FIRST and Machine Science

[generalbrando]

http://www.machinescience.com/whats_new#FIRST

[ZZII 527]

Glad you posted that, Brandon.

I hope a lot of teams put it to good use this year. Some Boston-area teams and a handful of pilot teams are familiar with this program. For everyone else: it's a microcontroller kit (PIC16F877) built on a breadboard and programmed via a fully-functional web-based compiler. Perfect for anyone who's ever wanted to take apart the FRC or VEX controller to see what goes on inside, but doesn't want to void the warranty.

I can think of at least two good uses for it. The first and most obvious is teaching novice programmers on a similar system as the FRC. The documentation on their website is excellent and the web compiler/loader is a definite plus. Secondly, for veteran teams looking to extend their electronic systems, I have one intentionally vague phrase: modular subprocessing. ;)