Micro Scout

The Micro Scout is a tiny all-in-one programmable brick with a built-in motor, light sensor, and speaker, used in the Star Wars Droid Developer Kit (9748) and Dark Side Developer Kit (9754). Its light sensor receives VLL commands, making it the central device of this wiki.

Optical input

• A top-mounted light sensor is the only input. It both senses light and receives VLL commands.
• The sensor is IR-sensitive — it has no IR-cut filter, and on a unit running program 4 (Light Control) it reacts to a ~940 nm IR remote (confirmed on-device). So the same VLL frame can also be sent with an infrared LED instead of visible light. (LEGO's own tower programmed the brick over VLL on a visible-red LED, not IR — the tower's ~940 nm IR is its RCX channel.)

Built-in programs

7 fixed programs on a mode dial (One Direction, Two Directions, Light Follower/Seek, Light Control, Standby, Alarm, Handshake/Code) plus a "P" slot.

• The P slot is a blank program you fill over VLL. LEGO reserved it for a "future application (fall 2000)" delivered via RIS 2.0 — see LEGO FAQ — P program & IR tower.
• The Droid Developer Kit CD (_ddk.exe) itself never programmed it — there is no VLL code on the disc.

How to control it today

Flash light at the sensor with the VLL timing:

• Phone torch (Flash Force) — easiest, zero hardware.
• FTDI DTR + LED, Arduino · ESP32 + LED, IR LED (invisible VLL) — hardware-grade timing.
• Commands: VLL opcode table.

Flash Force fills the P slot over VLL from a phone.

Links

• Sets: 9748 Droid Developer Kit (white) · 9754 Dark Side Developer Kit (grey) — see Sets & bricks index.
• Part: 32344c01 (Rebrickable).
• Project: Adafruit Bluetooth remote for the Droid → learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-remote-for-lego-droid.
• Build-it-yourself kit models (PDF instructions): Buildable models (DDK & DSDK).