How to Use Zumi

What is Zumi?

Zumi is the first educational self-driving car kit that will teach you about the concept of artificial intelligence and self-driving car technology in a fun and engaging way. In addition to AI, you will learn basic robotics and programming concepts!

What is AI?

AI stands for artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence software is designed to appear intelligent and behave like a human, and it can do things like:

• Natural language processing: One example is anything that has a text-to-speech feature, which is when onscreen text is read out loud. This is great for anyone that is visually impaired!
• Object classification: This is when images are classified as the correct object. Some AI machines can go even further and classify species of flowers or breeds of dogs. This technology can be used in self driving or autonomous vehicles to identify pedestrians and other vehicles.
• Reasoning and problem-solving: Some AI machines are designed to play games, like Tic-Tac-Toe and Battleship, using conditionals to make their next move. For example, its logic could look like, “If my opponent puts an X in the righthand corner, I’ll put an O to its left. Else, I will put an O in the righthand corner.”

General Precautions

• Avoid having wet hands when using Zumi or putting any electronics near liquids.
• Do not insert any metal or conductive material into the Zumi shell or near exposed circuitry.
• Make sure all of the connections to Zumi are correct before powering on.
• Be careful not to pinch any wires when tightening bolts or standoffs.
• When building Zumi or connecting any components, power off Zumi.

Battery Usage

• Connecting the battery
• When connecting the battery, make sure to match the red wire with the (+) on the PCB and the black wire with the (-) on the PCB. Do not connect the battery to any other connector on the board, or it will result in the destruction of the battery and the Zumi board.
• Removing the battery
• If you need to remove the battery, grab the connector from the white plastic on the battery connector. A pair of pliers will do the job. Avoid tugging on the battery from the wires.
• Low battery
• When the battery is low, Zumi will begin to beep. If you do not have your MicroUSB available, make sure to turn off the switch. Failure to do this will significantly lower the power output over time. If you have your MicroUSB available, read ahead to learn how to charge Zumi.

Charging Zumi

Zumi has 3 LEDs visible on the left side of the Zumi board. These are indicators of the charging state.

• If the RED LED is on, the battery is charging.
• If the BLUE LED is on, MicroUSB power has been detected.
• If the GREEN LED is on, the Zumi board is being powered.
• If only the GREEN LED is on, then Zumi is running on battery power.

How to charge Zumi

Zumi will only be charging if the RED LED is on and the MicroUSB is connected to a power source, laptop USB port, or wall outlet USB source. If you connect the MicroUSB and the RED LED does not turn on, then you will need to flip the switch in order to begin charging.

How do I know if Zumi is charged?

If the switch is in the charging position (“off” position, switched pushed to the left) and the RED LED is off, then the battery may be fully charged.

Can I use Zumi while charging?

You can use Zumi while charging, but the drive commands may be limited by the MicroUSB cable. If you have been using Zumi while charging and you want to disconnect the USB cable, you must first flip the switch into the “on” position. A beep will sound and the RED LED will shut off, leaving the GREEN and BLUE LEDs on. At this point you may disconnect. If you disconnect before flipping the switch, Zumi will shut off and you will need to restart Zumi.

Powering off
Make sure to use the dashboard in order to turn Zumi off, then wait 10 seconds before you use the switch. If you are using the terminal, use the
“`sudo poweroff“` command, then wait for 10 seconds before you flip the switch to the “off” position.