Graphical programming

The graphical programming features allow you to write simple programs based on sensor (or calculated) values on a graph. Unfortunately, you are limited to only the Action blocks, which include controlling the motors, the brick display, the brick lights, and the speaker. Again, the EV3 tutorials do a satisfactory job of explaining some elementary uses of the graphical programming. For instance, LEGO describes how to use the value of the temperature sensor to control a fan. One particular use of the graphical programming, which I like, is to program a three-level bang-bang controller. With the normal EV3 programs, this takes a few additional steps, but is rather straightforward with graphical programming. This also makes the concept of a setpoint and a bang-bang controller easy to understand for the most novice of students.

In the following screenshot, we see a graphical program using Reflected Light Intensity from our Color Sensor. The graph is broken into three regions...