1.3: Screen, Sounds, and Lights

Almost every single device that you own probably has a screen. Cellphones, laptops, tablets, televisions, and now your Zumi! Screens come in all sizes and types. Some are color and some are black and white. Your Zumi screen can only display black and white, but you can still use it to write messages, draw pictures, and make silly faces. Open the “Screen” menu to see all of the blocks.

When you turn on Zumi, she gives you some helpful messages on the screen to help you get started. You can write your own messages using the draw text block. Have Zumi say hello!

Now, have Zumi greet you and display her happy eyes. To make sure that the message stays on the screen long enough to read, add a “Wait” block in between.

Now try changing the text and the eyes to say “Goodbye!” Also, display Zumi’s close eyes because she is tired and needs to say goodbye!

Zumi has a buzzer so that she can make sounds! While she wouldn’t be able to play your favorite song or talk to you, you can play individual notes that can sound happy, sad, or surprised. In the “Sounds” menu, we’ve made some sounds for you. Try them out!

Have Zumi say hello, make a sound, and show her happy eyes! You can put the blocks in any order you want, but remember that the code will only run one at a time.

If you want to write your own sounds and music, you can use the play note block. To use this block, you need to know which note you want to play. If you play an instrument, you may be familiar with the notes names. If you need some help, take a look at this diagram of a keyboard. The black keys are described a “Sharp” above its neighboring key on the left.

Let’s play middle C for 1 second. Middle C is a note around the middle of the piano. It’s not too low or too high. The first parameter in the block is the note and the second parameter is the duration the note will play in milliseconds. There are 1000 milliseconds in 1 second.

Here is an example of playing all of the natural notes (white keys) in one octave.

To play a sharp (black key), select a note with the “S”. Here is an example of a tune for Zumi’s sad eyes.

Like every car should have, Zumi has headlights and brake lights that you can program. On a circuit board, these are called LEDs. Zumi has 8 LEDs on the board, but you can’t program all of them. In this lesson, you are going to program the front and back LEDs. The front LEDs are a bit hidden by the shell. Do not get them confused with the infrared sensors!

The back LEDs are much easier to see. They are the red ones on the back of Zumi.

Open the “Lights” menu to see all of the different functions. You can turn on headlights, brake lights, and use signals!

Cars need to let other drivers on the road when they are turning or slowing down. Practice turning on your right turn signal, driving forward, waiting, and then making a right turn and continuing down the road. Don’t forget to turn off the turn signal!

You can now draw eyes and messages on the screen, make some sounds, and add some lights! You may be wondering about making custom eyes, but you will get to that later. For now, test your knowledge by coding your own sound effects for each face, or use Zumi to act out a story driving through town complete with turn signals and messages on the screen.