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README and MIT licence (ALG-83) #3

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Rewrite the README to the house sections and add an MIT licence (ALG-83)
Oct 19, 2026
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README: the p command does not stop blinking (ALG-83)
Oct 19, 2026
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README: review fixes (ALG-83)
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21 changes: 21 additions & 0 deletions LICENSE
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MIT License

Copyright (c) 2020-2024 storagebits

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.
94 changes: 47 additions & 47 deletions README.md
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# board-explorer

board-explorer is an experimental interactive board project. The aim is to learn mixing electronic components with gaming in mind. Code is provived as is mostly for educational purpose.
An experimental interactive game board: arcade joysticks plugged into a Raspberry Pi drive micro:bit robots over Bluetooth Low Energy. Made to learn how to mix electronics with gaming.

Base components are **Raspberry Pi, micro:bit, arcade controllers and an IR frame** (optional) for localisation.
![board-explorer: an arcade joystick in front of a board where two micro:bit robots face each other](images/board-explorer.jpg)

## MakeCode
There's a dedicated repository for the MakeCode associated with this project:
## What it does

micro:bit Direct link : https://makecode.microbit.org/_frdR5xctm0Rt
`board-explorer` is a small Go program for the Raspberry Pi. It connects over BLE to one or two micro:bits (one per player), reads one USB arcade joystick per player, and sends each move to that player's micro:bit as a one-letter command on the micro:bit's BLE UART. The micro:bit runs the companion MakeCode program, [board-explorer-makecode](https://github.com/storagebits/board-explorer-makecode), which drives a ring:bit car and its LEDs.

Code : https://github.com/storagebits/board-explorer-makecode
| Joystick | Command sent | On the micro:bit |
|---|---|---|
| Up | `z` | forward |
| Down | `s` | back |
| Left | `q` | turn left |
| Right | `d` | turn right |
| Button pressed | `o` | LEDs blink |
| Button released | `p` | LEDs green (blinking does not stop: see the companion repo's Status) |

## Status

**WARNING:** this project is at early stage and is subject to change often.
Prototype, not developed since 2024. The code is provided as is, mostly for educational use.

![board-explorer](https://github.com/storagebits/board-explorer/blob/master/images/board-explorer.jpg?raw=true)
- Worked in 2020 (as the original README reported; not re-tested on hardware since): BLE connection to up to two micro:bits, USB arcade joysticks, the commands above.
- Does not build as committed: the 2024 rewrite fails to compile against the current `golang-evdev` (`cannot use ev.Code (variable of type uint16) as int value in map index`, three times in `formatEvent`). Writing `int(ev.Code)` in those three places makes it build again. The repository also has no `go.mod` yet; see Getting started.
- Commands repeat: every 40 ms the program sends `o` or `p` for the button and a letter for a pushed direction. A centred stick sends nothing (never `w`, brake), so the car keeps its last move.
- The GitHub Actions workflow (`.github/workflows/go.yml`, Go 1.13, `go get` without `go.mod`) dates from 2020; expect it to fail.
- Not done: the IR frame for locating pieces on the board (the touch-input reader is in the code but not wired in), RFID, scoring, LED strips and the board's furniture.

## Getting started

### Setting up your micro:bit
Requirements: a Raspberry Pi with Bluetooth (or any Linux machine with a BLE adapter), a recent Go (tested with 1.23) and a C compiler (the evdev package uses cgo), one or two micro:bits, and one USB joystick per player.

board-explorer communicate with micro:bit(s) component(s) via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). It sends commands on the BLE UART which are then interpreted localy on the micro:bit. So we need first to flash our micro:bit(s) with the following makecode project :
1. **Flash the micro:bits** with the companion program: open https://makecode.microbit.org/_frdR5xctm0Rt and download it to each micro:bit, or import the [board-explorer-makecode](https://github.com/storagebits/board-explorer-makecode) repository in MakeCode. Note each micro:bit's name (the five letters shown by the micro:bit app on Android or iOS).
2. **Build** (after the `int(ev.Code)` fix above):

#### Direct link to makecode project
```sh
git clone https://github.com/storagebits/board-explorer.git && cd board-explorer
go mod init board-explorer && go mod tidy
go build -o bin/board-explorer .
```

This is the easier way to get started, you can open the makecode project with following link and flash your micro:bit :
https://makecode.microbit.org/_5up1Y89u5J5X
3. **Plug in the joysticks** (the first one is player 1), power the micro:bits, then run:

#### Repository of the makecode project
```sh
sudo ./bin/board-explorer -microbitName1 <name1> [-microbitName2 <name2>]
```

If you need more infos you can check the corresponding repository here :
https://github.com/storagebits/board-explorer-makecode
BLE needs raw network access. To run without `sudo`, give the binary the capabilities once:

### Setting up your USB joystick
```sh
sudo setcap 'cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin=eip' ./bin/board-explorer
```

In the best way it should just work plug'n'play ! just plug it before launching board-explorer.
## Configuration

## Build board-explorer
Command-line flags only; there is no configuration file.

In the bin folder you'll find a binary compiled on a Raspberry Pi with GOARM=5 build option.
| Flag | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `-microbitName1` | Name of player 1's micro:bit (required). The program connects to the BLE device advertised as `BBC micro:bit [<name>]`. |
| `-microbitName2` | Name of player 2's micro:bit (optional). Player 2 uses the second joystick. |

If you're running on a Rapsberry Pi you can run this one (see Run paragraph below) or build your own with following command :
## Project layout

```console
foo@bar:~/board-explorer $ go build board-explorer.go -o bin/board-explorer
```

## Run board-explorer

Now it's time to powerup your flashed micro:bit(s) and launch board-explorer :

```console
foo@bar:~/board-explorer/bin $ sudo ./board-explorer -player1 microbit1name [-player2 microbit2name]
```

_note:_ You can retrieve your micro:bit name in your Android or IOS micro:bit app

_note:_ to avoid sudo you could set following setcap rights to board-explorer binary :
```console
foo@bar:~$ sudo setcap 'cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin=eip' ./board-explorer
board-explorer.go the whole program: BLE connections, joystick polling every 40 ms, command sending
images/ photo of the board
```

## What's done ? What's in progress ? What's next ?

| What's done ? | What's in progress ? | What's next ? |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------|---------------------|
| Bluetooth LE support | IR frame support | LEDs |
| USB arcade joystick support | RFID support | Scoring |
| micro:bit support | | Furnitures / Design |

## Licence and credits

## Educational purpose
Released under the [MIT licence](LICENSE). It is meant to be reused in other educational projects, classrooms or experimental electronic boards.

This code is provided as is. It is mean to be-reused in other educational projects, classrooms or in any experimental electronic board experience.
Built on [go-ble/ble](https://github.com/go-ble/ble) (BSD 3-Clause), [simulatedsimian/joystick](https://github.com/simulatedsimian/joystick) (MIT) and [gvalkov/golang-evdev](https://github.com/gvalkov/golang-evdev), fetched by `go mod tidy`, not vendored here.
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