Possibility of Application of the User Interface of a Conventional Smartphone for Communication of Graphical Information with a Special HW/SW Device

Abstract

This article is focused on enhancement of HW/SW device by cooperation with a smartphone interface. The device was a programmable Lego Mindstorms Education EV3 set in the form of a robot designed to solve the Rubik’s Cube. The aim of the research was to replace the built-in color sensor with a camera that would allow the cube scanning process to be accelerated. Two approaches were chosen to meet the goal: the NXTcam camera, accessible as an accessory to expand the set, and the camera built into the smartphone. The use of NXTcam led to better scan time, but this result was prone to external influences. The camera on the smartphone sped up the scanning process to 57% of the original time. The impact of external factors on the outcome was significantly lower, compared to NXTcam. In the experiment, the cube solving process was observed in natural light, with addition distractive light source and in artificial light.