PyCubix

This is a fork of grumpypixel's PyCubix fork of mtking2's PyCube.

Intention

To build a rubiks's cube solver.

Result

In the end, the digital twin was running on a Raspberry Pi and received its commands via MQTT from a BrickPi which was solving the Rubik's cube.

See also:

• Pimp My Twin
• Creating a Digital Twin Showcase

Dependencies

GLUT - the OpenGL Utility Toolkit:

• $ sudo apt-get install freeglut3 freeglut3-dev

Paho MQTT (optional):

• $ sudo apt-get install mosquitto mosquitto-clients

The following Python modules are needed to run this program:

• NumPy
• Paho MQTT, see also Eclipse Paho
• Pillow, see also Pillow homepage
• PyOpenGL, see also OpenGL

Installation

Install using pip

Python 3.x: $ pip3 install numpy paho-mqtt pillow pyopengl

Install using Virtualenv and make

• $ cd PyCubix
• $ virtualenv -p python3 env
• $ source env/bin/activate
• $ make install

Running the program

Just do it!

• $ cd PyCubix
• $ python src/main.py or
• $ python src/main.py --settings cfg/settings.json --colors cfg/colors.json

Run using Virtualenv and make

• $ cd PyCubix
• $ source venv/bin/activate
• $ make run or simply $ make

Usage

• F, R, U, B, L, D: Rotate face in clockwise direction
• SHIFT + F, R, U, B, L, D: Rotate face in counter clockwise direction
• Use the ARROW keys to rotate the cube
• SPACE stops the rotation
• RETURN resets the rotation
• Use +/- to scale the cube
• BACKSPACE resets the cube geometry
• Use '1' to instantly apply a random scramble
• Use '2' to apply a random pattern (you should probably reset the cube geometry first if the cube is already scrambled)
• Use the mouse to rotate the cube around the x- and the y-axis

Customization

Customizable settings

Some parts of the application are customizable and can be set in cfg/settings.json:

{
    "settings": {
        "cube": {
            "draw_cubies": true,
            "draw_sphere": true,
            "draw_lines": false,
            "padding": 0.3,
            "line_width": 4,
            "angular_drag": 0.7,
            "scale_drag": 4.2,
            "scaling": {
                "min": 0.3,
                "max": 1.5
            },
            "initial_rotation": {
                "x_angle": 0,
                "y_angle": 0
            },
            "inner_color": "#000000",
            "sphere_color": "#000000",
            "tween": {
                "face_rotation_tween_time": 0.5,
                "face_rotation_ease_type": "ease_cosine"
            },
            "color_group": "material",
            "colors": {
                "black": "#000000",
                "blue": "#00A0D1",
                "cyan": "#00FFFF",
                "magenta": "#FF00FF"
            },
            "color_mapping": {
                "front": "green",
                "back": "blue",
                "left": "orange",
                "right": "red",
                "up": "white",
                "down": "yellow"
            },
            "auto_rotation": {
                "x_axis": {
                    "enabled": true,
                    "begin_angle": -30,
                    "end_angle": 30,
                    "time": 8,
                    "ease_type": "ease_cosine",
                    "jump_start": 0.5
                },
                "y_axis": {
                    "enabled": true,
                    "begin_angle": 135,
                    "end_angle": -135,
                    "time": 16,
                    "ease_type": "ease_cosine",
                    "jump_start": 0.5
                }
            }
        },
        "fps": {
            "show": true,
            "update_interval": 30
        },
        "mouse": {
            "sensitivity": 5
        },
        "mqtt_client": {
            "start": true,
            "broker": "127.0.0.1",
            "port": 1883,
            "subscribe_topic": "pycubix",
            "publish_topic": "pycubix_out"
        },
        "resources": {
            "images": {
                "rounded-sticker": "res/sticker-rounded.jpg",
                "squared-sticker": "res/sticker-squared.jpg",
                "no-sticker": "res/stickerless.jpg"
            }
        },
        "texture_mapping": {
            "enabled": true,
            "active_texture": "rounded-sticker"
        },
        "window": {
            "caption": "PyCubix",
            "background_color": "#343D46",
            "position": {
                "x": 0,
                "y": 0
            },
            "size": {
                "width": 600,
                "height": 600
            }
        }
    }
}

Pimp my colors

The colors are also pimpable in cfg/colors.json:

{
    "colors": {
        "default": {
            "blue": "#004BAB",
            "orange": "#FF5623",
            "yellow": "FFD22C",
            "green": "#009A4A",
            "red": "#BE0F38",
            "white": "#FFFFFF"
        },
        "material": {
            "blue": "#2962FF",
            "orange": "#FF6D00",
            "yellow": "#FFD600",
            "green": "#00C853",
            "red": "#D50000",
            "white": "#FFFFFF"
        },
        "pastel": {
            "blue": "#2FB3EC",
            "orange": "#DF439E",
            "yellow": "#FFBE4C",
            "green": "#83DD52",
            "red": "#FF4931",
            "white": "#FFFFFF"
        },
        "six_shades_of_purple": {
            "blue": "#BA55D3",
            "orange": "#EE82EE",
            "yellow": "#8B008B",
            "green": "#FF00FF",
            "red": "#DA70D6",
            "white": "#DDA0DD"
        }
    }
}

Additional notes

Colors from the colors-property in cfg/settings.json will extend/overwrite the colors taken from the color group in cfg/colors.json.

Using MQTT to send commands to the cube

Installation

$ sudo apt-get install mosquitto mosquitto-clients

See also How to Install and Secure the Mosquitto MQTT Messaging Broker

Publish (send) a message to the application via a terminal

$ mosquitto_pub -h localhost -t pycubix -m "add_rotation_x = 0.73"

Where -h is used to specify the hostname of the MQTT server and -t is the name of the topic.

Using iot.eclipse.org as a host for testing purposes also works fine.

Supported commands

Standalone commands:

• reset_cube: This command resets the geometry, stops the current tween and clears the queued face rotations. It does neither reset the color mapping nor the cube's rotation or scale.
• reset_rotation: Reset the cube's rotation
• reset_scale: Reset the cube's scale
• reset_color_mapping: Reset the cube's color mapping
• reset_colors: Reset the cube's colors
• stop_rotation: Stop the cube's rotation
• apply_random_pattern: Apply a random pattern from the pattern database (***)
• apply_random_scramble: Scramble the cube with a random pattern
• quit or exit: Quit/exit application

Commands with parameters:

• add_rotation_x = <float_value>: Rotate the cube around the x axis. Example: add_rotation_x = 0.11
• add_rotation_y = <float_value>: Rotate the cube around the y axis. Example: add_rotation_y = 0.29
• add_scale = <float_value>: Scale the cube. Example: add_scale = 0.73
• rotate_face = <list_of_faces_to_be_rotated>: Rotate one or more faces of the cube using the Rubik's cube notation. The cube is not reset before executing the moves. Example: rotate_face = R U R' U'
• map_colors = <list_of_face_to_color_mappings>. Apply a color (blue, red, yellow, green, orange, white) to a face (front, right, up, back, left, down). Example: map_colors = front:blue, back:green, left:red, right:orange, up:white, down:yellow
• scramble = <list_of_faces_to_be_rotated>: Scramble the cube with a given algorithm/list of moves. It practically works as the rotate_face command, but the cube the faces are rotated INSTANTLY (within the same frame), meaning that the face rotations are not being shown/animated/tweened. Example: scramble = R U R' U'. To maintain a prior applied color orientation, you would do the follow to scramble the cube: reset_cube;set_color_orientation = front:blue, back:green, left:red, right:orange, up:white, down:yellow;scramble = U R2 F B R B2 R U2 L B2 R U' D' R2 F R' L B2 U2 F2
• add_padding = <float_value>: Modify the padding between the cubies. Example: add_padding = 0.5 (NOTE: This method is not implemented correctly and does only work as expected when the padding is applied BEFORE the first face rotation)
• load_colors = <color_group_name>: Load colors by its group name and apply them instantly. Example: load_colors = default
• set_background_color = <hex_color>: Set the background color of the window. Example: set_background_color = #303030 (the '#' can be omitted though)

It's also possible to send more than one command in a single message. The commands need to be separated by a semicolon though. Example: reset_cube;apply_random_pattern

What else is there?

List of known notations

• Front face: F F' F2 F2'
• Back face: B B' B2 B2'
• Left face: L L' L2 L2'
• Right face: R R' R2 R2'
• Up face: U U' U2 U2'
• Down face: D D' D2 D2'

Wide moves like Rw as well as M, E, S, x, y, z are not supported at the moment.

Tested on the following operating systems

• Ubuntu 18.04
• Raspbian 9 (Stretch)
• macOS 10.14

*** The database is a lie.