ANNOUNCING: navX MXP Robotics Navigation Sensor

[slibert]

This week, the sensor failed to initialize in 2 out of the 19 matches played.

Is there any documentation on how to connect the navX to the onboard SPI port? I'm not sure how that works.

Also: we're running a motor from the MXP DIO/PWM 0

Thanks for the input that you're controlling a motor via PWM 0, it's very helpful.

In addition to Thad's post on this topic, you may find the following helpful.

You will need to connect a total of 4 wires between two sets of connectors which are shown in the navX MXP RoboRio installation photo (http://code.google.com/p/navxmxp/wiki/RoboRioInstall). The RoboRio SPI connector is at the top left of the photo. The navX MXP SPI connector is the middle row of 6 pins, just above the white arrowhead indicating the Y (Roll) axis.

First, carefully connect the following pins between the RoboRio SPI Connector and the navX MXP SPI Connector:

RoboRio <---> navX MXP

CS0 <---> CS
MISO <---> MOSI [Note that the pin names are different on each side]
MOSI <---> MISO [Note that the pin names are different on each side]
SCLK <---> SCLK

(Note: Don't connect the RoboRio SPI Connector's CS1, CS2, CS3, GND, 3.3V and 5.V pins)

Look closely at the silkscreen on the navX MXP, and you'll see the pin names labelled directly underneath each of the SPI pins.

Second, in your code, select the correct SPI port. In LabView, you'll need to modify the "navX Open.vi" and change the SPI Bus constant (this is an input parameter to the WPI Library SPI Open vi) to "SPI Onboard, CS0". By default, this constant is "SPI MXP".

[taichichuan]

Press Release - January 2, 2015
KauaiLabs, Inc. announces the navX MXP Robotics Navigation Sensor
• 9-Axis Sensor (Gyro / Accelerometer / Magnetometer)
• Intelligent Motion Processor
• RoboRIO Expansion I/O

Supercharge your robot: Field-oriented drive, auto-balancing, collision detection, motion detection, auto-rotate-to-angle, and more…

Expand your RoboRIO: 10 Digital I/Os (GPIO / PWM / Quad Encoders), 4 Analog Inputs, 2 Analog Outputs, and TTL UART / I2C / SPI ports.

Plug-n-Play: easily installed via RoboRIO’s MXP Expansion connector or USB port.

Open Source: firmware source code, board schematics/layout & bill of materials available online.

Easy-to-integrate: C++, Java and LabView libraries and sample application code simplify integration.

Backwards-compatible: existing nav6 users can upgrade easily.

********

In late 2013, Kauailabs (http://www.kauailabs.com) released the nav6 Open Source Inertial Measurement Unit (https://code.google.com/p/nav6), providing high-accuracy measures of pose (yaw/pitch/roll), with minimal yaw drift of ~1 degree per minute - performance far exceeding the analog gyro included in the FRC Kit of Parts. nav6 was used by several teams at the 2014 FIRST Championships for features including field-oriented drive.

Now, Kauailabs announces the navX MXP Robotics Navigation Sensor, which takes nav6 technology to the next level in two significant ways.

First, navX MXP was designed to use the RoboRIO MXP Expansion Connector - enabling plug-n-play installation on the National Instruments RoboRIO, and adding digital, analog I/O and UART / SPI / I2C port expansion.

Second, navX MXP features a 32-bit ARM processor, the new Invensense MPU-9250 (http://www.invensense.com/mems/gyro/mpu9250.html) sensor system-on-chip, and software algorithms which take nav6 technology to the next level, including enhanced sensor calibration and algorithms which fuse gyro, accelerometer and magnetometer data into a “9-axis heading”. The “9-axis heading” is enabled by magnetometer calibration tools (available online at no cost) and magnetometer disturbance detection and data fusion algorithms. This capability is known within the aerospace industry as an “Attitude/Heading Reference System” (AHRS) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attitude_and_heading_reference_system). Kauailabs brings this high-tech AHRS capability to FIRST FRC teams - to use, learn and explore. navX MXP is a key component of Kauailabs’ ongoing efforts to make state-of-the-art navigation technologies used in autonomous vehicles (e.g., the Google Car) available to robotics students and enthusiasts as low-cost, open-source products.

navX MXP will be available for puchase online a few days after the 2015 FIRST FRC build season kickoff at AndyMark (http://www.andymark.com) and Kauailabs (http://www.kauailabs.com/store). MSRP is $99.

More details available in the navX MXP datasheet (http://kauailabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/navX_MXP_Datasheet.pdf) and at https://code.google.com/p/navx.

http://www.kauailabs.com/store/image/data/navx_Banner_better_robots_right_justified_width600 .png


Unfortunately, the examples fail to build in the 2016 control system betas. The compiler complains about:

"invalid new expression of abstract class type 'AHRS'" and dies a horrible death.

[slibert]

Unfortunately, the examples fail to build in the 2016 control system betas. The compiler complains about:

"invalid new expression of abstract class type 'AHRS'" and dies a horrible death.

Yes, the current NavX-MXP libraries are compatible with the 2015 WPI Libraries. A breaking change was introduced in the beta 2016 WPI libraries.

Work is underway to update the NavX-MXP C++ and Java libraries and sample code to work with the as-yet-unreleased 2016 WPI Libraries.

A post on this forum will announce when that 2016 WPI Library-compatibility is available, and will occur sometime before kickoff.

[taichichuan]

Thanks! We're looking forward to seeing the updates!

[taichichuan]

If you need someone to help test the updates with the 2016 Beta libraries, we'd be happy to help.

Mike A.
FRC #116

[slibert]

If you need someone to help test the updates with the 2016 Beta libraries, we'd be happy to help.

Mike A.
FRC #116

Hi Mike,

Beta versions of the navX-MXP C++/Java Libraries which are compatible the 2016 Beta WPI Libraries (C++/Java) are now available for testing. Anyone interested can PM me for details on getting a copy of the beta libraries.

The functional changes are:

- C++/Java: navX-MXP Libraries compiled w/latest 2016 WPI FRC beta libraries.
- C++/Java: I2C transfer sizes, previously limited to 7 bytes/transfer in the WPI Library, have been increased. The navX-MXP libraries now transfer all I2C data in a single bus read transaction, increasing performance.

Not yet changed:

- Java: to link w/the navX-MXP Java library, the WPI Library's build.properties file must be edited, as described in these directions (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/software/roborio-libraries/java/). This additional step will be removed before the final release of the navX-MXP C++/Java Libraries for 2016.

[Jonathan L.]

Unfortunately, the examples fail to build in the 2016 control system betas. The compiler complains about:

"invalid new expression of abstract class type 'AHRS'" and dies a horrible death.

Just to make things clear: Is this just a problem with C++/Java? Is the 2016 beta navX LabVIEW code working? If not will it be updated by kickoff? Thank you!

[slibert]

Just to make things clear: Is this just a problem with C++/Java? Is the 2016 beta navX LabVIEW code working? If not will it be updated by kickoff? Thank you!

Yes, the previously reported compile problem when used with the 2016 FRC beta was limited to C++ and Java, and a fix for that issue is now in beta.

LabView is good to go. James Parks, the creator of the new V2 LabView NavX-MXP Library (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140507&highlight=NavX) has successfully tested the LabView library against the 2016 Beta, and indicates it works fine with the SPI, I2C and TTL UART interfaces.

The only further work remaining is to deal with an issue found when testing the USB interface against the FRC 2016 beta image/library.

So give it a go and let us know how it goes. The SPI interface is highly recommended.

[Jonathan L.]

My team is not a beta testing team, so I can't test it until build season. Anyway, we got the navX working with the 2015 FRC LabVIEW software recently. Looking forward to using it next year!

[slibert]

The navX-MXP Java and C++ Libraries have been updated to work w/the new 2016 WPI Libraries. And the Zebracorns have released an updated LabView library for 2016. The latest build of all these libraries (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/software/roborio-libraries/) is available now.

In addition, Team Shockwave has created a C# RoboRIO Library (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140972&highlight=navX) that also features a navX-MXP Library.

And there are more examples than ever both in the examples provided with the C++, Java and LabVIEW Libraries, as well as in the recent team code releases (https://github.com/flamingchickens1540/frc-software-releases), including those of team 2465 (Kauaibots).

And we've heard wind of a Python RoboRIO Library being developed as well - we'll let you know when more details are available on that.

KauaiLabs wishes everyone an incredible 2016 build season!

[topgun]

Where is the CAD file for the MXP located? I downloaded the zip file, checked Git, but I still don't see the actual CAD file for the board itself. I am looking for the SolidWorks CAD file.

Thank you.

[Jonathan L.]

Where is the CAD file for the MXP located? I downloaded the zip file, checked Git, but I still don't see the actual CAD file for the board itself. I am looking for the SolidWorks CAD file.

Thank you.

Get the download from this page http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/software/

The CAD files are in the zip file; no need to install everything. I don't see a Solidworks model there, but there are several SketchUp files and an STL file.

[schleprock]

The only further work remaining is to deal with an issue found when testing the USB interface against the FRC 2016 beta image/library.



we just received a couple of the navx's and we want to use the USB port as our roborio is mounted on the side of the robot in a verticle position. i tried the DataMonitor example and i can see everything when we plug the navx into the mxp port. but i see nothing when we connect it via USB. i changed Port parameter to the AHRS constructor to SerialPort.Port.kUSB but no output to the smartdashboard. it doesn't throw an exception, so the AHRS class instance is getting constructed. there's just doesn't seem to be any communication. is the issue you refer to? and is it going to be fixed anytime soon?

thanks

[schleprock]

You will need to connect a total of 4 wires between two sets of connectors which are shown in the navX MXP RoboRio installation photo (http://code.google.com/p/navxmxp/wiki/RoboRioInstall). The RoboRio SPI connector is at the top left of the photo. The navX MXP SPI connector is the middle row of 6 pins, just above the white arrowhead indicating the Y (Roll) axis.

First, carefully connect the following pins between the RoboRio SPI Connector and the navX MXP SPI Connector:

RoboRio <---> navX MXP

CS0 <---> CS
MISO <---> MOSI [Note that the pin names are different on each side]
MOSI <---> MISO [Note that the pin names are different on each side]
SCLK <---> SCLK

(Note: Don't connect the RoboRio SPI Connector's CS1, CS2, CS3, GND, 3.3V and 5.V pins)

Look closely at the silkscreen on the navX MXP, and you'll see the pin names labelled directly underneath each of the SPI pins.

we tried to communicate to the navx via usb but had no success, so i'm looking to connect via SPI. i understand the pinouts you have here, but what about PWR and GND? should i just use the USB as power and communicate via SPI? or should i connect the PWR (which one, 3.3 or 5V) and GND on the SPI breakout port?

[slibert]

we tried to communicate to the navx via usb but had no success, so i'm looking to connect via SPI. i understand the pinouts you have here, but what about PWR and GND? should i just use the USB as power and communicate via SPI? or should i connect the PWR (which one, 3.3 or 5V) and GND on the SPI breakout port?

Yes, USB is not working (used to work w/2015 RoboRIO firmware, but no longer works w/2016 RoboRIO firmware).

SPI is the recommended interface. The recommendation is to connect both USB power and the 5V/GND power from the SPI. The navX-MXP will automatically switch between the power supplies as needed. If the 5V power from the SPI connector goes away (this can happen in a RoboRIO stage 2 brownout), the power from the USB connector (which is a valid 5V even in a stage 2 brownout) will be used automatically.

You may need to shield the SPI connecting cable, since the clockrate of this interface by default is 2Mhz. And a long cable may cause problems, too. You do have the option of decreasing the SPI clockrate, which may help if there is signal degradation on the SPI interface.

[schleprock]

Yes, USB is not working (used to work w/2015 RoboRIO firmware, but no longer works w/2016 RoboRIO firmware).

SPI is the recommended interface. The recommendation is to connect both USB power and the 5V/GND power from the SPI. The navX-MXP will automatically switch between the power supplies as needed. If the 5V power from the SPI connector goes away (this can happen in a RoboRIO stage 2 brownout), the power from the USB connector (which is a valid 5V even in a stage 2 brownout) will be used automatically.

You may need to shield the SPI connecting cable, since the clockrate of this interface by default is 2Mhz. And a long cable may cause problems, too. You do have the option of decreasing the SPI clockrate, which may help if there is signal degradation on the SPI interface.

thanks for the quick reply. as far as the USB cable, do we need to alter the USB cable to only provide PWR/GND and not data, or can we just use a regular USB cable.
just to make sure, we connect the 5V to the breakout SPI port PWR pin on the navx board, correct? there was no indication of 5V or 3.3V on the PWR pin.

[schleprock]

thanks for the quick reply. as far as the USB cable, do we need to alter the USB cable to only provide PWR/GND and not data, or can we just use a regular USB cable.
just to make sure, we connect the 5V to the breakout SPI port PWR pin on the navx board, correct? there was no indication of 5V or 3.3V on the PWR pin.

one more question, when i instantiate the AHRS class which enumerated type do i pass in?
SPI.Port.kMXP
this seems to imply using the SPI connections on the mxp connection. i'm going to use the breakout SPI connection. is there another enumerated type to use?

thanks...

[Joe Ross]

one more question, when i instantiate the AHRS class which enumerated type do i pass in?
SPI.Port.kMXP
this seems to imply using the SPI connections on the mxp connection. i'm going to use the breakout SPI connection. is there another enumerated type to use?

I'm not sure what you mean by the breakout SPI connection. Onboard the RoboRIO, there are 4 SPI CS, and one on the MXP. You need to specify which one you are using. See http://first.wpi.edu/FRC/roborio/release/docs/java/edu/wpi/first/wpilibj/SPI.Port.html

[schleprock]

I'm not sure what you mean by the breakout SPI connection. Onboard the RoboRIO, there are 4 SPI CS, and one on the MXP. You need to specify which one you are using. See http://first.wpi.edu/FRC/roborio/release/docs/java/edu/wpi/first/wpilibj/SPI.Port.html

ok, if i hook it up to CS0 on the roborio, then i assume i need to use: kOnboardCS0

ie: SPI.Port.kOnboardCS0

not sure how to specify ports on the roborio. when most people talk about the various ports, they seem to mean those available through the mxp port. if they're talking about using a port that is detached from the mxp, but available on the mxp, i've seen brokenout used... so how do you specify the SPI port connections that are separate from the mxp port?

thanks

[slibert]

thanks for the quick reply. as far as the USB cable, do we need to alter the USB cable to only provide PWR/GND and not data, or can we just use a regular USB cable.
just to make sure, we connect the 5V to the breakout SPI port PWR pin on the navx board, correct? there was no indication of 5V or 3.3V on the PWR pin.

You can just use a regular USB cable.

[slibert]

ok, if i hook it up to CS0 on the roborio, then i assume i need to use: kOnboardCS0

ie: SPI.Port.kOnboardCS0

not sure how to specify ports on the roborio. when most people talk about the various ports, they seem to mean those available through the mxp port. if they're talking about using a port that is detached from the mxp, but available on the mxp, i've seen brokenout used... so how do you specify the SPI port connections that are separate from the mxp port?

thanks

Yes, if connecting the RoboRio onboard SPI pins to the navX-MXP's SPI breakout connector pins, you would use SPI.Port.kOnboardCS0 in your software. This also means you would connect the corresponding pins on the RoboRIO's SPI connector block (eg, the CS0 pin, the MOSI, MISO, and GND pins) to their corresponding pins on the navX-MXP's SPI breakout connector.

[schleprock]

we successfully connected the SPI port using CS0 on the roborio to the SPI connection on the navx board. no connections via the mxp ports. we used the +5V pin on the roborio SPI port to power the navx. everything seems to work according to the DataMonitor java test.
one thing to note, in a previous post you had indicated that we needed to connect MOSI to MISO, that is NOT the case. when i tried that, no data. connecting MOSI to MOSI and MISO to MISO worked.
i know you had indicated using the USB for power, but both of our USB ports on the roborio are being used. it seems to do fine with the +5 pin from the SPI port. when does a roborio stage 2 brownout occur?

thanks for your help.

[slibert]

we successfully connected the SPI port using CS0 on the roborio to the SPI connection on the navx board. no connections via the mxp ports. we used the +5V pin on the roborio SPI port to power the navx. everything seems to work according to the DataMonitor java test.
one thing to note, in a previous post you had indicated that we needed to connect MOSI to MISO, that is NOT the case. when i tried that, no data. connecting MOSI to MOSI and MISO to MISO worked.
i know you had indicated using the USB for power, but both of our USB ports on the roborio are being used. it seems to do fine with the +5 pin from the SPI port. when does a roborio stage 2 brownout occur?

thanks for your help.

Please see item #2 on the navX-MXP Best Practices page (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/guidance/best-practices/) for details on RoboRIO stage 2 brownouts. There's a link on this page to more details on stage 2 brownouts.

One other option is to provide 5V to the navX-MXP (via the 5V pin on the navX-MXP SPI breakout connector) from the VRM, which provides a regulated source of 5V that is not impacted by a RoboRIO stage 2 brownout.

[TannerM]

Hi,

When I try to compile my navX code on Eclipse using C++ it says "fatal error: AHRS.h: No such file or directory"

What can I do to fix it?

Inconceivable Programmers

[slibert]

Hi,

When I try to compile my navX code on Eclipse using C++ it says "fatal error: AHRS.h: No such file or directory"

What can I do to fix it?

Inconceivable Programmers

Sounds like your include paths are not set in your eclipse project.

Please see the navX-MXP RoboRio Library for C++ page (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/software/roborio-libraries/c/) and follow the instructions there. Your issue is likely addressed by following the directions in the "Configuring Eclipse Library and Include Paths" section, but there's other potentially useful information there, too.

[cjl2625]

Using the NavX with LabVIEW, attempting to open the device results in the code crashing and these error messages to appear:
http://put.nu/files/OXnvvuG.png
I downloaded the v2 library, and simply dropped the "Z900_navX_Open.vi" block into begin.vi.
I tried under serial/i2c/spi but the result is always the same error.

Upon removing the NavX block, the errors go away.

[Caboose]

Using the NavX with LabVIEW, attempting to open the device results in the code crashing and these error messages to appear:
http://put.nu/files/OXnvvuG.png
I downloaded the v2 library, and simply dropped the "Z900_navX_Open.vi" block into begin.vi.
I tried under serial/i2c/spi but the result is always the same error.

Upon removing the NavX block, the errors go away.

Are you on the latest library? v2.0.5.0 (https://github.com/FRC900/navX-MXP-LabVIEW/releases/tag/v2.0.5.0)

[jojoguy10]

Hey NavX people,

Would it be possible to make a block that can reset the gyro to whatever you want (instead of zero)? I was going to go into your block and make the edit, but I found that it's a built-in function in the firmware on the board itself.

[slibert]

Hey NavX people,

Would it be possible to make a block that can reset the gyro to whatever you want (instead of zero)? I was going to go into your block and make the edit, but I found that it's a built-in function in the firmware on the board itself.

As you discovered, the "zero yaw" functionality is now performed by the navX-MXP onboard firmware. There were a few reasons for this, including that other values (specifically, the quaternions which represent numerically all of the cumulative rotations from the 0,0,0 origin point) also need to be updated as well to keep them in synch w/the navX-MXP yaw angle.

However, here's a link to some Java code that implements an "offset tracker" (https://github.com/kauailabs/navxmxp/blob/master/roborio/java/navx_frc/src/com/kauailabs/navx/frc/OffsetTracker.java) which can be used to subtract a given offset from any of the navX-MXP angles, including the yaw. Specifically, look at the applyOffset() method. You may find this helpful as you work on your own offset adjustment. What you want to do should be pretty straightforward - basically, you are subtracting a known value from the angle provided by navX-MXP. The only part that's a little complicated is handling the wraparound (at -180/+180 degrees).

[cjl2625]

I've been having some serious trouble with reliability of the NavX.

I run it for a few minutes, and then the NavX dies and the yaw reading stops updating. Occasionally, it starts working again after some seconds, but other times it requires a reboot to work.

Here's what I checked.
- I'm using the latest version of the library.
- NavX has been fastened down to the RoboRIO and ensured a secure MXP connection
- NavX is plugged in to USB at the same time as a backup power source, perhaps
- Tried using two different NavX units
- Tried using two different RoboRIOs on two different robots
- Tried using every data source (MXP Serial, MXP SPI, MXP I2C, USB Serial)
- Code usage is simple -- opening in Begin.vi, reading in Teleop.vi with Get YPRH block

Nevertheless, the result is always the same. Our ability to aim falls apart without a gyro, so this problem has been quite bothersome.

[slibert]

I've been having some serious trouble with reliability of the NavX.

I run it for a few minutes, and then the NavX dies and the yaw reading stops updating. Occasionally, it starts working again after some seconds, but other times it requires a reboot to work.

Here's what I checked.
- I'm using the latest version of the library.
- NavX has been fastened down to the RoboRIO and ensured a secure MXP connection
- NavX is plugged in to USB at the same time as a backup power source, perhaps
- Tried using two different NavX units
- Tried using two different RoboRIOs on two different robots
- Tried using every data source (MXP Serial, MXP SPI, MXP I2C, USB Serial)
- Code usage is simple -- opening in Begin.vi, reading in Teleop.vi with Get YPRH block

Nevertheless, the result is always the same. Our ability to aim falls apart without a gyro, so this problem has been quite bothersome.

Can you please let me know which version of the firmware is currently loaded onto the navX-MXP units you have? The firmware for this year has resolved all known reliability issues. You should have at least v. 2.2 of the firmware loaded on the boards.

[cjl2625]

Can you please let me know which version of the firmware is currently loaded onto the navX-MXP units you have? The firmware for this year has resolved all known reliability issues. You should have at least v. 2.2 of the firmware loaded on the boards.

Ah, that's probably it -- I just plugged the NavX in and ran the code; never thought about the firmware. I'll try updating it.

[Acocagne]

Does anyone have one of these to sell or have a supplier that has it in stock?
AndyMark and the manufacturer are both out of stock.

Thanks

[slibert]

Does anyone have one of these to sell or have a supplier that has it in stock?
AndyMark and the manufacturer are both out of stock.

Thanks

More units should be available for sale at the KauaiLabs store by 3/22, and at AndyMark by approximately 4/3.

[DKolberg]

I am trying to verify operation using the navX mxp by hooking up to a PC with a USB cable. When I connect the usb from the pc to the navX nothing happens, the lights on the navX blink and go green, but he PC does not see any com port nor any device loading message. when I open the configuration utility no com ports show up. How do I configure the drivers so the PC can talk to the navX?

[marshall]

I am trying to verify operation using the navX mxp by hooking up to a PC with a USB cable. When I connect the usb from the pc to the navX nothing happens, the lights on the navX blink and go green, but he PC does not see any com port nor any device loading message. when I open the configuration utility no com ports show up. How do I configure the drivers so the PC can talk to the navX?

Is this a Windows system? The NavX should show up as a COM device. My best guess from your description is that the USB cable you are using doesn't support data and just does power but I could be wrong.

Scott Libert (Of NavX fame) is competing with his team this weekend so I don't think you'll get an official response until next week but I would try it with a different USB cable.

[slibert]

Is this a Windows system? The NavX should show up as a COM device. My best guess from your description is that the USB cable you are using doesn't support data and just does power but I could be wrong.

Scott Libert (Of NavX fame) is competing with his team this weekend so I don't think you'll get an official response until next week but I would try it with a different USB cable.

When you run the navX-MXP setup the drivers are installed, at which point the board shows up as a COM port when plugged in via USB. *Be sure that you run the install as administrator otherwise depending upon your system security settings the drivers may fail to install.*

[DKolberg]

A new cable worked. Thank you all for your help.

[cjl2625]

I'm still having issues with the gyro unexpectedly dying on me (see my post on the last page).
I've made sure that the firmware is updated, and I've tried various means of communication (serial, spi, usb serial), but the problem remains.

Any ideas?

[slibert]

I'm still having issues with the gyro unexpectedly dying on me (see my post on the last page).
I've made sure that the firmware is updated, and I've tried various means of communication (serial, spi, usb serial), but the problem remains.

Any ideas?

- Please send a photo of your config
- When things fail, are the green S1 and S2 LEDs lit?
- Please email support@kauailabs.com and we'll arrange to send you a new board, in case the one you are using has failed somehow.

[slibert]

Kauai Labs will be attending World Championships in St. Louis April 27 - 30 this year, and would be happy to meet with any teams having questions about the navX-MXP and navX-Micro sensors. Our goal is to support all of our customers in any way possible.

If you'd like to schedule a meeting, please send me a personal message on ChiefDelphi, or send a note to support@kauailabs.com.

[rich2202]

Kauai Labs will be attending World Championships in St. Louis April 27 - 30 this year.

Our backup NavX board decided to take siesta's whenever it wants to. I hope you are bringing some NavX boards to Champs (2 were available on your website). We would like to buy one from you in St. Louis.

The NavX on the Competition Robot in the Crate should be working, but we would feel better if we had a backup for the critical component.

[slibert]

Our backup NavX board decided to take siesta's whenever it wants to. I hope you are bringing some NavX boards to Champs (2 were available on your website). We would like to buy one from you in St. Louis.

The NavX on the Competition Robot in the Crate should be working, but we would feel better if we had a backup for the critical component.

Please check your email for details. We will bringing a few boards with us to St. Louis but supplies are very limited due to high demand.

[slibert]

KauaiLabs has just released navX-MXP and navX-Micro Firmware version 2.3.257, which increases the sensor update rate to a blazing fast 100Hz. While hundreds of teams worldwide are very successful with using the navX-MXP at lower frame rates, the new 100Hz framerate support enables even faster response for those teams needing to squeeze as much performance out of their robot as possible.

Please note that in order to use this higher framerate, you'll need to both update your device firmware and also update to the latest RoboRIO libraries in order to achieve the highest possible performance. Both are installed onto your development PC using the latest setup program, available on the navX-MXP software page (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/software/); after installing the setup program in the downloaded .zip file, then follow the firmware upgrade instructions (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/support/updating-firmware/), then modify your robot application to specify the 100Hz update rate, recompile your robot application.

KauaiLabs will be at FIRST World Championships this week and would be happy to answer any questions on this new feature - please feel free to instant message me if you're interested in meeting with us this week at World Championships.

[rich2202]

If we update the NavX, will it still work with the old code?

Prior year robots use the NavX (we move the NavX from bot to bot), and it is not worth updating their code.

[slibert]

If we update the NavX, will it still work with the old code?

Prior year robots use the NavX (we move the NavX from bot to bot), and it is not worth updating their code.

Yes the navX-MXP firmware is backwards compatible - older robot applications should work exactly the same no mods needed.

It's also forwards compatible - if a robot application is modified to configure navX-MXP for 100Hz updates and is run with a navX-MXP with older firmware, it will run at 66Hz.

[Jonathan L.]

Our team is planning to add a motor and a servo to our robot for state championships (off season). We are already using 9 of the 10 PWM channels on the roboRIO for motors and servos so we need to use one or two of the PWM channels on the navX for a motor and/or servo.

To my understanding the "IO" channels on the navX can be used for PWM (motors or servos) or Digital Input/Output by simply opening the reference to the the desired MXP channel with the appropriate VI for the desired signal type (we are using LabVIEW).

The only thing we're not sure of, is which pin on the IO ports is ground, power, and signal.

Please let us know if we are off track on any of the above.

[slibert]

Our team is planning to add a motor and a servo to our robot for state championships (off season). We are already using 9 of the 10 PWM channels on the roboRIO for motors and servos so we need to use one or two of the PWM channels on the navX for a motor and/or servo.

To my understanding the "IO" channels on the navX can be used for PWM (motors or servos) or Digital Input/Output by simply opening the reference to the the desired MXP channel with the appropriate VI for the desired signal type (we are using LabVIEW).

The only thing we're not sure of, is which pin on the IO ports is ground, power, and signal.

Please let us know if we are off track on any of the above.

You are on the right track. The details are on the NavX-MXP Expansion io page (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/installation/io-expansion/).

Examples, including LabView are on the Io Expansion examples page. (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/examples/mxp-io-expansion/)

If more info is needed, you can email support@email.com

[rleg60]

Our team used the NavX MXP sensor this last year and it worked great! We were limited by our programming experience, rather than by sensor drift/inaccuracy. It seems like a very capable product.

[SpaceOsc]

A New NavX 3.0 has hit AndyMark, given that we just bought NavX 2.0 a few weeks ago, I wonder if anyone knows what the differences are between the two?

http://www.andymark.com/navX-mxp-p/am-3060b.htm

[slibert]

A New NavX 3.0 has hit AndyMark, given that we just bought NavX 2.0 a few weeks ago, I wonder if anyone knows what the differences are between the two?

The navX 3.0 firmware adds support for 200Hz update rate, which provides even lower latency. The currently-released FRC Java/C++ libraries support 200Hz operation; the LabVIEW library support for 200Hz operation will be released at a later time.

This is a free upgrade for existing navX-MXP customers, so your navX 2.0 can be upgraded (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/support/updating-firmware/).

Note that there will be new library features announced in the coming months. These will be announced on ChiefDelphi and to all subscribers of the KauaiLabs Newsletter (http://www.pdocs.kauailabs.com/navx-mxp/support/newsletter/) when they are released.

[SpaceOsc]

Wow fantastic! thank you for the response, there are no hardware differences between theses products?

[slibert]

Wow fantastic! thank you for the response, there are no hardware differences between theses products?

V2 and V3 navX-MXP have the same hardware; firmware is the difference.