I’ll start us off with an example:
The topic I will cover is main controller:
There are three possible ways of filling this need:
• cRIO
• Arduino with Robot Open shield
• Vexnet Controller
Now let’s go into detail on each:
Title: cRIO
Picture:
Description: This is a robot controller that executes programs and handles input and output, providing the control center for the robot. This controller was developed by National Instruments and is provided to all teams in the kit of parts.
Advantages:
• This is the only FRC legal controller
• Seamlessly integrates into the control system
• Relatively durable
• Has extensive documentation in the FRC community
• Is very powerful and is capable of utilizing the full capabilities of the control system
Disadvantages:
• Extremely high cost ($550)
Title: Arduino + RobotOpen Shield
Picture:
Description: This controller was developed by cross the road electronics to act as a drop-in substitute for the cRIO. It works by using the popular robot controller known as the arduino and interfacing it into the FRC control system with a custom PDB
Advantages:
• Low cost
• Drop-in replacement for cRIO
Disadvantages:
• Not FRC legal
• Costs extra to add pneumatic functionality
• Limitted to one digital side-car (cRIO can use two).
Title: Vexnet Controller
Picture:
Description: This controller is generally used on smaller Vex Robots, but can also be used to control FRC robots. Vex control systems are produced by IFI, the company that originally produced the FRC control system before the switch to the cRIO in 2009.
Advantages:
• Lower cost than cRIO
Disadvantages:
• Not FRC legal
• Higher cost than Arduino + Robot Open
• Cannot use FRC driver-station, must use vex joystick
• No pneumatic capabilities
Final evaluation:
Two products stood out above the rest:
cRIO - The cRIO is a must-have. Basically because the rules say you must have it
. It is the only legal way to control an FRC robot and thus it should be used on your competition robot.
Arduino + RobotOpen Shield – This solution is a cost effective way of controlling non-competition robots, such as practice bots. The extremely low price-point and minimal amount of effort require to switch from a cRIO to Aruino make it stand above the other solutions for robots which do not have to be FRC-legal.
I hope that gives everyone an idea of what we’re looking for. It doesn’t have to be as exhaustive as this, but try and get as much information as you can,
- Alex