As for coding for two months, this our labs' first year. Starting from scrach, we're putting 3 3.2 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM computers in one box, distributing computing between the three of them, talking to an ethernet based 8-axis coordinated motor controller, grabbing data from a firewire stereo vision camera, grabbing data from a RS232 GPS unit, and grabbing data from a RS422 laser ranging sensor. Just about all we had to write from scratch (transparent open and closed-loop motor control, data collection algorithms from our sensors, and lower-level communications protocols) has already been done for FIRST. It literally took 6 of us coding for two months to get to the point where the FIRST controller has been for the past 3 years.
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Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
As you've said, there's a large lack of programming going into all of our bots. I think this is primarily because it's just so hard to do anything useful in 6 weeks. You said you and a team of others spent two months programming a robot this summer. Full time. FIRST has 6 weeks of working after school. I personally am amazed that any teams out of the 1000 managed to do anything useful with the very finicky CMU Cam.
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But that's the thing - no FIRST team on Chief Delphi sticks to the 6 week time frame to build their robot. I don't mean to say that they build past the end of the ship date, but I instead refer you to the picture gallery. About every 4th picture is a new shifting transmission, crab drive module, or other personal MechEng project with FIRST resources. FIRST seems to have settled on a robot controller over the past few years, and even offered us an equally capable autonomous Robovation controller or two to practice code development - I don't think the 6 weeks reasoning quite holds up. I think if teams developed the same interest in good, solid programming skills that they currently have in creating (in my opinion) rather unnecessary gear-shifting transmissions which may or may not be useful in the upcoming year, we could have some really, really cool autonomous modes.