BlocklyDuino - BWS Uster Edition

A web-based visual programming editor for Arduino, specialized for educational boards created by Berufswahlschule Uster, Switzerland (www.bws-uster.ch).

Fork of BlocklyDuino - Updated for modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) with enhanced features for educational use.

Live Demo: blockly.bws-uster.ch

Features

Visual Programming

• Drag-and-drop block programming for Arduino
• Real-time Arduino code generation
• XML save/load for sharing projects
• Bilingual interface (English/German)

Supported Boards

• BWS Playground Master (ESP32-S3 DevKitC-1) - Custom educational board
• Arduino Uno - Classic Arduino board

Component Blocks

Category	Components
Output	Internal RGB LED, LED Matrix, OLED Display, WS2812 LED Strip, Relays, DC Motors, SG90 Servos
Input	Buttons (with interrupt support), KY023 Joystick, Brightness Sensor (LDR)
Sensors	DHT11 (Temperature/Humidity), Ultrasonic Distance
Audio	MAX98357A I2S Amplifier (tone playback, WAV files)
Storage	SD Card (read/write/delete files)
Communication	Serial (USB), Bluetooth LE Remote Control
Programming	Variables, Arrays, Functions, Custom Code blocks

Educational Features

• Test blocks for every component - verify hardware connections
• Dependency checking - warns when components need initialization
• ISR restrictions - prevents invalid code in interrupts/timers
• Interactive test menu - test all components via OLED menu

Project Export

• One-click download creates a complete VSCode/PlatformIO project as ZIP
• Includes all source files, headers, platformio.ini, and VSCode settings
• Ready to use: Extract, open in VSCode, and compile/upload immediately
• Perfect for students to continue coding in a professional IDE

BWS Playground Master Pinout

Component	Pin(s)	Notes
Internal RGB LED	GPIO 48	WS2812B NeoPixel
LED Matrix (16 LEDs)	GPIO 10	WS2812B NeoPixel
OLED Display	SDA: GPIO 8, SCL: GPIO 9	I2C (0x78)
Buttons	SW1: GPIO 1, SW2: GPIO 4, SW3: GPIO 3, SW4: GPIO 2	Active LOW
SG90 Servos	Servo1: GPIO 37, Servo2: GPIO 38, Servo3: GPIO 45	External 5-6V required
DC Motors	M1: GPIO 15/16, M2: GPIO 43/44, M3: GPIO 0/7, M4: GPIO 12/13	External power required
Relays	Relay1: GPIO 48, Relay2: GPIO 47	External 5V required
DHT11	GPIO 6	Temperature & Humidity
Ultrasonic	Front: TRIG 17/ECHO 35, Back: TRIG 14/ECHO 21	External 5V required
SD Card	CS: GPIO 5, MOSI: GPIO 20, CLK: GPIO 18, MISO: GPIO 19	SPI
MAX98357A Audio	BCLK: GPIO 41, LRC: GPIO 42, DIN: GPIO 40, SD_MODE: GPIO 39	I2S
WS2812 LED Strip	Configurable	External power for long strips
KY023 Joystick	Configurable (X, Y, Button pins)	Analog + Digital
Brightness Sensor	Configurable (analog pin)	GL5546 LDR

⚠️ Note: Some components require external 5V power. See block tooltips in the app for details.

Quick Start

Option 1: Use Online Demo

Visit blockly.bws-uster.ch - no installation required.

Option 2: Open Directly in Browser

1. Clone or download the repository
2. Open blocklyduino/index.html directly in your browser
3. That's it - no server required!

Option 3: Local Development Server (Optional)

If you prefer using a local server:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ueli72/BlocklyDuino.git
   cd BlocklyDuino

2. Serve the blocklyduino/ directory:

   # Using Python
   python3 -m http.server 8080 --directory blocklyduino
   
   # Using Node.js
   npx serve blocklyduino
   
   # Using PHP
   php -S localhost:8080 -t blocklyduino

3. Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser

Option 4: Deploy to GitHub Pages

1. Fork this repository
2. Go to Settings → Pages
3. Set Source to main branch, folder / (root)
4. Your app will be available at https://ueli72.github.io/BlocklyDuino/blocklyduino/

Option 4: Deploy to Web Server

Copy the blocklyduino/ directory to your web server's public folder:

cp -r blocklyduino/ /var/www/html/blocklyduino/
# Access at: http://your-server.com/blocklyduino/

Usage

1. Open the app in your browser
2. Select your board (BWS Playground Master or Arduino Uno)
3. Drag blocks from the toolbox to create your program
4. Click the Arduino tab to see generated code
5. Click Download to get a complete PlatformIO project as ZIP
6. Extract the ZIP and open in VSCode:

   unzip MyProject.zip -d MyProject
   code MyProject

7. Compile and upload with PlatformIO:

   pio run -t upload

The downloaded project includes:

• src/main.cpp - Your generated Arduino code
• include/*.h - Header files for all components
• src/*.cpp - Implementation files
• platformio.ini - Board configuration
• .vscode/ - VSCode settings for IntelliSense

Development

Project Structure

blocklyduino/          # Web app (self-contained, serve this)
├── index.html         # Main application
├── blocks/            # Block definitions
│   └── playground/    # Component-specific blocks
├── generators/        # Arduino code generators
│   └── arduino/playground/
├── media/             # Block images
├── lang/              # Translations (en.js, de.js)
└── templates.js       # Board templates (auto-generated)

boards/                # PlatformIO source files
├── esp32-s3-devkitc1/ # BWS Playground Master
│   ├── include/       # Header files
│   └── src/           # Implementation files
└── arduino-uno/       # Arduino Uno template

Regenerate Templates

After modifying board source files:

python3 generate_templates.py

Add a New Block

1. Create block definition: blocklyduino/blocks/playground/myblock.js
2. Create code generator: blocklyduino/generators/arduino/playground/myblock.js
3. Register in index.html (script includes + toolbox)
4. Add translations in lang/en.js and lang/de.js
5. Add block info in block_info.js

See AGENTS.md for detailed instructions.

Requirements

• Browser: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (modern versions)
• Upload: PlatformIO or Arduino IDE

Credits

• Original BlocklyDuino by Fred Lin (@gasolin)
• Google Blockly visual programming library
• BWS Uster enhancements and ESP32-S3 board support

License

Apache License 2.0