MicroPython for the EVN ALPHA robotics controller, and the VS Code extension that runs your programs on it
evn.coresg.tech · Getting started · API reference · Blocks reference · Downloads · Changelog
This repository is the published side of EVN ALPHA MicroPython: the documentation site served at evn.coresg.tech, the Markdown the site renders, the example programs, the MicroPython firmware and the packaged VS Code extension. It is generated from the extension source, so nothing here is edited by hand.
The EVN ALPHA is a LEGO® Technic™-compatible robotics controller from the Centre of Robotics Excellence: an RP2040 with four EV3/NXT motor ports, four servo ports, sixteen I2C and two UART ports, and 18650 cells charged over USB-C. This project gives it MicroPython, a block editor, autocomplete, and a live view of the board inside VS Code. It is in early access — user testing, with the motor layer, the board services and fifteen standard peripherals bench-validated.
- Install the extension. Download
evn-alpha-micropython-0.2.34.vsix, then in VS Code (1.106 or newer): Extensions view → the...menu → Install from VSIX… → pick the file. - Set the board up. Run EVN: Install mpremote once, then EVN: Flash MicroPython firmware with the board plugged in. The firmware travels inside the extension; a board in UF2 (BOOTSEL) mode is recognised and flashed without a COM port.
- Run something. Open the EVN ALPHA tab in the activity bar, open
01_first_movesunder Examples, plug a motor into port 1, and press Ctrl+F5.
The written guide is Getting started; the extension also has a five-step walkthrough (EVN: Getting started walkthrough).
| Version | Download | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VS Code extension | 0.2.34 | .vsix |
Changelog |
| MicroPython firmware | 0.2.34 | .uf2 |
BUILD.txt |
The extension carries the firmware and flashes it for you, so the UF2 is only needed without it: hold
BOOTSEL while plugging the board in and copy the file onto the drive that appears.
latest.json is the manifest the extension's update check reads.
| Path | What it is |
|---|---|
docs/ |
The Markdown the site renders: GETTING_STARTED.md, API.md, BLOCKS.md, CHANGELOG.md. |
examples/ |
The bundled example programs — eight in Python, eight for the block editor. |
firmware/ |
EVN_ALPHA_MicroPython.uf2 and BUILD.txt, the build record of that firmware. |
vsix/ |
The packaged VS Code extension, served straight from Pages (no GitHub release needed). |
latest.json |
Extension and firmware versions with their download URLs; read by EVN: Check for extension and firmware updates. |
index.html + assets/ |
The documentation site: one page, no build step, rendering the Markdown in the browser. Jost is self-hosted in assets/fonts/. |
ide/ |
The EVN IDE in the browser: the same editor and blocks over Web Serial, for a Chromium browser. |
- Getting started — what you need, flashing, the first program, the sidebar, Bluetooth.
- API reference — every class and function of the
evnmodule, with units and defaults. - Blocks reference — every block and the MicroPython it generates.
- Changelog — what changed in each release.
In VS Code, Ctrl+F1 on a word in a Python file opens this site at the matching API section.
| Repository | What it is |
|---|---|
| EVN-arduino | The Arduino IDE library for the RP2040 in EVN ALPHA. |
| EVN-robot-builds | Robot builds, with stud.io build instructions and Arduino code. |
| EVN-PlatformIO-example | An example PlatformIO project for EVN ALPHA. |
| evndevs.github.io | This repository: the MicroPython documentation site and downloads. |
The controller itself, with what is in the box: coresg.tech/evn.
EVN is a joint project of Kenneth Chow and Heng Teng Yi, mentor and mentee, in Singapore: Kenneth Chow as the Strategic Lead, Heng Teng Yi as the Technical Lead. Kenneth founded the Centre of Robotics Excellence in 2014; the EVN ALPHA was first developed there at the end of 2018. Teng Yi came to it with four years of international competitive robotics behind him, including wins in five RoboCup sub-leagues, and he wrote and maintains the EVN Arduino library (GitHub, documentation).
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® was discontinued in 2022. The material for learning with it thinned out, and serious robotics hardware stayed expensive. EVN is meant to be an affordable, open platform — the natural evolution of LEGO MINDSTORMS, and a basecamp for students who want to get serious about robotics.
The board exists because of its backers. The Kickstarter campaign EVN: The Natural Evolution of the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® System ran from 22 December 2023 to 20 February 2024 and was funded by 71 backers pledging S$13,053 against a S$8,888 goal. Without them EVN would not exist.
MIT licensed. LEGO®, Technic™ and MINDSTORMS® are trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorise or endorse this project.