Controlling a Sphero Mini with Python and spherov2

By Yauheni Yakauleu

October 24, 2023

Controlling a Sphero Mini with Python and spherov2

If you’ve ever wanted to control a Sphero Mini robot using Python, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll explore how to use the spherov2 Python package to interact with a Sphero Mini. We’ll focus on a specific example script, controls.py, which demonstrates how to control the robot’s movements and LED lights.

What is Sphero Mini?

Sphero Mini is a small, spherical robot that can roll around, change colors, and be programmed to perform various tasks. It’s a fantastic educational tool for learning about robotics and programming.

What is spherov2?

The spherov2 package is a Python library that provides an API for interacting with Sphero robots, including the Sphero Mini. It allows you to control the robot’s movements, change its LED colors, and much more.

Getting Started

To get started, you’ll need to install the spherov2 package. You can clone the repository and install the package using pip:

git clone https://github.com/yyakauleu/sphero_mini_with_spherov2.git
cd sphero_mini_with_spherov2
pip install -r requirements.txt

Controlling the Sphero Mini

The controls.py script provides a simple example of how to control the Sphero Mini. The script uses the keyboard library to detect keypress events and the spherov2 package to send commands to the robot.

Here’s a snippet from the script:

import time
from spherov2.sphero_edu import SpheroEduAPI, scanner
from spherov2.types import Color
import keyboard

def main():
    toy = scanner.find_toy()
    with SpheroEduAPI(toy) as droid:
        print("Connected")
        # ... (rest of the code)

In this script, the main() function initializes the Sphero Mini and enters a loop that listens for keyboard events. Depending on the key pressed, the script sends different commands to the robot.

Conclusion

Controlling a Sphero Mini with Python is both fun and educational. The spherov2 package makes it easy to interact with the robot, and the controls.py script provides a great starting point for your own projects.

Feel free to clone the repository and try it out for yourself!