Dear makers, welcome to your hardware learning journey! Before we start, get to know our core tool — the UNIHIKER K10. This session will help you quickly master its basic usage by running sample programs.
What is the UNIHIKER K10?
The UNIHIKER K10 is a development board powered by the ESP32 chip. It not only fulfills basic MCU control functions, but also supports more diverse IoT and AI projects via its built-in hardware and software modules.
You can experience the rich onboard modules right away. Onboard means integrating functional modules besides chips on a circuit board (as shown below). Meanwhile, the UNIHIKER K10 has I/O expansion ports for connecting external hardware to extend functions.
By now, you should have a basic understanding of the UNIHIKER K10. However, technical terms in the introduction may still confuse you. So let’s explore its functions more clearly through some practical project examples.
- Build an energy-saving night light that only turns on at night.
- Build an electronic photo album: photos scroll automatically when you approach, recalling every warm moment.
- Build a smart car to start a chase game with your family anytime.
- Build a remote monitoring device for real-time home appliance control across rooms.
- Build a talking companion robot to answer kids’ questions anytime.
- Build a smart camera that not only captures good moments but also recognizes and converts them into text.
- Build an automatic drawing device that sketches what it sees.
- Build a household robot that can move and even help with housework...
All of this can be achieved with the UNIHIKER K10.
Introduction to Programming Software
As we all know, we usually write programs on computers. Mind+ serves as a quick bridge between computer programming and the UNIHIKER K10, allowing us to easily write and upload its control programs.
What is Mind+?
Mind+ is a programming software designed for makers. It supports graphical and code-based programming—drag-and-drop blocks for quick coding with automatic code generation. Built-in rich functional modules and sample programs facilitate fast onboarding for creative projects. It also enables data viewing and hardware debugging to ensure precise operation.
The overall learning plan of this tutorial is shown below.
Throughout the learning process, you can use Mind+ graphical commands to write programs, understand hardware programming logic, master code structures, and lay a solid foundation for future independent project development.
Now let’s get familiar with the basic usage of Mind+!
First-Time Use
1.Download and Install Mind+
Go to the official Mind+ website (download address: https://mindplus.cc/en/), click “Download”and select the version matching your OS.
Note: This tutorial is fully based on Mind+ V2.0.
After download, double-click the installer and follow the prompts to complete installation.
Note: If you encounter issues while downloading, installing or using Mind+, visit the official website (http://mindplus.dfrobot.com) to find solutions in the FAQ or forum. If no results are found, post your question on the forum and technical support will resolve it promptly.
2.Switch to "Upload Mode"
After installation, launch Mind+ and you will see the interface below.
Click the“Upload Mode”button to enter the main programming interface we’ll use next.
The successful switch screen is shown below.
3.Getting to Know the Interface
Next, let's take a closer look at the interface of Mind+'s Upload Mode.
The Mind+ Upload Mode interface has 6 key sections. Their functions are summarized in the table below.
Quick Start
Now let’s run a sample program to quickly experience programming and controlling the UNIHIKER K10.
STEP1：Launch Mind+ and switch to the Upload Mode.
Follow the previous method: double-click to launch Mind+ and enter “Upload Mode”.
STEP2：Load the UNIHIKER K10 Library
Click "Extension", find "UNIHIKER K10" module under "Board" and click to add it. After clicking “Back”, you can find UNIHIKER K10 in the Command Area to complete its loading.
STEP3：Connect the Device
Connect UNIHIKER K10 to your computer via USB cable, then click "Connect Device" and select the auto-detected port (e.g., UNIHIKER K10 COM10). Click “Connect”—a "√" will appear in the "Status" column indicating success.
Note: The detected port number (e.g., "10") varies by device, but the connected device type is fixed as "UNIHIKER K10".
STEP4：Open the sample program
Click “Projects”, select Load Project, and open the sample code ”Breathing Light”.
STEP5：Upload the program
The sample program is already open in Mind+. Click "Upload" and wait for the program to finish uploading.
Once the program is uploaded, you will be able to see the lighting effect of the RGB LEDs on the back of the UNIHIKER K10.
Breathing Light.zip 
