LEDs on our FRC Competiton robot

[Bluejackets]

Okay, so this is a two part question, so we were wondering if first, can we put LED's onto our FRC competition robot for aesthetic looks, is this legal or is it not allowed? Then the second question is if we could use it, is there a guide for wiring up the LED strips. The LED strip is from Andy Mark and I believe the serial number is am-2916, Full name is RGB LED Light Strip 2.5m Roll. Then we also have an Arduino from Andy Mark which the serial number is am-2287 and the full name on the bag is Arduino Compatible Ethernet Microcontroller (No PoE). If you can help us out, that would much appreciated.

[VeqIR]

Yes, decorative LEDs are allowed on competition robots (we had them last year and plan to this year).

I can't seem to find those parts on the Andy Mark website, but IIRC, I saw these last year and they're using the WS281x RGB LEDs which are the same as used in the Adafruit NeoPixel strips.

You can see my, and other, replies in this thread for more info.

Please ask any more questions if you have them!

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...hreadid=132355

[Team118Joseph]

We use LPD-8806 LEDs on our robots. They are SPI controlled and can be controlled by most auxilary computers (Ex. Arduino, Beaglebone Black, Raspberry Pi). They can be found here http://www.adafruit.com/products/306. A tutorial on controlling them with an Arduino can be found here https://learn.adafruit.com/digital-led-strip

[nHoude]

Yes LED lights are allowed on robots.

If you are planning on using the lights just for decoration, (Our team likes to have under-glow on our robot ) the 2015 PCM would be very good at providing a simple on/off power source for the LEDs. {NOTE: this does not work with multicolor LED strips}

However, I do suggest using multicolor LED strips to not only having the LEDs to look very badass, but also to provide feedback to your drivers. (in aerial assist we used the different color LEDs to display shot angle, and flash red if we are about to brown out) The Arduino works very well with controlling this, and this is what we used on our robot. (other controllers are available, but I do not have much experience with them) If you have a spare moment and the programming capability I recommend this highly.

[weaversam8]

If your LEDs are 12 Volts, I would recommend powering them off of the new voltage control module. It has a place for 12V 500mA, which was plenty to power our LED light ring for our camera. Also, could you link where you are getting the LEDs? Our team is investigating underglow.

P.S. Whatever you do, make sure that any decorations on your robot cannot be seen as a vision target by other robots, or designed to distract other drivers. Those things are against the rules.

[nHoude]

Originally Posted by weaversam8

If your LEDs are 12 Volts, I would recommend powering them off of the new voltage control module. It has a place for 12V 500mA, which was plenty to power our LED light ring for our camera. Also, could you link where you are getting the LEDs? Our team is investigating underglow.

P.S. Whatever you do, make sure that any decorations on your robot cannot be seen as a vision target by other robots, or designed to distract other drivers. Those things are against the rules.

Just a few things to clarify then.
1. It is a Voltage REGULATOR Module (VRM) ;P

2. Although the VRM uses a 12V port, the PCM also has 12V or 24V solenoid outputs. Normally, yes you would use the VCM, but I personally like the ability to control the LEDs through the PCM. The VRM has a constant output, but the output on the PCM is controllable. With some code, you can have LEDs that can turn on/off. The LEDs would be plugged into the solenoid ports, and you would be able to toggle the LEDs with modified solenoid code.
Obviously with the camera LED ring, use the VRM. If you wanted a LED underglow that could be turned off and on use the PCM.
{PLEASE NOTE: This is not necessary. If you want the LEDs on all the time, you should use the VRM. If you are worried about breaking the LEDs use the VRM. If you are not sure, use the VRM. I only brought this up as a simple workaround if you wanted some simple control of the LEDs, especially in the preseason.}

3. I think you misunderstood me when i mentioned giving feedback to the drivers. We do not have this massive spotlight LED ring that blinds or distracts anyone. We were simply able to change the color of the LEDs in our pickup to match the angle the shooter was at. It was no further a distraction than just normal LEDs, and allowed our drivers to quickly realize if they had pressed the wrong button and were at the wrong angle, as well as basically having the robot give the OK that it had stopped moving and we could fire the shot.

4. As for what LEDs we used, I do not remember specifics. What I can tell you is that there are many many options out there. Every team is different, and one team's plans may not work with other teams. My advice to you is to make sure you know the length, brightness, color (or color changing), and go through to find one with good reviews for a reasonable price.

[weaversam8]

Originally Posted by nHoude

1. It is a Voltage REGULATOR Module (VRM) ;P

Oops, my bad.

Originally Posted by nHoude

2. Although the VRM uses a 12V port, the PCM also has 12V or 24V solenoid outputs. Normally, yes you would use the VCM, but I personally like the ability to control the LEDs through the PCM. The VRM has a constant output, but the output on the PCM is controllable. With some code, you can have LEDs that can turn on/off. The LEDs would be plugged into the solenoid ports, and you would be able to toggle the LEDs with modified solenoid code.
Obviously with the camera LED ring, use the VRM. If you wanted a LED underglow that could be turned off and on use the PCM.
{PLEASE NOTE: This is not necessary. If you want the LEDs on all the time, you should use the VRM. If you are worried about breaking the LEDs use the VRM. If you are not sure, use the VRM. I only brought this up as a simple workaround if you wanted some simple control of the LEDs, especially in the preseason.}

Yes, I agree with you. The PCM can toggle, I was just sharing what our team did for our LED ring.

Originally Posted by nHoude

3. I think you misunderstood me when i mentioned giving feedback to the drivers. We do not have this massive spotlight LED ring that blinds or distracts anyone. We were simply able to change the color of the LEDs in our pickup to match the angle the shooter was at. It was no further a distraction than just normal LEDs, and allowed our drivers to quickly realize if they had pressed the wrong button and were at the wrong angle, as well as basically having the robot give the OK that it had stopped moving and we could fire the shot.

Oh no, I didn't think that your team did anything to distract the drivers, I understood what you were saying the whole time (a great idea BTW, I ordered 2 meters of addressable LED strands for that purpose,) I was merely stating that to remind anyone who might be reading this thread.

Originally Posted by nHoude

4. As for what LEDs we used, I do not remember specifics. What I can tell you is that there are many many options out there. Every team is different, and one team's plans may not work with other teams. My advice to you is to make sure you know the length, brightness, color (or color changing), and go through to find one with good reviews for a reasonable price.

Cool, thanks. I just ordered some that I was happy with.

[nHoude]

Originally Posted by weaversam8

Cool, thanks. I just ordered some that I was happy with.

Great! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!