Facilino [2], was originally developed by Leopoldo Armesto (UPV) in a collaboration with a local SME, Robotica F\u00e1cil [3], to provide solutions for schools so the can integrate different kind of STEAM activities within their curricula. From the beginning, Facilino has shown interest in their community. Originally, the software was planned as a free-ware software, as part of the agreement for development. Therefore, many blocks were free to use, but others, require a license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking Facilino as a basis and considering that the old version of Facilino was not maintained anymore (last published release is dated on end of 2019), we consider that EcoThings project brings a great opportunity to retake the development under a completely different approach. For obvious reasons, we have kept the original software name, trademark and logo, but now it\u2019s development is fully maintained by the UPV. Indeed, this approach has shown to have an impact on the community because some people already use Facilino and thus the new version sound familiar to them and thus showed interest in learning more about this new version of Facilino. Due to the previous collaboration with Rob\u00f3tica Facil, we could reach a sector that was precisely of interest of this project. When presenting the new version we referred to EcoThings project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b. Highlights<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the project execution, we have made a big effort in readapting many aspects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Main results<\/p>\n\n\n\n a. Old Facilino version versus Facilino OTA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Facilino is hosted at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/facilino.webs.upv.es\/<\/a> This host will be maintained by the UPV even when the project is finished, with the purpose of providing access to anyone who wants to use this tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n b. Open source and free software<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Facilino, also known as Facilino OTA, has been published as an open source software under Apache 2.0 license. The new version of facilino is totally free, which means that we have reimplemented the underlying code for those blocks so that now all of them generated code at no cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The code has been published on GitHub (using the original account, but on a new repository):<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/github.com\/roboticafacil\/facilino_ota<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Together with Facilino OTA, users must install Facilino OTA Server, another open source tool that is hosted at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/github.com\/roboticafacil\/facilino_ota_server<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have created a first release, with binary files for Windows and Ubuntu (also works in LliureX).<\/p>\n\n\n\n c. Front-end and Back-end<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Facilino uses a frontend\/backend architecture, which means that when the user loads Facilino web page, this page is served by a server running PHP. The server generated HTML and javascript code that the client (frontend) renders into a web page. The server make queries to a database using MySQL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to this, it is interesting to understand how Facilino generates code to be uploaded on electronics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n d. User\u2019s account<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to use Facilino, users must create an account. When not logged in, a red box informs the user that needs to login in order to code. Login can be done by clicking on the top right icon at the menu bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a user has an account, it can simply log in to start coding, otherwise, the user will need to create an account to as indicated in the login page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registration page, ask for few personal data and language preference (currently only english and Spanish):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users can recover their password if they do not remember and they will receive an email with a link to reset their password:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once clicking on the link, they just need to set a new password and the user\u2019s account password will be updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once logged in, they can access to their user profile to update their name of language preferences. User\u2019s can also apply for an account upgrade in which the can participate in the Translation program or Academy program. These two programs are described below so that users can contribute to the development of Facilino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n e. Project\u2019s dashboard<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n User\u2019s can create projects that will be included in their project\u2019s dashboard. So far, this is a simple dashboard where all users\u2019 projects are listed and they can duplicate a project, delete, edit, download code, etc\u2026 We are considering to include a search\/filtering tool so that when users start have a big amount of projects, can be easily found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a project, users must click on \u201cNew Project\u201d link and a form with all possible options will be shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users must provide a project\u2019s name, select the board they plan to use, Facilino\u2019s version, the block instruction set as well as the language. All these options can be modified later once the project is created. They can also select the Server IP and the Device IP for Facilino OTA settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facilino generates Arduino code for multiple type of boards. It works with several Arduino processors such as Arduino Uno; Espressif boards such as ESP8266 and ESP32 and Raspberry Pi. Facilino blocks instructions are identical in most cases, while the generate code adapted to the specific board, which greatly abstracts many issues related to hardware abstraction compared to classic text coding. So far, we have included a subset of boards, but this can be extended in the future to include new ones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Facilino is a code generation tool, the actual code will be uploaded to using Facilino OTA Server (see next section). This will will upload code either through USB, selecting Facilino<\/strong> version, or over the air selecting Facilino OTA<\/strong>. We have also created a simplified version of Facilino (using USB), named as Facilino Junior<\/strong> where most of the blocks have been adapted to a simpler way of use, while limiting obviously the full capacity of the tool if advanced instructions were used instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the user must select a Block Instruction set. The purpose of this selection is to filter some blocks that the user will not use depending on the type of project he\/she intends to do. In that sense, the option by default is a generic project with the full set of instructions, while other projects such as robotic projects or EcoThings project will require a different kind of instructions. Thus, by selecting a specific project, some instructions will not be shown by default and therefore, it\u2019s easier for non-experienced users to find the instructions they need to user for their actual needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n f. Facilino OTA Server<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can download here Facilino OTA Server. Select the appropriate version for your OS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, download Facilino OTA Server. Be advised that these downloads have been taken from Robotica Facil’s GitHub, where you can find the source code of the application and old releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click on the installer to execute it. Your computer might give a warning as the Installation comes from an unknown source. Simply, give permision under the extended tab option. The Facilino OTA Server is complety safe and does not pose a threat to your computer. Indeed, Facilino OTA Server actually is a port to the Facilino web page and Arduino-CLI. The web page generates code based on blocks, while Arduino CLI is the software that compiles your code so it is highly recommended to check that has been properly installed after the installation process finishes, including all boards and libraries required by Facilino, otherwise, compiling and uploading code might fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When executing Facilino OTA Server Installer, you should see the following window:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Select the installation location, this is automatically set to your folder C:\\FacilinoOTAServer<\/em>. We recommend you not to change this path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then installation should start immediately and a progress bar should be visible. This installation might take a few minutes, particularly when installing Arduino libraries, because they will be first downloaded and then installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Facilino OTA Server Windows ZIP (for non-admin users)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unzip Facilino OTA Server and cd<\/em> to the unzipped folder and type config.bat<\/em> in the command shell. You should see on the shell output all arduino-cli commands required by Facilino to be able to compile and upload code to the supported boards and libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Facilino OTA Server on Ubuntu<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Untar Facilino OTA Server and cd to the uncompressed folder and bash config.sh in the console. You should see on the shell output all arduino-cli commands required by Facilino to be able to compile and upload code to the supported boards and libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Arduino CLI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Open the command shell and move to Facilino OTA Server directory (i.e.: C:\\FacilinoOTAServer<\/em>). Then, cd<\/em> to arduino-cli<\/em> folder and type arduino-cli.exe core list<\/em> (on Windows) or .\/arduino-cli core list<\/em> (on Ubuntu). You should see a list of supported boards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you type: arduino-cli.exe lib list<\/em> you should see a list of installed libraries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If any of the previous steps fails or during compilation of a program there’s a missing library, you can install them manually (see arduino-cli’s help by typing arduino-cli.exe -h<\/em> on Windows or .\/arduino-cli -h<\/em> on Ubuntu).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Running Facilino OTA Server<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can run Facilino OTA Server from the command shell by typing FacilinoOTAServer.exe -e<\/em> on Windows or .\/FacilinoOTAServer -e<\/em> on Ubuntu (you need to cd<\/em> to Facilino installation folder).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time your computer restarts or you close the command shell, you will need to manually execute Facilino OTA server so it can compile or upload code. This is OK if you are the only user using the computer, however, if more users are about to use Facilino (i.e. in a Lab room), in order to avoid copies of the same libraries for each user, the recommended method is to install a service that runs automatically at boot up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IMPORANT: In order to run Facilino OTA Server as a service, it must be installed by the administrator of the machine and the service must be installed also by the same user<\/strong>. In that case, open a command shell with administrative permission and cd <\/em>to Facilino OTA Server and type FacilinoOTAServer.exe -i <user> <password><\/em> on Windows or sudo .\/FacilinoOTAServer -i <user> <password><\/em> on Ubuntu, where <user> and <password> denotes the system user and password of the computer with administrative permisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, start the service simply by executing the command FacilinoOTAServer.exe<\/em> on Windows or .\/FacilinoOTAServer<\/em> on Ubuntu. To stop the service, you can execute the command FacilinoOTAServer.exe -t<\/em> on Windows or .\/FacilinoOTAServer -t<\/em> on Ubuntu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is recommended to check the status of the service through the Windows service utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Ubuntu, you can check if the service is running by executing the command lsof -i:4000<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. Compile & Upload<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, we assume that you have registed an account on Facilino web page, if not, please go to Register and complete the registration and log in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, we assume that you have registed an account on Facilino web page, if not, please go to Register and complete the registration and log in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To check if Facilino OTA can compile and upload code, create a blank project. Goto to the dashboard page Dashboard, click on New Project and select the desired processor among the list of available ones; select Facilino as Facilino Version<\/em> and Generic Project Block Instruction Set<\/em> and press Create<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, connect your board to the USB port and click on Compile & Upload<\/em>. A window will show up with the generated code (so far since the project is empty, only setup and loop functions should appear). Select the board port in the dropdown list (if necessary press the Refresh<\/em>) and board:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, verify that the code compiles by click on Verify<\/em> and then if succeed upload the code by clicking on Upload<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remark: <\/strong>Every time you change the code, you need to compile first and then upload, otherwise the latest compiled code will be uploaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n g. Block simplification and feature extension<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the previous version of Facilino included many blocks, in this new version, we have included new blocks, updated existing ones and add shadow blocks to provide a hint on the type of input that a block expects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In particular, from the toolbox, we can see now all blocks variations so the user can directly select the one that he\/she is interested in (previously, only the default block aspect was shown, but now we show all of them). For instance, the arithmetic block operation that included summation, subtraction, multiplication and division in a one single block, now it is shown as if they were four different blocks in the toolbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, on each input, we have added shadow blocks, which are default input values so that the user does not need to add by himself\/herself. Of course, the user can change this default value to something which is more convenient for him\/her, but in most of the cases, the default value serves as a hint to the user to know which kind of input is expected, but also as quick code generation, just by dragging few blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have updated, both the aspect and the code generated of some blocks, particularly those related with Bluetooth, because we have developed an App Inventor extension that is compatible with those blocks. Bluetooth-related blocks have also additional improvements. Among them, we can highlight the fact that now we can transmit and receive data between two ESP32 devices as long as one of them acts as master and the other one as slave. We have also created new blocks, such as HTTP REST API blocks to communicate WiFi devices with a mobile device via HTTP protocol. Another important block that has been modified that is widely used are blocks related to GLOBAL variables. Now, this block is simply added to the workspace, but not necessary in the setup as before. Since they are global variables, their definition is not link to either to \u201csetup\u201d or \u201cloop\u201d sections. In addition to this, PWM-related blocks have their own subcategory in the toolbox, which is easier to find them (before they were included in the Analog section).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have also included many new blocks that were not included in the old version, such as servo motor attach\/detach, ignore output, meArm-related blocks, HTU21D temperature\/humidity sensor block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n h. Block filters<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When creating a project, we can select the type of project we intend to work with, which affects to the block instruction set. For instance, a generic project will have all blocks available by default, while other type of projects will show by default only some categories. The following table summarizes the categories and subcategories shown for each type of project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/3-3-1024x535.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/4-2-1024x346.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/5-3-1024x444.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/6-2-1024x367.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/7-2-1024x190.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/8-2-1024x295.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/9-2-1024x322.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/10-2-1024x188.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/11-2-1024x387.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/12-2-1024x189.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/13-2-1024x109.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/14-3-672x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/15-2-1024x535.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/16-2-1024x932.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/17-2-1024x449.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/18-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/19-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20-2.jpg\")
<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/21-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/22-2-1024x650.jpg\")
<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/23-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/24-1-1024x159.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/25-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/26-1-1024x748.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/27-1.jpg\")
<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/28-1-1024x281.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/29-1024x324.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/30-1024x325.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/31-1024x818.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/32-1024x447.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/33-1024x812.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/34-1024x400.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/35-1024x810.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/36-1024x409.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/37-943x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/38-1024x269.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/39-1024x124.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/40-1024x489.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/41.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/42-1024x96.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/43-1024x202.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ecothings.webs.upv.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/44-1024x267.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n