Thread: Using a different button to e-stop the robot instead of the space key
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Unread 09-10-2015, 19:40
Greg McKaskle Greg McKaskle is offline
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FRC #2468 (Team NI & Appreciate)
  
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Re: Using a different button to e-stop the robot instead of the space key
The driver station intentionally does not allow for a different key to be used for estop.

If each team or each computer used a different key, it would be unclear how to stop a runaway FRC robot. Similarly, other keys are not allowed to be remapped either.

The DS will not estop a disabled robot, only an enabled one.

If you are changing code while the robot runs, it is even more important that you have a reliable estop. And it is important that others around the robot know how to stop it -- in case the robot has you pinned against a wall or something.

So it is somewhat inconvenient to have an estop button that is easy to press. Safety mechanisms are almost always at odds with convenience and efficiency, but fingers don't grow back, FIRST doesn't give awards for best robot scars, etc. If you do use an alternate DS, be sure you can trust its estop and make sure it is well known to those operating the robot.

My suggestion is to use a dedicated laptop for the DS and a second, programming laptop, both networked to the robot.

Greg McKaskle