic because I had no amplifier between the oscillator and the computer speakers.
Can you tell me what was used?
Is there a list of hot-keys to bring up some of these modules? (The guy in the video used some hot keys without stating what they were, making it difficult to follow.)
Is Flowbotics a subset of the full Flowstone package? I ask this because after seeing a video, some tutorials and reading the 300 page manual, there are some things that aren’t correct.
]manual talks about shortcut (key) indicators near component in toolbox. Uh uh, they are not there./:m] ]Can’t open any output module because it is greyed out and has a stop sign icon by it. Manual says these are disabled components. Why? I’m only trying to use ONE of them in a BRAT demo/:m] ]Amp module shown in Flowstone user guide, shown in video tutorial, but I can’t find it in Flowbotics./:m]
So my question is, is Flowbotics a small specialized, dumbed-down version of the real thing?
Here are some answers concerning your various questions:
FlowBotics Studio is a different software than Flowstone and is maintained by RobotShop. Please note that FlowBotics Studio does use an engine originally based on Flowstone but all information regarding this software may not apply to FlowBotics Studio fully.
In the video you mentioned (not made by RobotShop), the person types part of the name of the components in the top left text bar (white rectangle). For example, to find the DirectSound OUT, he types “ds”. He also types “amp” to find the Amp module.
Please find attached to this post a zip file containing the extra modules. They are scheduled to be available in the next update of FlowBotics Studio but you can add them manually now, if you wish. Simply go to your installation folder of FlowBotics (Usually under Program Files (x86)\RobotShop) and extra the files in the System folder (inside Modules). An example path might be: C:\Program Files (x86)\RobotShop\FlowBotics\Modules\System
They were originally not added because FlowBotics Studio focuses on robotics, not audio processing.
Simply restart FlowBotics Studio and the new modules will be available and allow you to follow those tutorials.
Thanks. I added the module folders you provided to the path you suggested, but when I open Flowbotics, it doesn’t look for them there. Instead it looks for the modules in c:\appdata\roaming\flowbotics\modules. So I moved them there and now I can open them.
I had a trial copy of Flowstone on my computer…maybe I should have uninstalled it before installing Flowbotics?
I really didn’t need the Amp module, but I was worried that maybe there were other modules I would not have so rather than beat a dead horse, by trying to make something work that couldn’t possibly, I’d ask the question.
I’ll send screen prints of the other anomalies I mentioned in a separate post/reply. How do I upload them (jpgs) to this forum?
I loaded the modules you gave me, but in a different path so that they could be seen in Flowbotics under the Open Module Folder menu item. However I still can’t find Amp. Also when I look at the Flowbotics tutorial/programming example, there is a parameter module called ToggleLoc that has a number of interesting parameters for robot movement. I loaded your AL5 arm project but I can’t find this either. I’ve restarted the program 20 times, rebooted, still can’t get these modules.
And I still see some modules that have the red bar in a circle, greyed out and not available.
The path mentioned previously is the install path where all official modules are placed when the software is installed. The path from the Toolbox menu is the folder for the custom modules made by users. The software should still be able to load them without issue though you may have to remove them from their folders. We still recommend that you use the recommend path since this is where the software expects to find these modules.
These software should not have any interactions but you may wish to try it if you encounter weird issues with using FlowBotics Studio.
You can attach pictures to a new post (or edit an old one) by click the Attachments gray bar above the four buttons Preview, Submit, Save Draft and Cancel.
Could you provide a link or screenshot of this example you mention?
Please attach a screenshot of this so we can reproduce the issue and resolve it.
FYI, Preview, Submit, Save Draft and Cancel, and the Attachments selection are only visible in the FULL EDITOR, not the quick reply editor. That’s why I didn’t see it before.
Three Jpgs are attached, as discussed in this topic string.
I have the modules you sent me in BOTH locations, in C:\user\appdata…etc and also in C:\ProgramFiles x86. I still can’t access any of the modules in those folders. Give me an example of what I should be able to do with them, ie pick a module from the Robotics package and tell me how to access it, because nothing I do seems to work.
First, lets start with the keyboard shortcuts.
The keyboard shortcut shown in the manual allow you to instantiate a copy of the associated object. But, unless you are in a module, only the M key from that screen shot will work. MGUI, Module Input and Module Output can only be instantiated in a module. First, create a module (press M) and then double-click it to enter the module. From there, pressing G, I, O will create the appropriate object inside that module.
Second, the Toggle Lock Hand module / parameter.
When you open the AL5 arm project in editor mode, you have to go a few levels down to find it and its uses. You can find one use in the User programming module. The parameter ToggleLockHand is used in there.
There is also another use in the main display (module under the User programming one. Enter that module and then enter Side Elevation. From there, enter Inverse Kinematics and then enter the module with a green pad lock icon. The parameter module simply allows to easily trigger the appropriate response over the wireless links in the code.
Third, the “disabled” components.
These are unable to be instantiated because they are not valid objects where you currently are.
For example, in a new (empty) project, you cannot add a Module Input since that object needs to be inside a module. There are other cases where an object cannot be added because it would be invalid. See also the answer to the first question.
Concerning the modules being unable to be access the new modules (like Amp), you said the following before:
You indicated you were able to open the new modules. Is there a new issue accessing them? They do not show in your toolbox on the left?
No, the amp module does not appear in the toolbox on the left. Are they supposed to be immediately accessible when they are placed in the modules folder? Is there a “refresh” for this? (I closed the program and restarted…still can’t see the amp.)
Other than placing the folders of extra modules (Audio pack, DSP pack, Robotics Pack) in %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\RobotShop\FlowBotic\Modules\System, there is nothing else to do to “activate” them. Simply restarting the software after those files have been placed there should be enough.
Can you tell us any other details about your setup like which version of Windows you are running (type winver in run to get full details), account setup (guest, normal, administrator), etc. This issue may be related to a files permissions / security issue preventing the software from accessing those files. Any extra details may help in figuring out what is wrong or allow us to reproduce the issue here (which we are not able to do up to now).
Sincerely,
Please note that we do not yet support Windows 10, so you may experience unknown issues. Please let us know any other issue you experienced so this can be taken into account for future updates.
I looked at the path you specified. My folders were in the same “modules” folder as System, whereas they should have been INSIDE the SYSTEM folder. That’s where I put them and now the amp module is available.
Like I said, not having this module was important because it could mean something not installed correctly…and that’s exactly what it was. Maybe NOW, other things will work better as well. Stay tuned.
