A perfect off-season project to work on would be to experiment with and see the different applications of team 585's Arbitrary Quadrature Encoder.
For this entrepreneurial, we have designed the Arbitrary Quadrature Encoder for other FIRST teams to use. This can just plug straight into the Jaguar and replace the stubborn commercial encoders. With this encoder, a team can place it on motors that cannot normally have encoders (window motors), and a linear application such as an elevator system.
We are now at a point where we can start printing the circuit boards. For more information and a demonstration go to our Kickstarter page at
http://kck.st/147OyqI