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Hi there,

I am trying to do a project with the formula flowcode buggy. It is to make a C++ program on maze solving algorithm and download it to a formula flowcode buggy. But I am having a very mere experience with it. So I like to know a few things.
I have made a research and selected the flood fill algorithm . But I am having some doubts.

1. How the micromouse identify different cells? I mean flood fill itself means that each cell will be assigned a value which represents a distance between the target & start cell isn't it? So how does the buggy sense the cells in a maze?

2. And let me confess that I am having a very little experience with C++. And for this project I have learnt C++ which covers functions, arrays, pointers, etc. What all other topics should I study in order to write a Maze solving C++ program?

3. Is it possible write a program in C++ and can be downloaded in the micromouse? Or should I do any conversion of the code. I mean I have seen options of writing ASM or C code in the flowcode but not C++. So should I convert the C++ to C/ASM before downloading it to the chip? If so , can anyone tell me how to write and compile C++ program in the micromouse?

I hope to get a reply soon...

Hello,

The formula flowcode robot does not have encoders attached to the motor outputs and this means you are driving the robot using dead reckoning meaning identifying when the robot has passed into a new cell will be tricky. You could maybe mark the maze with lines the line following sensors can see and use this to mark off cell sections.

What C++ compiler are you using? There are a few C++ compilers out there for PICs but I'm afraid I have never used one for embedded code. C and or Assembler are both options but personally I would go for C for sanitys sake or Flowcode to essentially save you a load of foot work. MCC18 from Microchip is a good compiler which will work with the formula flowcode but you will need to modify the linker to move the code to start from address 0x800 to allow for the FF bootloader to recognise the source hex file correctly.

Hi Benj,

Thanks for the reply. So u mean we can implement only algorithms like wall follower (without using wheel encoders) ???
If I have attach such wheel encoders, which type is good?
Actually I thought of using line sections between each cells but my project tutor doesn't agree with that.

I am using Dev C++. Does it works well with flowcode?
Even I prefer C (or C++) rather than ASM. Mainly because that what our project demands. So we can write only C code to the chip, isn't it?
And do u know any tutorial regarding on writing C codes with the help of flowcode?