How to Program the encoder?

[Qbot2640]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

The examples do show you how to read the sensor values. What you do with the results is up to you.

So what do you want to do with them? That's the question you need to answer in detail before you can get advice on how to do it. "Set distance" and "monitor travel" are too vague. You need to give much more detail on how your robot is designed, where you plan your sensors to be, and exactly what your goal is.

First - thanks for the responses, Second - please be patient!

We have never used encoders. Our method has always been to run the motors for a specific amount of time to get where we're trying to go. Obviously conditions change and our results can vary.

We want to use the encoders to "measure" a specific distance, so we can program the robot to move "x...feet" and then stop (or do "whatever"). We also want to use the encoder output to compare movement from left and right and correct drift. We largely got lucky last year with our "run the motor for this long" method...but were burned by drift in several matches - having our auto shot miss because the robot turned slightly.

Please understand...I agree that the examples provide information, but I have to believe that there are many users like me who have tried hard to fill in the blanks and just can't figure it out. A simple example of one of these "blanks" is where to put the code given in the examples....begin?....periodic tasks?....The examples are not at all "beginner friendly."

This will be a new thing for us, and I really need to understand how to do it because I feel like I need to sell the idea to others on my team who think our programming is sophisticated enough...I really thing we need to master this if we expect to grow at all.