Subscribe
MA-1

Customizing your MA-1

Sam

• 5 min read
Customizing your MA-1
Customise MA-1 to your hearts content

When you receive your MA-1, it is ready to be used and does not require any configuration or setup. However, if you wish, you can customize your MA-1 in various ways.

The customization options for MA-1 range from basic sensor settings, such as adjusting the light sensor threshold, temperature and altitude offsets for the environment sensor, brightness of the LEDs, and break timer interval, to more advanced customization, like replacing the default animation with your own. For advanced users, it is possible to modify every aspect of MA-1 by writing CircuitPython code.

In this guide, we will focus on the basic customization of MA-1. We will first switch MA-1 to the writable mode, which we like to call "God mode," and then change the settings to better suit your individual needs.

Activating God Mode on MA-1

Activating God Mode on your MA-1 is a simple process that gives you complete control over its customization. Just follow these steps:

  1. Connect your MA-1 to your computer using the provided USB cable.
  2. Turn your MA-1 upside down and place it on a flat surface. You will see a timer indicating the remaining time until God Mode is activated.
  3. Wait for approximately 60 seconds, and your MA-1 will automatically switch to God Mode.
  4. Disconnect the USB cable from your computer, and then reconnect it.
  5. Congratulations! Your MA-1 is now in writable mode, allowing you to modify any settings you desire.

When you connect your MA-1, you should notice the presence of a new file called "god_mode.txt." Please note that the appearance of this file may vary depending on your operating system. The accompanying screenshot demonstrates how it appears on a Mac, but your system might display it differently.

MA-1 is now writable
⚠️
Do not delete any file. Removing them may prevent the startup of MA-1.

Understanding and modifying settings

The foundation of all customization lies within the settings.toml file. To access and modify this file, follow these steps:

MA-1 main settings file

Open the settings.toml file in your preferred text editor. This file contains all the configurable options for your MA-1.

Naming your MA-1

By default, your MA-1 robot is assigned the name 'MA-1'. However, you have the freedom to personalize this name to your liking. Keep in mind that the name should consist only of alphanumeric characters and hyphens ('-').

To update the name, locate the setting named "name" and change its value from "MA-1" to your desired name.

name="MA-1"
I am MA-1
name="Monty"
From now on I am Monty

Environment sensor settings

The MA-1 robot is equipped with the high-precision SCD40 sensor for monitoring CO2 levels, temperature, and humidity. To customize the environment sensor settings, follow these guidelines:

Use the temperature_scale setting to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit. For Celsius, use "c"; for Fahrenheit, use "f."

temperature_scale="c"
Scale set to Degree Celsius

The temperature offset is the difference between the ambient temperature in your room and the temperature inside the MA-1 robot. This value is preset and typically does not require adjustment unless you notice significant deviations.

The temperature offset is always set in degrees Celsius.
temperature_offset=4
4 Degree Celsius temperature difference between the device and the room

The environment sensor also requires an altitude setting to measure ambient pressure. By default, this setting is set to 0. Unless you live in a high-rise building or elevated area, this value typically has little impact on measurements. However, if necessary, update the altitude setting to your current elevation above sea level in meters.

altitude=0
0 Meters above the see level

Light sensor setting

The light sensor in MA-1 is utilized to determine darkness, enabling the robot to refrain from reminding you to take breaks during late evening and nighttime. The light sensor setting is pre-calibrated specifically for your MA-1, so it generally does not require modification. However, if you work in a significantly darker environment or prefer to receive break reminders even in low light conditions, you can update this setting.

To activate the break timer in darker conditions, increase the value of the light_threshold setting.

light_threshold=4200
Above 4200 we assume its dark

LED brightness setting

MA-1 features adorable squiggle LEDs that adjust their brightness based on the readings from the light sensor (as mentioned above). While the LED brightness settings are pre-calibrated for your MA-1 and generally do not require modification, you have the option to update them if desired.

The following settings control the brightness threshold of the LEDs:

  • brightness_day: This setting determines the LED brightness during the day. It is preset and typically does not need adjustment.
  • brightness_night: This setting controls the LED brightness during nighttime. It is also pre-calibrated and usually does not require changes.
brightness_day=50000
brightness_night=12000
Increase or decrease brightness

Break interval setting

By default, MA-1 will remind you to take a short break every hour. However, you have the flexibility to adjust this setting according to your preference. To modify the break interval, update the following setting with the desired number of seconds between breaks.

This sets the break interval to 3600 seconds, which corresponds to one hour. Feel free to customize this value to suit your work routine and break schedule.

break_interval=3600
Break interval set to 3600 seconds (1 Hour)

Saving the settings.toml file and restarting

Once you have made the desired changes to the settings, it is important to save the settings.toml file and restart your MA-1 so that the new configurations take effect. Follow these steps:

  • Disconnect the USB connection from your MA-1.
  • Reconnect the USB cable to your MA-1, ensuring a secure connection.
  • Your MA-1 will now be configured according to your customized settings. If you have changed the name, you will see the updated name displayed.
  • Congratulations! Your MA-1 is now personalized to your liking. Take the time to test and adapt its behavior to suit your needs. However, remember to switch it back to normal mode when you're done.
🔺
Before concluding, it's important to switch MA-1 back to normal mode by turning off God Mode. This step is necessary to prevent accidental deletion of files or potential restarts of MA-1 due to file system browsing.

Switch MA-1 back to normal mode

  • Connect your MA-1 to your computer using the provided USB cable.
  • Ensure that all files and libraries remain intact without any removals.
  • Locate and delete the file named 'god_mode.txt' that was created when you switched MA-1 to God Mode during the initial configuration.
  • Disconnect the USB cable from your computer, and then reconnect it.
Delete god_mode.txt and restart

Congratulations! Your MA-1 is now back to normal operation, retaining your personalized settings. Enjoy using your customized MA-1 with its new configurations.

If you have any questions or need further assistance regarding the configuration of your MA-1, please feel free to post them here. We are committed to providing support and will do our best to respond to all inquiries within 48 hours. Thank you for choosing MA-1 and happy customizing!