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Polygon Wheel

The VR Robot in the Shape Tracer Playground having traced the center row of three polygons and drawn on them to look like the spokes of wheels.
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Design an algorithm to use the VR Pen to draw around the perimeter of a selected polygon and create a Polygon Wheel with it! Calculate the measure of the interior angle of the polygon, then print the calculated value using the Print Console.

  • Select the Shape Tracer Playground.
  • Select a polygon located at starting points D, E, or F.
  • Code the VR Robot to draw around the perimeter of the selected polygon, and calculate the measure of its interior angle.
    • Determine the side length of the polygon. Declare a variable to store the value.
    • Determine the angle the robot needs to turn to draw the polygon. Use this angle to calculate the measure of the interior angle of the polygon. Declare variables to store the data.
    • Use the VR Pen and a loop to repeat the [Drive for] and [Turn for] commands for a set number of times to draw around the perimeter of the selected polygon.
    • Use the [print] block to print the interior angle value to the Print Console.
  • Code the VR Robot to create a Polygon Wheel using the Pen blocks. 
    • Drive the robot to the center point of the polygon.
    • Code the VR Robot to draw lines to connect the center point to each vertex using the VR Pen and a loop.
    • Code the robot to draw a dot at the center point as the axle to create a wheel!

Helpful Hints

  • To select a Start Position in the Shape Tracer Playground, select the menu button, then select the location button.

    Menu Button from the VEXcode VR Playground window.

    Select a Starting Position from the VEXcode VR Playground window.

  • Use the following formula to calculate the angle the robot needs to turn to draw a regular polygon.

angle_to_turn = 360 / polygon_side_number = exterior_angle

The sum of each exterior angle and its corresponding interior angle is equal to 180°. Use the following formula to calculate the measure of the interior angle.

 interior_angle = 180° - exterior_angle. 

  • Use the repeat block from the Control category to code the VR Robot to repeat the blocks contained inside for a set number of times.

    Empty VEXcode Repeat block that reads 'repeat 2'.

    • Matching Python command:

      for repeat_count in range(2):
	wait(5, MSEC)
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