Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

I'll be sure to do so.

This weekend was the Milwaukee competition - the following things happened:

• I got video working perfectly. It's in a stand-alone program now, but integrating it with the rest of the dashboard should be a piece of cake. Wait until you guys see it. :D
• I have a second release ready for you guys. It has bug fixes for all the problems I'm aware of along with a new control type - a static text label. The "T" button next to the meter button actually does something now. Options include horizontal and vertical centering, setting text and background color, and optionally drawing the background.
• I found out that the FMS locks out your robot if it detects two laptops are on the same subnet (i.e. 10.5.37.x). This doesn't present a problem for dashboard data, but causes video to require a forwarding program on the classmate. I know there's a few of these floating around in .NET and Java, but I plan on making a simple one in C++ using Winsock for maximum speed.

I haven't gotten anything out since because I've been playing catch-up for my calculus class, and school comes before robotics, but expect some stuff within the week. I'll definitely work on getting a FIRST Forge project page and getting the source out to you guys too.

Oh, and here's a sneak-preview of the video dashboard: :p

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

Nice work so far ^_^ even though my teams 2 competitions this year are done (unless our point total can get us into the Michigan State Championship *fingers crossed ^_^*), I can probably still use this for next years bot. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

I applied for a project on FIRSTForge a day and a half ago and still have no response. Should I try again or wait some more?

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

The dashboard, now known as CARDS (Charger Advanced Robotics Dashboard System), is live on FIRSTForge. Expect the source and latest builds to be uploaded today or tomorrow.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

I don't see it there unless I'm just missing something. Could you give us a link or if I am just overlooking it could someone help me out ^_^ Thanks!

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

Expect the latest builds to be uploaded by tonight. I'm just going to put the project and binaries in some self-extracting archives and upload them to the files section. What I'd really like though is to get the source up on an SVN repository. Does anybody know any free online services that let you host one?

Also, once the source is up, I'm completely open to any help with the project. The more people we have writing code, the faster CARDS can get added functionality and the faster it can be useful to teams out there. Let me know in a PM or email if you're interested in helping - all that's required is some basic C++ and Object-Oriented Design skills.

Our team has our next regional April 8, so that's my target date to have a solid release. Things I want done by then:

• Dashboard system with the following controls: meters (done), labels (done), and printouts (just text that prints out a float value from the robot). More to follow.
• Video feed: stand-alone program (done) and integrated into the rest of the dashboard.
• Video forwarding system (currently in development - about halfway done): Routes the TCP stream from one network (a robot-Classmate network) to another (a Classmate-Dashboard Laptop network) thanks to FIRST never mentioning that having multiple laptops on your 10.xx.yy network causes your entire robot to lose comms, making it a tiny bit difficult running video on a different laptop. I'm aware other programs like this exist, but I want a lightweight one done in native Winsock for maximum speed.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

It would be nice to have a "fully loaded" version with video and a "light" version without. I have a feeling that a project like this will go a long way...

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

The initial release packages for both the dashboard and my video system are out. Packages include the programs themselves, required resources, and the source for each. They can be located here:

http://firstforge.wpi.edu/sf/frs/do/...ects.cards/frs

This release should be much more useful to everyone due to the fact that the bugs that made the last one somewhat unusable have been fixed. :D

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

FIRST Forge seems to be down, but I just wanted to give you guys a quick update:

The forwarding program (so that you can run video on a second laptop at competitions) is almost completely finished. There's a couple of bugs I have to work out, but expect an initial release this weekend.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

FIRST Forge is back up. Feel free to continue downloading the dashboard and video components. The forwarder will be up soon.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

The forwarder is done (enough for its first public release anyways). In about five minutes from when I type this I'm heading off to the North Star regional today. I'll try to put it up if I can get internet access at the hotel. If anyone wants to check the forwarder and video system out, find me (Matt Kline) in the Team 537 pit and I'll be happy to set you up with it and any of my other software.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

Both the forwarder and a launchpad program that ensures that the Driver Station starts a single instance of your dashboard are released and available on the CARDS FIRST Forge site (http://firstforge.wpi.edu/sf/projects/cards).

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

Hi everyone. Sorry for not posting anything in a week - I've been badly sick. The forwarder and the video display system underwent a trial by fire in Minneapolis, so I have some new versions for you guys that I'll put up later today.

Changes to the forwarder include some changes to the networking sockets so that data flows through it more smoothly.

Changes to the display include a lot of optimizations to make it run faster and with less overhead on a low-end system like the Classmate.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

Sorry for the delay, but new versions of both the video system and the forwarder are up for download on FIRST Forge:

http://firstforge.wpi.edu/sf/frs/do/...ects.cards/frs

Both have been battle-tested at the North Star regional and run extremely smoothly on the Classmate (or any other laptop you care to run them on).

I realize that I haven't made as much progress with the main CARDS dashboard as I'd hoped, but that's mostly due to the fact that I've been busy improving the video system. Our team decided that active video feedback was much more important to our drivers than other sensory data, so that's been my focus during the two regionals we've attended.

Team 537 will be at nationals in the Curie division. I'd love anybody else who's going to Atlanta to stop by our pits and have a chat with me about any of the CARDS products. CARDS has always been and will always be about more than just Team 537 so it would be great to hear from any of you who will be there. Talking to you guys really helps me meet your needs and make needed changes to the programs. The end of this competition season will certainly not mark the end of the development of CARDS - it will continue into the off-season and hopefully next year we can see a lot more teams using it! It's crazy to see how far it has come already. I'm really excited to watch this project mature.

Re: Customizable Dashboard
 

I know the UPS control systems group has talked about this since it got linked to our email list and I want to look more at it this off-season when we have access to the cRIO. Sounds like good stuff from our friends slightly to the northwest :)