Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I present to you a FULLY FUNCTIONING iPhone driver station!

Right now it is a late beta stage, everything does work, Enabling, Disabling, auto, teleop, joysticks, buttons, accelerometer joystick and the camera!

We have successfully controlled our robot with my iPhone without the need of the FRC driver station!

This will be fun to use since you can just pull your phone out and turn your robot on and boom robot control at your fingertips instantly!

This will be released to the app store soon once I make some minor safety upgrades such as if you drop your phone the robot will disable.

I might add in the ability to connect to the main phone controlling with another phone via bluetooth and use the second phone as a secondary joystick!

Here are some images:

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Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

That looks really awesome! Is Android in the works as well?

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

WOW! should be a lot of fun!!

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Unfortunately no since I do not have an android device...

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Very cool! This would be an awesome tool for demos or sponsor events!

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

That's awesome!!

I'm guessing it connects directly to the robot's wifi and then sends its data directly by socket?

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Does this require any application-specific code on the cRIO side? I wouldn't be surprised if this requires the programmers to add a socket server to create a new protocol for communication

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Nope you do not need to add ANYTHING!

It connects just like how the FRC Driver Station does! Joysticks are implemented the same way.

Also no implementation for the camera it is all independent and everything you need is in the app!

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Sweet! I would love to see how you're doing that. Are you making the source public?

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Having implemented something similar in the past, I would personally be hesitant about releasing the source. There are enough hints around on the internet and good enough tools out there that it doesn't take too long to make it work, and you can cause a lot of damage (robot out of control and no quick way to stop it) if you aren't careful.

The robot listens on a specific UDP port for packets with everything it needs from the DS.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

If it's an iPhone app, I would assume it would work on an iPad as well, right? An iPhone is nice, but for controlling the robot, from my point of view, the larger the screen, the better. By the way, nice job!

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

I've heard a lot of arguments both ways for open source vs closed source but "don't touch it you'll hurt yourself" is a new one.

Mapping out all the driver station protocols by Wireshark is a lot of work and I respect that. The giddy child in me was hoping that someone who's done it would share their findings so we can all benefit. I'm curious more than anything, and won't have access to a cRIO till the fall so I can't map it out myself :( .

Good work on the app by the way! I look forward to trying it out!

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Awesome! Any chance for iOS 6 compatibility?

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

im guessing all you would need to do is select the router for team xxxx and then open the app and your good to go? I wouldn't want my students knowing about it haha, i feel like they might fool around to much, but i can't wait to play with it. Can you give us an ETA on when to expect it.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

I won't have access to our cRio till tuesday so I still need to test out the analog and digital IO. I still have to look over all of the communication to make sure that all enabling and disabling features are working flawlessly.

Im hoping for it to be out on the market (iPhones only 7.1) within the next 2-3 weeks!

I will make it compatible for iPads soon but first I want to get the core functionality down.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

That is a very cool achievement, but like Austin, I request that you think about safety and test, test, test. Then consider how confident you are that nobody will be hurt using your DS. Then consider whether modifications to the DS by others are likely to stay safe.

It looks like the app only supports teleOp enable and disable modes. If that is the case, perhaps you should do what the Parrot Drone does, with thumbs-lifted transitioning to disabled. If you implement Auto, perhaps the user has to hold a button to keep auto enabled. Can the robot be enabled when on other screens like camera?

Perhaps you also want a scaling factor on the joysticks. This can be done on the robot code as well, but if others try to drive their robot with the app, can they control it?

What happens when two DS Apps connect to the robot? Same question for a FIRST DS and a DS App? The FIRST DS Apps detect one another and the new one asking the older one to bow out, but that hasn't always been the case, and it caused issues.

To repeat. Cool accomplishment. Be safe.

Greg McKaskle

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

You should be able to use a browser to access the video feed from an Axis camera on the robot.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Yeah, but an iPhone can't run multiple apps at once on the same screen like Android devices can.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

What I meant to say was that the camera will not have to depend on your robot code, it accesses the camera through the ip.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

This does have support for teleop and auto and the robot stays active if you change to camera view, the camera view is just a camera right in between the joysticks.

And yes it is pretty dangerous to have modified the FRC ds, I have had it where the robot has gone out of control from the joysticks probably getting stuck in a full on state, I will continue to test.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

The Android SDK has an emulator for devices :) Its also free. I get the impression that they did everything in their power to encourage people to develop apps for it

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Also, google play's app-critiquing process is not so rigorous

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Even though I am good at java ive never really took my time to develop for android...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Sounds super cool!

Can we make it run Cheesy Vision? On the downside, it would be particularly hard to take Cheesy Vision Selfies...

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

I'm sure there are plenty of FIRSTers who would be happy to port it to Android. Maybe even as part of FIRST Summer of Code. If you made the IOS version open source it would make it much easier to expand the app to new platforms.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Well I was planning on using this app as a fundraising technique, sell it for some on the app store and then our team will get a little extra money.

Maybe if we reach a quota or something I will release the source. But until then it will be closed source...

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

You could still sell the app and release it as open source. I doubt anyone would take the time to copy the code and publish the app if it was available for a reasonable price.

Or, there is another member working on the Android version already. http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=129073

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Do you have the protocol documented anywhere outside the source code, I am interested in writing a cross platform version of the driver station just for debugging and testing purposes and would be be very interested in the protocol documentation so I could go through with this project without having to go through with wiresharking the protocol.

Edit: It seems the protocol has been publish at http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2266

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Ya you can find the protocol from like two different people if you try hard enough.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Although it would be nice to have it open source, from the OP's perspective and the fact that the information to make your own is easy to find, I think it's better for OP to keep it closed source.

Re: iPhone Driver Station!!!
 

Theoretically you should be able to build in safety checks similar to how the DS responds when you unplug a joystick.

Also, regarding closed vs. open source, it should be possible to dual-license the code so that there is an open source version, but make the binaries available on the App Store for a small fee. I found some helpful info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busines...ource_software.

Hope this helps.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

So I just programmed in the interface for iPads! I will submit this to the app store soon maybe before the weekend!!!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

First of all, a big thanks to Connor for putting in time to make this. It's an awesome idea, and I'm sure plenty of teams will use it.

Now, are there any updates for the app? I've been checking the app store and haven't seen it, and was wondering if it's been submitted yet. Again, thanks for your efforts, we all appreciate it!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I just remembered that I have to program in the DS messages and also am adding a speedometer for the ipad version, so I have to figure out the analog outputs to the DS.

But for me to do that I need to be at school...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Just submitted to the app store!! It may take a week or so to hear back from them...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

This is really sweet! Thanks so much for sharing! As someone who has driven multiple times, I'm just curious, do you see something like this replacing Xbox controllers and such? A lot of the time (all the time) drivers can't look down. You can't feel the joysticks on the apple device unlike a controller. Any potential adaptions to make it more suitable for potential use in competition? :)

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I don't think it will be usable in any competition in the foreseeable future for a few reasons. Firstly, its using an iPhone (wireless communication device) which is illegal, and second its not using the DriverStation, which is a non-negotiable requirement for competing. [If FIRST ever decides to relax these rules] I think the only types of feedback available on iPhones are visual, audio, and tactile (vibrate), which I'm sure could be incorporated into the app, although I would question whether or not it would help

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Yeah, that's a pretty fair response. This may also be useful for demos when you don't want to lug all your equipment somewhere. In this kind of scenario, it would be quite useful. :) I think a vibrate to verify proper touch with the joysticks would be useful for drivers.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Any news on the driver station?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Nope it is still In Review... It is taking ages for them to review it... So far it has been three days, maybe they don't review apps on weekends and holidays?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thank you a lot of this very cool, looking forward to using it.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Just got accepted!!! Is now processing for the app store!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

What will the app be called?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

What will the app be called?

Congrats on it being accepted

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

It is just called Driver Station. It is showing up for me but not in the search redults, here is the link to it: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/driv...5825?ls=1&mt=8

It costs $1.99 but that is because our team is in desperate need of money!!!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Would there be an option to rename the buttons?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Well then say if you were to name the button Button 1 then it would protrude into the joystick...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

It is now searchable on the app store! Driver Station it is called, please download and tell me what you think!!! Thanks!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I just purchased it. I'll get you some feedback after I get a chance to test it out. Glad to help FRC Team 4095.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Just submitted and update, this update will include the iPad version!!!

And also to whomever gets it here is a promo code so you can download it for free!!! Only one code for right now!

Promo Code: XPN7RNNLNT7M

Thanks for purchasing, you that have purchased!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thanks for the Promo code! I'll be testing this out with the RoboRio in a few weeks, and I'll post back here letting you know how it works out. I'd do it right now, but unfortunately that robot is all packed up and being shipped out to NH for another Alpha Testing weekend - I can't test until it gets back!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Darn, beat me to the code. Oh well.

Anyways, congratulations on having the app accepted and published on the App Store! Do you have any updates in terms of source code, future plans, etc.? I'm curious to know.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

If I get more than 12 purchases today I will release another promo code tomorrow. So tell your friends to go buy the app!!!!.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

If I get more than 12 purchases today I will release another promo code tomorrow. So tell your friends to go buy the app!!!!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Just because I want to be nice I will give out another promo code!

Here it is: LPY3JPHHYAHY

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thank you!

I am playing around with it right now. I will try to get a video up soon

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thanks a lot for making this! I tested it out with our robot for a couple of days and everything works perfectly :D

Great Job!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Good news the price is being dropped to $0.99!! It will most likely stay this price since I really want people to download it!

There will be a new update coming out soon which will include better camera support and also iPads very own native version!

And also please post your feedback about the app on here so I keep the app running up to par!

Thanks, Chiller!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

New update just got released!

Now contains a native iPad version!!!

And now is only $0.99!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I am a Android Developer and I would like to discuss the protocols you implemented to get this to work. If you get a chance PM me. I would like to help the android community get this kind of support.

Thanks.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Awesome app! I'm a little confused about the the right joystick pad on the joysticks page. Our robot uses Joystick 1 for power and Joystick 2 for turning, is it possible to put these on the same page? What does the right joy pad on each joystick page do anyway?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

If your in java or c++ joystick 1 is like new Joystick(1) and the left stick is axis' 1&2 and the right stick is axis' 3&4, the sticks are just different axis'

And also here is the documentation on the joysticks.

Joysticks 1 - 2

Axis | Code Reference
X Left | 1
Y Left | 2

X Right | 3
Y Right | 4

Buttons are number for number for Code Reference

Camera - Uses Joystick 1

Joystick 4 - Accelerometer

Axis | Code Reference
X | 1
Y | 2
Z | 3

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Can you add some documentation inside the app itself on properly configuring network info on the iphone itself to connect to a robot? That was the biggest hurdle in getting it working, especially since most people never bother with wireless configuration, it just works most of the time.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I did add the info to the description of the app on the app store, I just don't want to push out an update just for that so I decided to add it to the app store description.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

i am having trouble connecting my phone to the robot. can you explain it a little bit better please?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

did you ever get your robot to connect? ive been trying all day i still cant get it to work

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Did you reset your robots router to have the ip of 10.te.am.1 and is your crios ip 10.te.am.2? And also did you change your wifi settings in the settings to be 10.te.am.6 and did you change the team number in the app to be your team number?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

The app works great. We control the robot tank style using two joysticks. The app works great if your control system is setup for a game controller such as a PS2 or xbox controller but you need to keep flipping screens to drive using two different joysticks. If there was a way to customize the joystick layout that would be very helpful!! Other than that the app is great!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Woah nice app!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Complimenting an app you created and posted on here?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I don't know why but I am not able to edit the original post, here is the download link for the driver station: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/driv...5825?ls=1&mt=8

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Is it possible to add some customization? For example, I'd like to be able to put two joysticks on the same screen - last year's robot had mecanum wheels, and required two separate joysticks for driving input, and the mechanisms were controlled through a spread of buttons between the two. Being able to select, for example, which axis on which joysticks the two pads represent and which buttons are available on the screen would mean we could drive from both the iPhone and driver station without needing to switch code.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

This meets your needs, but it is for android not iOS: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...tdriverstation

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Which mean's it doesn't meet my needs :p

It's awesome that people are developing for both platforms... we just need to see full features available for both!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Are you saying you want two MORE joysticks, because there are already two joysticks on the one screen...?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

What you supply on the screen is the X/Y and X-Hat/Y-Hat form a single joystick (aka the joystick and the little guy on top you can move with your thumb). I want to be able to use the X/Y from two different joysticks on the same screen, I personally don't really care about the hat, we never use it (in fact, we haven't used a joystick with a hat since the IFI control system!).

Put another way, the app provides joysticks to match a gamepad, like an xbox controller. However, we use two actual joysticks (specifically Logitech Attack 3 joysticks).

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I'd like to see tank drive integration for this since it is a pain to keep switching between joysticks and having to drive in an s pattern. Otherwise I love the app, makes demos much easier.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Ya our team doesn't use two separate joysticks, we use an xbox controller thats why I was confused, but I will definitely add support for two separate joysticks in the up and coming version!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thank you so much. So both joysticks will be X/Y? That would be so helpful :)

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Feature request!

Could you make a configuration using the iphone accelerometer such that the X-magnitude of the accelerometer maps to Joystick 1's X-axis, and the Y-magnitude maps to Joystick 1's Y axis?
That way you could drive the robot based on the phone's orientation.

I realize this can be dangerous, so I'd think it should require holding down a button on the screen to enable, otherwise disable (if the phone was dropped, etc).

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

This is already implemented! Joystick 4 is for the accelerometer, x = axis 1, y = axis 2, z = axis 3, and it also detects if you drop your phone and disables the robot! So ya!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

OK, the updated version is now being verified by apple, it should be out within less than a week!

Also check back soon because when it gets approved I will be giving out a free download!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

So the new version 1.3 available here includes the two separate joysticks!

Here is a promo code for the first person who reads this!

YPYPTTJX7M7L

So please tell your teammates about this app so they can run the robot and have fun with it without setting up your whole driver station!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Yay, thank you. The app has been a godsend for last minute demos or even just moving the robot around.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Is there any way for this new version to support ios7?

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Loaded it up for the first time with my new iPhone 6 Plus, and landscape mode isn't really working. When I rotate from portrait to landscape, everything squishes onto the left half of the screen, with the buttons overlapping the joysticks. This makes it pretty much impossible to use in landscape - my right thumb isn't long enough! To get it back in portrait mode, I have to switch to the Status screen, rotate it, then switch back to the joysticks screen.

Also, for the new tab with Joystick 1 and 2, which buttons are present? It just labels them 1-6, but I don't know if those are for Joystick 1 or 2... ideally, I'd like buttons for both joysticks available.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Well unfortunately I do not have a 6 plus, it seems to work in the 6 plus simulator so idk why it wouldn't work on your phone...? Did you update to the latest 1.3 version?

Also with the buttons they all go to the first joystick, I was thinking about having three and three for each joystick but I forgot before I uploaded the update...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

The iPhone Driver Station is FREE for a limited time only!!!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Wow you guys really wanted this app, i have >999% downloads compared to last week...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I changed the price to buy the app to only $0.99!! This app is very helpful for demonstrations when you do not want to setup your whole driver station! Please tell your whole team and all your neighboring teams to download this! All proceeds from this app are going straight back into our teams robot! So if you decide to download, thank you!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thanks for all of the downloads, I hope to have more since the new robotics season is now here!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Thank you guys so much for all of the downloads!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Cool app, thanks. Do you have plans to update it for the RoboRIO? I tried and it didn't connect. The IP addresses are different so I didn't expect it to but was hopeful.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Well our team does not have a RoboRIO yet so we will have to see once we get one...

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Ok so I uploaded an updated iPhone version that should support the new roboRio, I forgot to update the iPad version, so that will come later. Please let me know if it works for the roboRio or not, Thanks!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Just downloaded and it looks great! Our team is all Mac so it's a pain to control the robot. I haven't had the chance to test it yet, but there are some bugs I have noticed. First, it isn't updated for the iPhone 6 (not really a bug I guess), it doesn't remember the team number, and sideways basically messes everything up. I can't wait to try it though!

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

I had trouble when testing it. I would try connect but had no success. I will try double checking our routers ip address is set correct.

Re: Team 4095 Presents: iPhone Driver Station!
 

Just downloaded the app today, and having trouble getting it to connect to our robot. We are trying to connect to our kitbot with the new RoboRIO using an Iphone 6 plus.