Theory

13. Getting Started with Quarky

Let’s get started with Quarky with a Getting Started activity. To do this activity, first, we have to power on Quarky.

Turn on the power with the slide switch at the back of the Quarky.

STEP 1: Start the Getting Started Program

Once Quarky is powered ON, you can start the GETTING STARTED program already uploaded in Quarky. To start the program long-press Button L for 5 seconds.

Once the GETTING STARTED starts you will be able to see the following:

🌈 A Rainbow animation starts on the RGB LED Display.
🗣 Quarky greets you!
😊 Quarky shows a smiley face on the Display.

STEP 2: Exploring the Tactile Switches

Quarky has 2 tactile switches labeled L and R. The program continues and you will play a catch the fruit game using the tactile switches.

During this you will do the following:

🔲 Explore the tactile switch L and R.

🎮 Play a small game where the fruits come from the top of the LED and you are at the last row of the Display. You have to move left and right using the L and R switches respectively and try to catch the fruits. You have to catch 5 fruits to proceed further.

STEP 3: Explore Touch Pins

Quarky has 5 touch pins at the bottom labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. During this part, you have to touch the pins and Quarky will make a sound and display lines. You have to touch the pins 5 times to proceed further.

Now you’re getting started ends with the quote “Let’s Code”, which we will do in the next topic.

Displaying Expressions – Overview

Did you know that our friend Quarky is quite expressive like us? The eyes say it all. And as you might have guessed, the RGB LED matrix acts as its eyes.

We’re going to use this matrix to display different expressions.

Quarky Meets PictoBlox

Let’s begin by first connecting Quarky to PictoBlox. Select your preferred type of device i.e. either the desktop/laptop or your smartphone and follow the instructions.

Desktop

Follow the steps below for connecting Quarky to PictoBlox:

🖥 First, connect Quarky to your laptop using a USB cable.

💻 Next, open PictoBlox on your desktop.

🖱 After that, select Block Coding as your coding environment.

🎛 Then, click the Board button in the toolbar and select the board as Quarky.

🔌 Next, select the appropriate Serial port if the Quarky is connected via USB or the Bluetooth Port if you want to connect Quarky via Bluetooth and press Connect.