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-   -   Interactive DashBoard (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58312)

6600gt 09-08-2007 13:23

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Thanks everyone for your support and enthusiasm.

Maybe it's because of the off season or summer, but not too many people seem interested. Is there something missing, or is it too hard to implement?

If someone can give me some pointers or ideas, I would be very thankful.

Thanks in advance.

Lohit

Tottanka 09-08-2007 18:57

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
i believe it's the off season.
We ar currently working on the mechanical issues on our bot, but we will soon need the programming. I'll be sure to show our lead programmer your software, it looks great.
I can also promise to give you feedback once i have it. It will take a week or 2 though =]

lndnny 09-08-2007 21:15

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
This program looks great!

Too bad team 808 is out of first for good... but we aren't giving up.
We are doing a program called the national robotics challenge and entering a robot for a grand total of 30 some dollars. With none of the limitations of FIRST, we are actually going to try to send sensor output to a laptop and do all the long calculations there, but we're having problems doing this. Would you mind answering a few questions?

Was this program created in Visual Basic using the .net framework?

If it was, can you provide some source code or provide an example on how to read data into the visual basic program? - every time I try to read input from the serial port in my test program from the RC, I get question marks.

I'm using Kevin's serial port code to send data to the computer. Our team membership currently numbers four and we are all trying to learn as much as we can.

Thanks for your time.
Dan - former team 808

EHaskins 10-08-2007 00:18

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by lndnny (Post 638263)
This program looks great!

Too bad team 808 is out of first for good... but we aren't giving up.
We are doing a program called the national robotics challenge and entering a robot for a grand total of 30 some dollars. With none of the limitations of FIRST, we are actually going to try to send sensor output to a laptop and do all the long calculations there, but we're having problems doing this. Would you mind answering a few questions?

Was this program created in Visual Basic using the .net framework?

If it was, can you provide some source code or provide an example on how to read data into the visual basic program? - every time I try to read input from the serial port in my test program from the RC, I get question marks.

I'm using Kevin's serial port code to send data to the computer. Our team membership currently numbers four and we are all trying to learn as much as we can.

Thanks for your time.
Dan - former team 808

This program is written on .net, I believe its managed C++, but I'm not sure.

If you want to see how to use .net serial comm to communicate with the RC have a look at seanwitte's dashboard viewer. Its written in C#, but the implementation is very similar.

If you want help with .net serial comm, or .net in general feel free to PM me.

6600gt 10-08-2007 03:20

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by lndnny (Post 638263)
This program looks great!

Too bad team 808 is out of first for good... but we aren't giving up.
We are doing a program called the national robotics challenge and entering a robot for a grand total of 30 some dollars. With none of the limitations of FIRST, we are actually going to try to send sensor output to a laptop and do all the long calculations there, but we're having problems doing this. Would you mind answering a few questions?

Was this program created in Visual Basic using the .net framework?

If it was, can you provide some source code or provide an example on how to read data into the visual basic program? - every time I try to read input from the serial port in my test program from the RC, I get question marks.

I'm using Kevin's serial port code to send data to the computer. Our team membership currently numbers four and we are all trying to learn as much as we can.

Thanks for your time.
Dan - former team 808

It's written in C++. I don't really know C++ so the code is quite crude. If you want it, I will release the code to you. The serial port part is easy but I have no idea of Visual Basic syntax...

Make sure your baud rate on the program matches the RC's, which is 115200.

Trying to set up a communication protocol between the RC and the computer was probably one of the most time consuming parts of the whole project. I actually used a software called Free Serial Port Monitor to see every byte that entered and left the serial port. This helps you see the difference between what you believe it is sending and what it is actually sending. The software has some major bugs: feeding it too much data crashes it(ex. reading the bytes while flashing the RC will crash it). It was not that hard to freeze it but it was a valuable asset to my project. If it does start freezing go into Task Manager->Processes->Select Device Monitor->End Process. Don't try to do it by closing or ending task because it just hangs for a while. You might be able to find some better software but this was the only FREE one that I could find.

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/P...t_Monitor.html
Go to the bottom.

Just because you are getting a question mark doesn't mean you are not getting garbage data. ? = 63 in decimal...try reading byte instead of char from the serial port.

Could you elaborate a little bit more on your goal or setup?

Lohit

lndnny 10-08-2007 13:37

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Wow. Thanks for the quick replies.

EHaskins - thank you for showing me that white paper. I thought I had done a thorough search on serial ports in the white papers section, but it never occurred to me to search for another dashboard viewer. :ahh:

6600gt - thank you for the program. It seems like it would help me a lot. It would be great to see what was truly being sent. To elaborate on what I'm doing: our robot is going to be a heavyweight sumo robot - 150 lbs fully autonomous. We hope to take all our sensor readings - both digital and analog - and send them to a laptop through a wireless serial transmitter. The laptop should then read the information and perform heavy math to find where the robot and the opponent are on the field. The laptop will then send pwm outputs back to the robot (within one program loop - would that be possible?). Thanks for the suggestion - I'm going to try reading bytes whenever I get the chance to.

Once again, thanks - these tips are great
Dan - 808

6600gt 10-08-2007 23:50

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by lndnny (Post 638318)
The laptop should then read the information and perform heavy math to find where the robot and the opponent are on the field. The laptop will then send pwm outputs back to the robot (within one program loop - would that be possible?).
Dan - 808

It is possible if you can get the RC to transmit and the PC to process and transmit back all in 26.2ms! It is probably possible but the whole system will probably lag behind 1 or 2 program loops. Since you send the sensor values in the current loop and receive processed data in the next one.

lndnny 11-08-2007 20:33

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
It works!!! - thanks for the monitoring program. Seeing what I was really sending helped a lot. :D

One to two loops behind isn't bad based on how slow the opponents are. I was surprised, there were only one or two robots there that moved over 1 fps.

Well - Thanks for the great help and sorry for hijacking your thread for a little bit
Dan - 808

Tottanka 15-08-2007 16:57

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
OK, so i let my guy run it, and he has a problem.
[quote: programmer]
I downlaoded the binnary version, an every time i run it, it gets stuck. What's the problem/soluion?
[quote]

6600gt 16-08-2007 02:46

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tottanka (Post 638887)
OK, so i let my guy run it, and he has a problem.
[quote: programmer]
I downlaoded the binnary version, an every time i run it, it gets stuck. What's the problem/soluion?
quote

I probably should know this, but I am guessing that the binary version means the .exe file?

I would love to help you but I need some more explanation as to how or when it occurs. Does it run fine without the RC connected? Does it freeze when the data starts to pour into the DataView? Does the whole program freeze or just the data flow?

If it runs with the RC NOT connected to the computer then PC has everything needed to run the program. If it freezes when the RC is connected then...
Does the RC crash?

Tottanka 16-08-2007 05:58

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by 6600gt (Post 638942)
I probably should know this, but I am guessing that the binary version means the .exe file?

I would love to help you but I need some more explanation as to how or when it occurs. Does it run fine without the RC connected? Does it freeze when the data starts to pour into the DataView? Does the whole program freeze or just the data flow?

If it runs with the RC NOT connected to the computer then PC has everything needed to run the program. If it freezes when the RC is connected then...
Does the RC crash?

I know that the RC i ok, as it ran with the older IFI loader version.
I will get you more information on that issue today.

6600gt 24-08-2007 00:10

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
3 Attachment(s)
Well guys, it has been a wonderful 4 years of my High School life, being part of my FIRST team, Team 226 "The Hammerheads", and this FIRST community. I have gained an inexplicable amount of knowledge and wisdom from FIRST. Robots are just toys, but the experiences gained while working on them with others is something completely different. I am in debt to the FIRST society. This project is just a minor contribution. Next week, I am going off to U of M. I don't know if I can continue working with this project or help my team. But sometime in the future, when I have settled and found myself, I hope to rejoin this community and repay my debt.

I hope some of you have gotten a chance to test the software...Remember, it is only a tool, like a lathe. Use it wisely and it will help you, the programmer, breathe a little easier. But you are "real" the programmer. Your job is to make the "perfect" code...but since there is no such thing as "perfect" code...never stop improving on it.

If you guys have any suggestions for improvement, please let me know soon. I will try my best to get the changes done before I leave.


UPDATE:
I have added a new feature, along with a few bug fixes, where the names in the text boxes about the individual pwms is saved in a text file for future memory. This "Pwm_Text.txt" is saved in the same folder as the application residence. I have updated the documentation along with the application. I have also added new "System" variable group where you can watch things like Main and Backup Battery Voltages, along with other things, in the DataView. I have detailed it under the "Feature" section in the updated DashBoard_readme.doc. Note: This require RC code update as well.

NOTE: On the top right corner of the application I put "V 0.2" just to point out that this one is newer than the old one.

Thanks everyone for your support and input.

caffel 27-08-2007 15:17

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Dataview
Joystick
Text.

Pls keep up the chat & work on VEX dashboard.
VEX students need this even more than the FRC students (they are younger).

Thanks,
Charlie Affel, mentor

6600gt 27-08-2007 16:46

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by caffel (Post 640160)
Dataview
Joystick
Text.

Pls keep up the chat & work on VEX dashboard.
VEX students need this even more than the FRC students (they are younger).

Thanks,
Charlie Affel, mentor

I will try my best.

What do you mean by Text and what would you like change/add in DataView?

Most VEX teams use labview right? Can anyone provide me with the source code for the VEX system?

caffel 27-08-2007 19:16

Re: Interactive DashBoard
 
Pls recognize that we do appreciate the dashboard(s).
I was responding to the question of what to prioritize for next developments.
I'm not sure what was meant by text, I just value the others more.
For our purposes, we need to examine a time series of sensor and other values.
We don't have Labview and we need a dashboard.
To teach, we need to measure and view everything about the robot's internals.
Some people can't understand w/o that. Almost everyone is a better debugger with more information about what the robot was sensing (and doing) when a failure occurred.

CA


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