There are two ways to connect to the Pi. Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks. Some essential / important information will be listed below to avoid getting lost. Remember that if you struggle to connect, you can always interact with the Pi using the computers in S901 or ask a club executive to help.

Important Definitions

Important Details

IP Address - This is the address given to a device when it connects to the internet. Consider it like the name of your device relative to other devices on the network.

SSH - Secure session / A way to remotely connect

SSID - The name of the Wi-Fi network

Linux - Is an operating system that utilises commands to interact with the CPU and motherboard.

<aside> 💡 Remember, if you are ever stuck and can’t access the Pi remotely you can always use the S901 computers. SSH can be finicky and sometimes cant connect, however for a wireless robot it is very useful.

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SSH through the terminal

One method of accessing and interacting with the Pi is through SSH or a Secure Session. The upside of this method is that it is extremely efficient with little to no latency in commands. The downside is that this is a command line connection and, as such, you will need to become familiar with Linux commands. Below is the method to connect using the terminal along with the most common commands you can use.

1. In your chosen device, connect to the Robotics 101 Wi-Fi. The password is qutrc101. This is important as it allows the connection to occur on our local network.
2. On your chosen device, open a terminal, command prompt or Windows PowerShell. Any of these options should work however if one does not then simply use another one. If the computer cannot establish a connection it may be because of your device’s internal firewall, it is suggested you instead use one of the school computers as they will work.
3. In the command prompt, type the following command: ssh qutrc@IP. Replace IP with the IP address of your Raspberry Pi. This should be displayed on the screen of your Pi. If not, you may have to connect your Pi to a school computer and execute the display_stats.py file to show the address.
4. This will establish a connection to the Pi, you may be asked to trust the device in which case simply type yes or y (you can trust us 😉). You will then be prompted to input a password which is just qutrc.

Basic Linux Commands

At this point, you have now accessed the root folder of the Pi, there are a few important Linux commands to know:

1. ls (LS lowercase not IS) - view all contents of the current folder
2. cd folder - go into the folder. Basically the same as clicking the folder in File Explorer. To go back out of a folder type cd ..
3. nano file - Edit file in a Linux window, you can’t scroll and will have to utilise arrow keys to navigate. This is one of many approaches to editing a file but it is one of the simplest. To save a file you will simply do ctrl + x, y, enter.