XBox controller

[Toa Circuit]

Originally Posted by Zuelu562

Toa, our reasoning for using the floats was a double whammy type deal; we added a small deadband to the controller by keeping an eye on the values. We were aware of the issue that the robot could potentially move without a human interacting with the controller due to the minuscule difference between 0 (dead stop) and .25 (moving) on the xbox controllers. This also solved the issue with GetRawAxis() freaking out in the main loop.

Funny, the controller I used never had a deadband issue.

Originally Posted by ekapalka

So does that mean we don't vave to use

		leftStick = new Joystick(1);			
		rightStick = new Joystick(2);

or that in addition to the code you suggested? Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate it!

Oh, you will still need to do all the code you had before, I just wrote up the portion that you need to add/replace.

[ekapalka]

I haven't been back to this thread in a while, so I haven't had a chance to say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I really appreciate it! I just had a few more questions...
THe code provided by Toa works, but I had a few questions about how exactly it works. It only references

leftStick->GetRawAxis(1), leftStick->GetRawAxis(2)

so why do I even need

rightStick = new Joystick(2);

? Also, why is it myRobot->Drive() and not robotDriver.ArcadeDrive() or myRobot->ArcadeDrive()? Any help would be great! Once again, thanks for all your help!

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by ekapalka

.
THe code provided by Toa works, but I had a few questions about how exactly it works. It only references

leftStick->GetRawAxis(1), leftStick->GetRawAxis(2)

so why do I even need

rightStick = new Joystick(2);

?

You don't

Originally Posted by ekapalka

Also, why is it myRobot->Drive() and not robotDriver.ArcadeDrive() or myRobot->ArcadeDrive()? Any help would be great! Once again, thanks for all your help!

There are several different methods provided by RobotDrive, including ArcadeDrive and Drive. They are described in the "WPI Robotics Library User’s Guide". You should pick the one that does what you want, or experiment and try them all.

[Zuelu562]

Originally Posted by Toa Circuit

Funny, the controller I used never had a deadband issue.

We had fresh controllers as well (ie just out of the box). The thing we were worried about is a situation where the analog stick just isn't 100%, and sometimes would actually rest on what would be .25. Also, we didn't want to run it full power anyway, thinking about it now, because it would jump at the slightest touch.

We can look at it again and re-evaluate the need, but it worked for us.

[ekapalka]

Hey CD! I've had an epiphany! XBox is actually spelled xBox, just like Ipod is actually spelled iPod! I've taken into consideration all the information I received from this thread and the example code, and have constructed this:

#include <WPILib.h>
class DefaultRobot : public SimpleRobot
{	
	Joystick *xboxStickManip;              
	Joystick *leftStick;			       
	Joystick *rightStick;                  
	Jaguar *leftDrive;                     
	Jaguar *rightDrive;                    
	RobotDrive *myRobot;                   
public:
	DefaultRobot(void)
	{	
		xboxStickManip = new Joystick(1);  
		leftStick = new Joystick(2);
		rightStick = new Joystick(3);
		leftDrive = new Jaguar(1);
		rightDrive = new Jaguar(2);
		myRobot = new RobotDrive(leftDrive, rightDrive);
	}
	void Autonomous(void)
	{
			while(IsAutonomous())
			{
			}				
	}
	void OperatorControl(void)
	{
		myRobot->TankDrive(0.0, 0.0);		
		while (IsOperatorControl())
		{	
			float leftStickYAxis = leftStick->GetY();
			float rightStickYAxis = rightStick->GetY();	
			myRobot->TankDrive(-leftStickYAxis, -rightStickYAxis);
		}
	}
};

START_ROBOT_CLASS(DefaultRobot);

It compiles (amazingly) but will not load onto the cRIO II, even though DefaultRobotProject compiles and runs. I've begun to think that my code may be at fault... Does anyone have any ideas? I'm pretty sure it's also a bit redundant. Any help would be awesome! Cheers!

[Kit Fieldhouse]

Hello
i was wondering if anyone had figured out how to implement tank drive with an Xbox controller? Our team has gotten one joystick to work (using basically the code that's already here), but not both. One of our members who formerly programmed in LabView said that one of the Joysticks is recognized as a joystick and the other is recognized as a button (somehow). Is there some way to do this? Thanks!

[F22Rapture]

Originally Posted by Kit Fieldhouse

Hello
i was wondering if anyone had figured out how to implement tank drive with an Xbox controller? Our team has gotten one joystick to work (using basically the code that's already here), but not both. One of our members who formerly programmed in LabView said that one of the Joysticks is recognized as a joystick and the other is recognized as a button (somehow). Is there some way to do this? Thanks!

That's not correct, I don't think. The entire Xbox controller is a Joystick, and each individual stick is a pair of axes. Perhaps the labview libraries work differently from the text languages in that regard, I don't know, but the C++ and Java libraries should consider both thumbsticks as 4 axes on the Joystick (left x-axis, left y-axis, etc).

Ex.

public OI() {                
        leftTank = driverXbox.getRawAxis(2);
        rightTank = driverXbox.getRawAxis(5);
}

with

// Axis indexes:
    public static final int
            LEFT_X_AXIS = 1,
            LEFT_Y_AXIS = 2,
            TRIGGERS = 3,
            RIGHT_X_AXIS = 4,
            RIGHT_Y_AXIS = 5,
            DPAD_LR = 6;
    
    // Button mappings:
    public static final int
            BUTTON_A = 1,
            BUTTON_B = 2,
            BUTTON_X = 3,
            BUTTON_Y = 4,
            BUMPER_L = 5,
            BUMPER_R = 6,
            BUTTON_BACK = 7,
            BUTTON_START = 8,
            LEFT_STICK_PRESS = 9,
            RIGHT_STICK_PRESS = 10;

As far as using an Xbox controller for tank drive, I don't recommend it. The fact that the thumbsticks are at different elevations vertically means it's going to be harder to operate it effectively. The Xbox controller also has a 20% deadzone in the center of the thumbsticks where you cannot accurately determine the position of the stick. This means that if you do not account for this, it will drift even when you're not touching it, and if you do, you will not be able to make movements of less than 20% power.

I would recommend the Logitech F310 instead, as both thumbsticks are at the same elevation, and the sticks themselves are more accurate (much less deadzone).

[nightpool]

No, the labview code works in the same way. One joystick, with 6 axis and 10-ish buttons. Maybe he was thinking in the was the triggers work? (They're an axis, with the left trigger -1 and the right trigger +1. Both triggers are 0).

[ekapalka]

Does anyone happen to know the button mapping for the Logitech Gamepad F310 and/or Logitech Attack3 joystick? Is the gamepad mapping the same as the xBox controller? We'll be using the Attack3 joysticks until we order some sort of gamepad, probably the Logitech F310 gamepad, based on F22Rapture's testimony. Thanks!

[nightpool]

Windows has a tool that shows you the state of any joystick you have plugged in (ie, what axis are where, what buttons are pressed). You can find it under control panel > Devices. Look for "Set up Game controllers", then press advanced on whichever connected game controller you want to inspect.

[F22Rapture]

Originally Posted by ekapalka

Does anyone happen to know the button mapping for the Logitech Gamepad F310 and/or Logitech Attack3 joystick? Is the gamepad mapping the same as the xBox controller? We'll be using the Attack3 joysticks until we order some sort of gamepad, probably the Logitech F310 gamepad, based on F22Rapture's testimony. Thanks!

Not sure on the F310 (see nightpool's post), but the Attack3 is something like this:

   //Axis Indexes
    public static final int
            X_AXIS = 1,
            Y_AXIS = 2,
            THROTTLE = 3;
    
    //Buttons
    public static final int
            //Buttons on joystick
            TRIGGER = 1,
            //POV buttons on head of stick
            BUTTON_SOUTH = 2,
            BUTTON_NORTH = 3,
            BUTTON_WEST = 4,
            BUTTON_EAST = 5,
            //Pair of buttons left of stick
            BUTTON_BASE_WNW = 6,
            BUTTON_BASE_WSW = 7,
            //Pair of buttons below stick
            BUTTON_BASE_SSW = 8,
            BUTTON_BASE_SSE = 9,
            //Pair of buttons right of stick
            BUTTON_BASE_ESE = 10,
            BUTTON_BASE_ENE = 11;

I don't have one on me, so I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm.

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by F22Rapture

I don't have one on me, so I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm.

The Attack3's buttons are numbered on the controller and they do correspond correctly in software.