C-Rio as on board computer?

[safiq10]

Now for the upcoming year every team will be getting a new RIO (Yaaa ) and that means every veteran team will a C-Rio left over. So could you use the C-Rio as your new onboard computer? (I have no knowledge on C-Rio or programming so that is why I asked on the CD)

[evanperryg]

Originally Posted by safiq10

Now for the upcoming year every team will be getting a new RIO (Yaaa ) and that means every veteran team will a C-Rio left over. So could you use the C-Rio as your new onboard computer? (I have no knowledge on C-Rio or programming so that is why I asked on the CD)

It's doable, but you'd be better off using a raspberry pi or something similar. Smaller, easier to program, and more flexible power options.

[brennonbrimhall]

Originally Posted by safiq10

Now for the upcoming year every team will be getting a new RIO (Yaaa ) and that means every veteran team will a C-Rio left over. So could you use the C-Rio as your new onboard computer? (I have no knowledge on C-Rio or programming so that is why I asked on the CD)

The legality of that depends on the wording of the R57 equivalent next year's rules.

However, I don't predict that that will be common in 2015 -- the cRIO's processor is only clocked at 400 MHz (for cRIO-FRC II). For comparison, a Raspberry Pi ($35) runs at 700 MHz without overclocking it. I don't know what you'd be using it for, but common FRC applications for on board computers (like vision) would benefit from something that has a higher CPU speed or USB capability (something that the cRIO also doesn't have).

[protoserge]

The RoboRIO with the Zynq 7020 (ARM A9 and FPGA) is a little (quite a bit) more powerful than what the previous cRIO. I'm not sure a co-processor will even be required at this point. We'll see!

Also, you can likely remove the cRIO backplane from the housing if you desired to use it as a co-processor. It would just need a GDC approval. Keep in mind, the weight penalty of the cRIO is huge.

[evanperryg]

Originally Posted by stinglikeabee

The RoboRIO with the Zynq 7020 (ARM A9 and FPGA) is a little (quite a bit) more powerful than what the previous cRIO. I'm not sure a co-processor will even be required at this point. We'll see!

It would certainly be nice to have camera processing on-board. It would make basically everything relating to vision tracking way easier. Hopefully, the FMS bandwidth will be improved too, so sending decent quality camera data back to the drivers station will be feasible.

[faust1706]

It is perfectly legal to have an sbc, like a pi or odroid. We plugged multiple cameras into our odroid and processed all our images on the robot. In 2012, we build a small, 5 pound computer and had it on our robot.

[evanperryg]

Originally Posted by faust1706

It is perfectly legal to have an sbc, like a pi or odroid. We plugged multiple cameras into our odroid and processed all our images on the robot. In 2012, we build a small, 5 pound computer and had it on our robot.

Sounds pretty cool. Hopefully, the rRio will be able to process camera feeds more effectively than the cRio. It'd be nice to eliminate the need for an outside computer to do good image processing.

[headlight]

Would there be advantages to writing custom FPGA code for the old C-Rio and using that as a secondary computer? As I understand it, an FPGA is very good at parallel execution and operates much more like a re configurable integrated circuit. If you can move your image processing and other autonomous functions into the FPGA it might be able deliver some good performance. I've only written simple FPGA functions for the C-Rio before and don't a very good handle on the actual capabilities of an FPGA.

As for the weight penalty it seems like many teams are coming in routinely underweight. It seems to be less of an issue than in previous years.

[magnets]

Originally Posted by headlight

I've only written simple FPGA functions for the C-Rio before and don't a very good handle on the actual capabilities of an FPGA.

Used in the application of FRC? How? With VHDL? LabVIEW?

The answer to your question is yes, but programming an FPGA is not an easy task. Even if you knew VHDL really well, how would you go about programming the cRIO? Getting the development environment together without having a LabVIEW license to program a FPGA is easier said than done. That's not to say it can't be done though. There were teams interested in doing this sort of stuff before, but couldn't due to rules. It would be really cool too.

[headlight]

Originally Posted by magnets

Used in the application of FRC? How? With VHDL? LabVIEW?

I did it in Labview and not for FRC. I'm just hoping NI is generous with software sponsorship.

[BitTwiddler]

I plan to use our c-Rio as a training aid on a tabletop robot. I think just about anything that will run on the RoboRio will run on the c-Rio with maybe a tweak here and there. It could be used to develop prototypes while the RoboRIO has been integrated into the production robot.

[Greg McKaskle]

If a team has a great idea that needs the use of the FPGA, please write up a grant and contact someone in academic marketing or myself. Please, no dangerous stuff.

Greg McKaskle