KIPR · Botball Explorer
Activity Sections

PreLab 1 · Before Unit 1

The Toolchain

PreLab · C track — completion checklist

Purpose
Boot the Wombat, connect to it, and run a C program you typed yourself.
Where This Sits
After PreLab 0, before Lab 1.1. Lab 1.1 assumes all of this already works.
How It Is Assessed
Completion only. Tick boxes and record your robot’s address — there is nothing to write up.
What You Need
Your robot · a charged battery · a computer on the same network · about one session
Before you start: type your PIN in the box at the top of the page. Your teacher gave you this number. When you finish, press Submit & Download to turn in your work and save a copy.

PreLab 1 Get the Robot Listening to You

Completion only again. The point is that by the end of this page your robot has run a program that you typed, and you have written down the numbers you will need every session after this.

Part 1Power up and connect
The Wombat's About page.
Connect to Wombat through computer's Wi-Fi settings.
The KIPR Software Suite --- click KISS IDE.
Project Explorer --- add a user folder.

Write these in your notebook as well. You will type them at the start of every session.

Part 2Hardware, software, and what sits between

The IDE turns your C into numbers the Wombat can follow. That step is called compiling, and it is why a single missing semicolon stops everything.

Part 3Write, compile, run
Every new project starts like this.
"Compilation succeeded" --- it is on the robot.

Make a new project called hello_c and type this in. Do not paste it — type it.

#include <kipr/wombat.h>

int main()
{
	printf("ready\n");
	return 0;
}
Part 4Know where your work lives
Shut down from the menu --- never straight off the switch.

Sign off

You are ready

Lab 1.1 — Computers Follow Instructions assumes everything on this page. Start there.

When you are finished, press the button to turn in your work and save a copy.

KIPR · Botball Explorer — CS1 + AI Literacy · © KISS Institute for Practical Robotics 1997–2026