mBot mLink Container

This container runs the mLink software for the mBot robot platform, allowing communication between mBot hardware and programming environments.

Building the Container

To build the container image:

podman build -t mlink-mbot .

Running the Container

Basic Usage

podman run -d --name mlink-mbot \
  --privileged \
  -p 7413:7413 \
  --device=/dev/ttyUSB0 \
  mlink-mbot

Replace /dev/ttyUSB0 with the actual device path of your mBot. You can find this by running ls /dev/tty* before and after connecting your mBot.

With Auto Device Detection

To automatically detect and mount all USB devices:

podman run -d --name mlink-mbot \
  --privileged \
  -p 7413:7413 \
  --mount type=bind,source=/dev,target=/dev \
  mlink-mbot

Accessing the Container

The mLink service will be available on port 7413. You can use mBlock 5 or other compatible software to connect to the mBot through this port.

Stopping the Container

podman stop mlink-mbot

Removing the Container

podman rm mlink-mbot

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues connecting to the mBot:

1. Make sure your mBot is connected to your computer and powered on
2. Verify that the correct device is passed to the container
3. Check the container logs for error messages:

   podman logs mlink-mbot

4. Try restarting the container:

   podman restart mlink-mbot

Security Note

This container uses the --privileged flag to access USB devices. For production environments, consider using a more restricted approach by mapping only the specific devices and capabilities needed.