node-poweredup

node-poweredup - A Javascript module to interface with LEGO Powered Up components.

Announcements

• v7.1.0 adds support for SPIKE Essential, including the Technic Small Hub, Technic Small Angular Motor, and Technic 3x3 Color Matrix.

Introduction

LEGO Powered Up is the successor to Power Functions, the system for adding electronics to LEGO models. Powered Up is a collection of ranges, all of which are compatible with each other:

• LEGO Education WeDo 2.0
• LEGO Boost
• LEGO Powered Up
• LEGO Technic CONTROL+
• LEGO Education SPIKE Prime
• LEGO Education SPIKE Essential
• LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor

Other products that speak the Powered Up protocol include the Duplo App-Controlled trains and LEGO Super Mario, both of which are compatible with this library.

This library allows communication and control of Powered Up devices and peripherals via Javascript, both from Node.js and from the browser using Web Bluetooth.

Sample Usage

const PoweredUP = require("node-poweredup");
const poweredUP = new PoweredUP.PoweredUP();

poweredUP.on("discover", async (hub) => { // Wait to discover a Hub
    console.log(`Discovered ${hub.name}!`);
    await hub.connect(); // Connect to the Hub
    const motorA = await hub.waitForDeviceAtPort("A"); // Make sure a motor is plugged into port A
    const motorB = await hub.waitForDeviceAtPort("B"); // Make sure a motor is plugged into port B
    console.log("Connected");

    while (true) { // Repeat indefinitely
        console.log("Running motor B at speed 50");
        motorB.setPower(50); // Start a motor attached to port B to run a 3/4 speed (75) indefinitely
        console.log("Running motor A at speed 100 for 2 seconds");
        motorA.setPower(100); // Run a motor attached to port A for 2 seconds at maximum speed (100) then stop
        await hub.sleep(2000);
        motorA.brake();
        await hub.sleep(1000); // Do nothing for 1 second
        console.log("Running motor A at speed -30 for 1 second");
        motorA.setPower(-30); // Run a motor attached to port A for 2 seconds at 1/2 speed in reverse (-50) then stop
        await hub.sleep(2000);
        motorA.brake();
        await hub.sleep(1000); // Do nothing for 1 second
    }
});

poweredUP.scan(); // Start scanning for Hubs
console.log("Scanning for Hubs...");

More examples are available in the "examples" directory.

Documentation

Full documentation is available here.

Node.js Installation

Node.js v12.0+ required.

npm install node-poweredup --save

node-poweredup uses the Noble BLE library by Sandeep Mistry. On macOS everything should function out of the box. On Linux and Windows there are certain dependencies which may need installed first.

Note: node-poweredup has been tested on macOS 11.0 and Debian/Raspbian on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B.

Compatibility

While most Powered Up components and Hubs are compatible with each other, there are exceptions. For example, there is limited backwards compatibility between newer components and the WeDo 2.0 Smart Hub. However WeDo 2.0 components are fully forwards compatible with newer Hubs.

Device Name	Product Code	Type	WeDo 2.0 Smart Hub	Boost Move Hub	Powered Up Hub	Control+ Hub	Availability
WeDo 2.0 Tilt Sensor	45305	Sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	45300
WeDo 2.0 Motion Sensor	45304	Sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	45300
WeDo 2.0 Medium Motor	45303	Motor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	45300 76112
Boost Color and Distance Sensor	88007	Sensor	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	17101
Boost Tacho Motor	88008	Motor/Sensor	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	17101
Powered Up Train Motor	88011	Motor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	60197 60198
Powered Up LED Lights	88005	Light	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	88005
Control+ Large Motor	22169	Motor/Sensor	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	42099 42100
Control+ XLarge Motor	22172	Motor/Sensor	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	42099 42100
SPIKE Prime Medium Motor	45678	Motor/Sensor	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	45678
SPIKE Prime Large Motor	45678	Motor/Sensor	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	45678
SPIKE Prime Color Sensor	45678	Sensor	No	No	Yes	Yes	45678
SPIKE Prime Distance Sensor	45678	Sensor	No	No	Yes	Yes	45678
SPIKE Prime Force Sensor	45678	Sensor	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	45678
SPIKE Essential Small Motor	45607	Motor/Sensor	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	45345
SPIKE Essential 3x3 Color Matrix	45608	Motor/Sensor	Partial	No	Yes	Yes	45345

In addition, the Hubs themselves have certain built-in features which this library exposes.

Hub Name	Product Code	Built-In Features	Availability
WeDo 2.0 Smart hub	45301	RGB LED Piezo Buzzer Button	45300
Boost Move Hub	88006	RGB LED Tilt Sensor 2x Tacho Motors Button	17101
Powered Up Hub	88009	RGB LED Button	60197 60198 76112
Powered Up Remote	88010	RGB LED Left and Right Control Buttons Button	60197 60198
Duplo Train Base	28743	RGB LED/Headlights Speaker Speedometer Motor Color and Distance Sensor Button	10874 10875
Control+ Hub	22127	RGB LED Button Tilt Sensor Accelerometer	42099 42100
Super Mario	71360	Pants Sensor Barcode and Color Sensor	71360
SPIKE Essential Hub	45609	RGB LED Button Tilt Sensor Accelerometer	45345

Known Issues and Limitations

• The WeDo 2.0 Smart Hub uses an older firmware which is no longer being updated. As a result, only certain motors and sensors work with it. See the table above.

• When used with the Boost Move Hub, the Control+ Motors and SPIKE Prime Motors/Sensors do not currently accept commands (This is a known bug which requires a firmware update from Lego to fix)

• The SPIKE Prime Hub does not use Bluetooth Low Energy, so is not supported via this library. It is recommended you use MicroPython to develop for this Hub using the officially provided tools and software. The SPIKE Essential Hub however is supported, as it uses Bluetooth Low Energy.

• On most Unix systems, you need root permissions to access Bluetooth devices. You may want to grant the node executable access to the Bluetooth adapter

Credits

Thanks go to Jorge Pereira (@JorgePe), Sebastian Raff (@hobbyquaker), Valentin Heun (@vheun), Johan Korten (@jakorten), and Andrey Pokhilko (@undera) for their various works, contributions, and assistance on figuring out the LEGO Boost, WeDo 2.0, and Powered Up protocols.