SpiBerryEngine

A project that aims to primarily control Lego Spike with a Raspberry Pi. It uses the mpremote tool to communicate with the Lego Spike hub. I believe it can also be used with other micropython devices.

Installation

Installing the Engine

Transfer the spiberry.pyz file to your Raspberry Pi and run it:

python spiberry.pyz

It will create a virtual environment, install dependencies and setup a system service to run the engine on boot. You can also specify GPIO pins for the RGB LED and button during installation or later using the --set-pins option.

Camera Configuration

SpiBerryEngine supports two camera capture methods: picamera2 (recommended for Raspberry Pi OS) and rpicam-still (command-line tool). Both methods support comprehensive configuration options.

Configuration Options Reference

See examples/camera_config_examples.py for comprehensive examples and the picamera2 manual and rpicam-still documentation for complete option lists.

Vision Processing

SpiBerryEngine includes a Vision and ContourDetector classes that provides some image processing capabilities using OpenCV and object detection using Ultralytics. You can use the take_picture() method to capture an image and then apply various processing methods like detect_objects(), find_contours(), or custom OpenCV operations.
See examples/vision_example.py for usage examples.

Hardware Setup

Connect the following components to your Raspberry Pi:

• RGB LED: Connect to the GPIO pins specified during installation or defaults:
  • Red: GPIO 0
  • Green: GPIO 11
  • Blue: GPIO 9
• Button: Connect to GPIO pin specified (default: 17)

Usage

Running Manually

To run the engine manually, execute the following command on your Raspberry Pi, and optionally specify the GPIO pins for the RGB LED and button:

python spiberry.pyz --blue 11 --button 22

Deploying Code

Use deploy_robot_code.exe (compiled from deploy_robot_code.py) to deploy your robot code:

1. Run the deploy tool on your computer
2. Select your .llsp3 file (Lego Spike project export)
3. Optionally select a Raspi Functions file (see below)
4. Enter your Raspberry Pi connection details
5. Click "Deploy" or use the hotkey Ctrl+Shift+D

The deployer will:

• Extract your code from the .llsp3 file
• Send robot_code.py to your Raspberry Pi
• Optionally send raspi_functions.py if provided
• Save your configuration for future deployments

Using Raspi Utility Classes

Copy the contents of raspi-util-class.py and paste it at the top of your robot code. This provides easy-to-use classes for interacting with Raspberry Pi hardware from your Lego Spike code.

Example Usage

# Copy raspi-util-class.py contents here at the top of your code

# Create Raspi instance
raspi = Raspi()

# Register devices
servo = raspi.register_device("servo", "s1", "14","0","180","0.00095","0.0028","10")
# Parameters are: type, name, pin, min_angle, max_angle, min_pulse, max_pulse, start_angle
distance_sensor = raspi.register_device("distance_sensor", "my_sensor", "15", "16", "4")
# Parameters are: type, name, trigger_pin, echo_pin, max_distance_m

# Use devices
servo.set_angle(90)
current_angle = servo.get_angle()
distance = distance_sensor.get_distance()

# Call custom functions (if you have raspi_functions.py)
result = raspi.func("some_custom_function()")

The utility classes support:

• Servo: set_angle(angle), get_angle()
• Distance Sensor: get_distance()
• Custom Functions: raspi.func("function_call()") to call functions from your raspi_functions.py

RGBLED Signals

The RGB LED provides visual feedback for the system state:

Color	Meaning
Red	Connection error or module not found
Green	Ready/Idle/Success
Blue	Run Error
Yellow	Work starting
Cyan	Code or functions reloaded

Blinking Patterns

Color	Blink Count	Blink Duration	Meaning
Red	2	0.2s	raspi_functions import error
Red	2	0.2s	Stopped code execution
Red	5	0.1s	mpremote not found
Red	5	0.3s	Connection error
Blue	2	0.1s	REPL error
Blue	2	0.3s	Function call function not found error
Blue	5	0.1s	Code execution error
Green	2	0.2s	Code started/stopped/ended
Cyan	2	0.2s	Code reloaded
Cyan	3	0.2s	Functions reloaded
Cyan	5	0.2s	Functions & Code reloaded

Files Overview

• main.py - Main engine script
• vision.py - Vision processing classes
• camera.py - Camera capture classes
• installer.py - (deprecated) Installation script with GUI
• deploy_robot_code.py - Code deployment tool with GUI
• raspi-util-class.py - Utility classes for robot code
• sbe.service - Systemd service configuration
• requirements.txt - Python dependencies

Connections and Hardware

• Raspberry Pi GPIO pins for RGB LED and Button
• Lego Spike Hub connected via USB to Raspberry Pi
• Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS with Python 3

Troubleshooting

• Check the RGB LED signals for error codes
• Ensure all dependencies are installed
• Ensure there is no syntax error in your robot code (Spike App does not always show them)
• Check your installation and code deployment paths