This is a slight twist on my original Little Box of Poems I originally made back in 2012. It mashes that up with Papert-inspired random poetry to create surreal haiku-like poems or story starters.
This project uses a BBC micro:bit and a serial thermal printer. Wiring it up is very simple: connect the black data wire on the printer to GND on the micro:bit, and the printer’s yellow data RX wire to pin 8 on the micro:bit (you could use another pin, I just happened to use pin 8). The printer needs 5 volts to power it, so it needs a separate power supply. Luckily USB sockets give 5v, and thanks to this tutorial from the awesome Tanya Fish I chopped up an old unwanted USB lead to make my own source of printer power.
Parts list:
- micro:bit with power source, battery or USB.
- Some way of connecting pins – edge connector and jumper wires or crocodile clip leads.
- A serial thermal till-roll printer like this one and some thermal paper.
- A 5v power source for the printer – an old USB lead chopped up and a USB power source will do nicely.
- Python program below and here – you can flash it onto the micro:bit using the online micro:bit Python editor or Mu.
The Python program is in two parts – the first part is all the functions to send control codes for different styles of printing – most of these aren’t used in this project but you might have fun playing with them – you can also print different kinds of barcode if you look here.
The second part creates lists of different kinds of words: animal / people nouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, adjectives and place nouns. Each time you press button A, it picks a random word from each category and prints them out. You could use this as a story starter, use it as a passphrase or just enjoy the surreal haiku-like poems. Add your own words. How long a story can you get a machine to write? Let me know what you do with this idea, using a printer, 2-line LCD or just the built-in LED display.
Download Python program here.
import microbit
import random
microbit.uart.init(baudrate=19200, bits=8, parity=None, stop=1, tx=microbit.pin8, rx=None)
# Print lines of text in buffer
def thermal_print_ln(msg):
microbit.uart.write(msg+"\n")
# Send text but don't print - you need to send a
# newline (\n) character to empty buffer & print.
# This enables mixed print modes on same line.
def thermal_print(msg):
microbit.uart.write(msg)
def doubleHeightOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x21\x10")
def doubleHeightOff():
global print_mode
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x21\x00")
def smallFontOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x21\x01")
def smallFontOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x21\x00")
def boldOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x45\x01")
def boldOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x45\x00")
def wideOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x0E")
def wideOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x14")
def inverseOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x21\x02")
def inverseOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x21\x00")
def upsideDownOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x7B\x01")
def upsideDownOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x7B\x00")
def underlineOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x2D\x02")
def underlineOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x2D\x00")
def largeFontOn():
microbit.uart.write("\x1D\x21\x11")
def largeFontOff():
microbit.uart.write("\x1D\x21\x00")
def leftAlign():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x61\x00")
def centreAlign():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x61\x01")
def rightAlign():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x61\x02")
# prints test page
def printerTest():
microbit.uart.write("\x12\x54")
# resets the printer to default values
def printerReset():
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x40")
# press button A to activate demo
# increase printing temperature and time
microbit.uart.write("\x1B\x37\x07\xFF\xFF")
noun_list = ["fish ", "dog ", "cat ", "girl ", "boy ", "duck ", "teacher ", "snake ", "kitten ", "puppy ", "bird ", "bee ", "spider ", "ant "]
verb_list = ["walks ", "runs ", "eats ", "sings ", "smiles ", "waves ", "swims ", "talks ", "stands ", "looks ", "nods ", "sleeps ", "flies ", "floats "]
adverb_list = ["quickly ", "slowly ", "happily ", "sadly ", "gracefully ", "hungrily ", "well ", "badly ", "bravely ", "lazily ", "joyfully ", "crossly ", "loudly ", "quietly "]
preposition_list = ["under ", "over ", "beneath ", "through ", "into ", "above "]
adjective_list = ["dark ", "spooky ", "lonely ", "ancient "]
place_list = ["sky ", "pond ", "forest ", "ocean ", "lake ", "city ", "village "]
while True:
if microbit.button_a.was_pressed():
poem = noun_list[random.randint(0, len(noun_list)-1)] \
+ verb_list[random.randint(0, len(verb_list)-1)] \
+ adverb_list[random.randint(0, len(adverb_list)-1)] \
+ preposition_list[random.randint(0, len(preposition_list)-1)] \
+ "the " + adjective_list[random.randint(0, len(adjective_list)-1)] \
+ place_list[random.randint(0, len(place_list)-1)]
thermal_print_ln("micro:bit poem or story")
thermal_print_ln("specially made for you!")
largeFontOn()
thermal_print_ln(noun_list[random.randint(0, len(noun_list)-1)] + verb_list[random.randint(0, len(verb_list)-1)])
thermal_print_ln(adverb_list[random.randint(0, len(adverb_list)-1)] + preposition_list[random.randint(0, len(preposition_list)-1)])
thermal_print_ln('the ' + place_list[random.randint(0, len(place_list)-1)])
thermal_print_ln(" ")
thermal_print_ln(" ")
largeFontOff()
microbit.sleep(300)
p.s. I’ve tried printing bitmaps from the micro:bit with no luck, but this article may offer a clue.
