Quote:
Originally Posted by slijin
The bulk of this software is provided in the Kit of Parts; WindRiver is used for C++, Netbeans for Java, and LabView for, well, LabView. This is the computer's control interface for the robot, and is the only GUI you're allowed to use in competition to control the robot.
What controls you use are purely up to you. Many teams use a dual Attack 3 setup for driving, in conjunction with a separate controls set for the robot's other functions. Others use Xbox joysticks, Logitech Gamepads, twist-axis joysticks, etc - it all depends on the team and the driver.
At the moment, the Cypress First Touch and CCI (available from E-Stop Robotics) are the most common interfaces used by teams for custom control schemes. There are alternatives - last year, one team used a touch screen interface to hang tubes - but if I'm not mistaken, interfacing with the First Touch and CCI are the simplest for the DS (Driver Station) to deal with.
|
The Driver Dashboard software you speak of is not included in the kit of parts. It must be downloaded and installed from National Instruments website; once that's done, the software can be started like any other program and it will automatically detect and connect to the cRio when there's a possible linkup.
The programming software simply enables you to customize the code on the robot to output custom data to the running dashboard and driver station software.
I agree about the Cypress, one thing you'll find is that it's definitely the best time saver to, instead of hacking your own solution together with such a complicated system, it's best to learn to use their code libraries and modules and interface those with your robot control code. The built in libraries provide easy to use methods to interact with the Cypress, which one can hook up to a number of different digital and analog inputs, in addition to providing basic joystick/joypad control.