FRC Blog - Guest Blog from National Instruments

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http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...al-instruments

Today’s blog post is from a special guest who worked on the design and development of the roboRIO controller, NI Chief Architect and Software engineer, Greg McKaskle.

Hi teams:

roboRIO, the new reconfigurable I/O (RIO) controller designed and built specifically for student robotics teams is here! It's faster, smaller, and more powerful than the previous CompactRIO controller, and best of all, it is in your FRC Kit of Parts, ready to control your awesome 2015 robot. Here are a few factoids about the project that I thought I’d share:

The “Athena Project,” started during the 2013 offseason. Early software was developed on the NIcRIO– 9068.

Six teams go Alpha, getting robot brain transplants, and showing what worked and what didn’t in Manchester. At NIWeek 2013, we delivered the official announcement, and the name, roboRIO.

The hardware was given its makeover. Almost 100 teams took part in the beta, beating it into shape for the 2015 season.

So, what is it like? How does it compare to previous controllers? The system still has its RIO roots - very familiar and highly compatible with knowledge from the compactRIO era. However, everything is simpler to use — DHCP, mDNS, USB, no required reboots, fewer power connections, fewer wires to trace, fewer blinking LEDs that may be trying to tell you something, and more. Don’t let the ease of use and simplicity of the roboRIO distract you from how powerful it is, though! Linux, dual cores, an expansion port, and a big FPGA work harmoniously to yield an awesome robot platform, giving FIRST a larger design space for their challenges and allowing teams to demonstrate even more impressive solutions.

We can’t wait to see the amazing and creative ways FRC teams use roboRIO this year. Have fun and good luck!

Support, information and roboRIO training can be found on the NI website here: ni.com/frc.