This shield works with:
Arduino original and UNO with or without an Ethernet shield and with the Arduino Ethernet pictured.
To explain the system further; the RobotOpen Control Shield comes paired with a complete operator interface program that works out of the box with most USB joysticks on Linux, Windows and Macs. This communication is based on our RobotOpen Protocol. It is handling the heavy lifting when it comes to wifi and data transmission.
If you wanted to keep your 2011 FRC bot running without a cRIO you could replace the cRIO with this system. You'd then follow these steps:
1: Provide the Arduino power, Ethernet and plug in the 37 pin connector to your sidecar.
2: Install the dashboard app on a computer
3: Plug in a USB joystick
4: For many robots, including Kitbots you'd be ready to drive provided you have your pwm's in the same ports that are mapped in our provided software. You'd have basic driving capability.
For teams with more advanced needs the Arduino must be programmed for features above and beyond basic driving. The Arduino is quite powerful and could be used to replicate a complete robot system.
The beauty of this product in my eyes is the ease of use with respect to wireless communication. And unlike some similar products in the market place RobotOpen is "open.".
The RobotOpen Protocol was designed from the ground up to be expanded, tweaked and toyed with!
