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CSAS 3085/PSYC 3698 - Robotics and the Mind

Download and Install the Software

Several pieces of software need to be installed on your computer and configured to work together to provide the necessary tools we need to create "robot programs". Please follow the steps carefully. These instructions are for Microsoft Windows (either version 7, 8, or 10) computers, if you have another OS, e.g. MacOS , please le me know.

Step 1: Download

Download the following software to a folder of your choice (perhaps the "download" folder on your laptop is good, or the desktop if you prefer).

• jdk.exe (the Java Developer's Kit)
• lejos.exe (the Java/EV3 Kit)
• eclipse.exe (the Java IDE - Integrated Developer's Environment)

Step 2: Install

Install the downloaded software, in this order:

1. Double-click on the file jdk.exe you downloaded and follow the instructions. Leave all defaults in place. This will take some time, so please be patient.
2. Double-click on the file lejos.exe you downloaded and follow the instructions. Leave all defaults in place. On the last screen you should uncheck the "Launch EV3SDCard utility". That utility program would install the Java Virtual Machine on the EV3 brick, which is already done.
3. Double-click on the file eclipse.exe and - yup, you guessed it - follow the instructions. At the first screen, choose "Eclipse IDE for Java Developers". Leave all defaults in place. Again, this installation takes some time - be patient. At the end of the process you are offered the choice to "Launch" Eclipse - do that

At this point you can and should delete the three files you downloaded. They are no longer needed.

Step 3: Configure

Now all pieces should be in place, but we still need to configure them so that they can work together. Follow the these steps:

1. The Eclipse program should now be running. If not, start Eclipse from "all Apps" entry of the Windows "Start" menu. If prompted to "Select a workspace", chose the default one, as usual, and hit "OK".
2. Click on the "Help" menu and select "Install New Software..."
3. Type "http://www.lejos.org/tools/eclipse/plugin/ev3/" in the field labeled "Work with:". You might want to copy-and-paste that name into the dialog field. Then hit ENTER (do not click the "Add" button, simply hit ENTER).
4.  Eclipse will check the update site and show a list of available components (there should be only one). Check the option "leJOS EV3 Support" and continue.
5. In the next screen, select "I accept the terms of the license agreement" and click "Finish".
6. The plugin now gets installed. You might see a "security warning" - click "OK" to continue with the installation. It should conclude without error, prompting you to restart Eclipse. Do that and again select the default workspace.
7. It remains to tell Eclipse where to find the LeJOS libraries. Select "Windows", then "Preferences" and click on the "LeJOS Ev3" category. Click the "Browse" button to set "EV3_HOME" to "C:\Program Files\LeJOS EV3"

Close down Eclipse - that's it. The plugin that mediates between Eclipse and the Java JDK and the leJOS libraries should be installed correctly; you should be ready to create your first robot program - how exciting!

Step 4: Test

To test our software concoction, we will create our first EV3 project containing our first robot program. Make sure Eclipse is running and you have created a new project (with the "Java-SE1.7 version"). If you still see the "Welcome to Eclipse" screen, close it by clicking the small "x" in the tab.

1. Select "File | New" and pick "Project ..."
2. You should see a folder named "LeJOS". Open that, select "LeJOS EV3 Project", and click "Next"
3. On the next screen you can pick basic options for your new project. Name the project "Test".
   Important: Change the option "Use an execution Environment JRE" to "Java-SE 1.7" - make sure that this Java-SE 1.7 is selected for every new project you create.
4. The remaining options are okay. You should see your "Test" project on the left and not much else.
5. Highlight the "Test" project, then select "File | New". This time select "Class" to create a new class (similar to a program in this case)
6. In the dialog that opens, type a name for your class such as (you guessed it) "Test" (make sure to start the class name with a capital T)
7. Leave all options as they are but check the box "public static void main(String[] args)". Do not worry if this makes no sense. We will explain everything later, step by step and in detail. For now, just follow along to test your installation.Then click "Finish".

Congratulations, you have just created your first robot program! Unfortunately, it does absolutely nothing, but we can still use it to test if all our parts are working together properly:

• Use the USB cable to plugin the NXT brick into your computer.
• Make sure your cursor is in your program (the one that starts with "public class Test ...") and click the green "Run" button, which looks like "play" on an MP3 player, on the toolbar.
• The first time you will "run" a program, you will be asked for "a way" to run it - select LeJOS EV3 Pogram. If you change your program and run it again, hi option will no longer appear.

If you are prompted to save your work, do so. Your program should now "link", then "upload" to your EV3 brick, then "execute". If you watch the screen of your brick you should notice when the program runs. But since your program still does not do anything; that'll be all that'll happen.

This is somewhat anticlimactic, but you have now successfully setup your software and are ready to develop "real" robot programs!!!

Step 5: Personalize (OPTIONAL)

In this step you will name your brick as well as set a few parameters. Start Eclipse if it is not open already and make sure that the brick and your laptop are connected. Select the menu item "LeJOS EV3 | Start EV3Control". Click the "Search" button, which should show your EV3 brick currently named "EV3". Highlight that and click "Connect". Switch to the "Tools" tab, then enter a new name for your brick in the "New Name" field. Hit "Set Name" to rename your brick. Also, go to the Setup tab and set your "Menu Sleep Time" to, say. 10 or 20 minutes. Now your brick will automatically turn off if it was inactive fore time period you specified, to save battery power.

Note that this EV3Control program can also be used to access and test any sensor or motors, run programs that are already transfered to the brick, and more. Try out various options to see what they do.

 Step 6: Connect via Bluetooth (OPTIONAL)

It is somewhat annoying to have to connect your brick to your laptop via cable. Instead, you can establish a Bluetooth connection instead, which is very convenient indeed. It is more setup work, but it will pay off handsomely.

1. Make sure your EV3 brick is turned on. By default, Bluetooth is turned on and is in "discoverable" mode.
2. On you laptop, find the blue Bluetooth icon (usually in the "Notification" portion of your taskbar).
3. Right-click on the Bluetooth icon and select "Add Bluetooth device". After a few seconds your brick should show up in the list of available Bluetooth devices. It should be called "EV3", or if you changed the brick's name in step 5, that new name. Highlight that device and click "Pair".
4. After a few second you will be asked to enter the Bluetoth key for your device. Enter "1234" and click OK

Now right-click on the Bluetooth icon again and select "Join a P ersonal Area Network". You will see a list of devices including your EV3 brick. Right-click on the EV3 device and select "Connect using > Access Point". If your connection is successful you can now disconnect the cable between the brick and your computer. When you "run" your program (via the green Run button), your program will execue on the brick wirelessly via the Blutooth connection. You can, of coure, also run the EV3Control program

Bert G. Wachsmut
Last modified: 02/17/16