[Mr. Lim]

A swerve is ambitious enough as it is, don't obfuscate the process any more by developing your software on a different platform.

I echo the sentiments that you should contact a nearby team for an 8-slot cRIO. I would find it hard to believe that there isn't a nearby veteran team who couldn't outright lend one to you.

Heck, anyone who has ever used a DeWalt on an FRC robot should feel downright obligated.

But I digress.

There are little details involving the development tools for the cRIO for which there is no replacement for experience. The toolchain is powerful, but there are tiny details which we experienced folk take for granted...

Believe me, I just stepped through the entire process of:
-configuring the radio/router/ap
-installing NetBeans, JDK
-adding the NetBeans Plugins
-learning/assigning IP addresses for all devices
-creating firewall exceptions for required applications
-installing the NI Tools
-flashing the cRIO
-creating, compiling, uploading a sample program
-installing the driver station software
etc...

Not hard once you figure it all out for the first time, but still a considerable head-end investment that's worth doing now, and having you and a few students do multiple times so they know it back and forwards.