FRC Blog - Windows 10 and Beta Testing

[cgmv123]

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...d-beta-testing

Today's blog comes from Kevin O'Connor, FRC Robotics Engineer.

Windows 10 and FRC 2016

We've been getting a lot of questions lately about whether the FRC 2016 software will be compatible with Windows 10. The short answer is that we will do our best to make sure it is. The long answer is a little more complicated.

LabVIEW 2015, which will be used for FRC 2016, does not officially claim support for Windows 10 at this time. That doesn't mean it won't work, but it does mean that we can't guarantee there won’t be some hiccups. Now that Windows 10 has been released, the Control System Team is testing the FRC 2016 software on Windows 10 and attempting to identify any issues and potential workarounds. So far that testing has been going well. Hopefully our Beta Test teams will be able to help us increase the number and variety of PCs that we are able to include in that testing.

Beta Testing

Speaking of Beta Testing, we are looking for 90 teams, 30 for each software language, to help us test the 2016 FRC software. This year we will be trying something new, inviting a small number of teams to bypass the application process based on past performance in our Alpha and Beta testing. Most of the spots are still up for grabs though, so make sure to fill out the application found here by Monday, September 14th if you're interested. Beta teams will be asked to upgrade their 2015 robots to the 2016 software, perform some specific tests, and help educate other teams about the changes for 2016.

[Ari423]

Simple Machines 423 is not a large enough team to fully beta test any equipment or effectively communicate what we find to nearby teams. We still would like to help out the FIRST community. Does anyone know if it is possible to volunteer a few (no more than 1 or 2) team members to a nearby beta testing team to help them test. We have never been a beta testing team so we don't know all (any) of the rules governing who can work with the equipment to be tested.

[tr6scott]

Originally Posted by Ari423

Does anyone know if it is possible to volunteer a few (no more than 1 or 2) team members to a nearby beta testing team to help them test. We have never been a beta testing team so we don't know all (any) of the rules governing who can work with the equipment to be tested.

This is possible, last year TORC was a beta tester for C++ after being a Labview team since inception, we planned on switching to C++ and offered FIRST feedback from a rookie perspective on the C++ language. As it turned out, with the launch of the roborio, and documentation being the last thing completed, we were not able to get through the rookie hurdles and roborio launch. Mike Rehberg from Midland team 2619 which was a C++ helped us out and we were able to work with FIRST to get them access to the beta documents and testing routines.

We are still a Labview team..

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Ari423

Simple Machines 423 is not a large enough team to fully beta test any equipment or effectively communicate what we find to nearby teams. We still would like to help out the FIRST community. Does anyone know if it is possible to volunteer a few (no more than 1 or 2) team members to a nearby beta testing team to help them test. We have never been a beta testing team so we don't know all (any) of the rules governing who can work with the equipment to be tested.

Bats test teams are supposed to take what they learn out to the community to help all teams grow. To me, that means if someone is interested and wants to come to some meetings to help explore the beta updates, they're more than welcome!

Last year as a Beta team, we had two systems up and running, as we still had the old Alpha system from the year before. We put the second system on a prototype swerve drive robot and spent the fall working on it with another local team. The focus of those meetings wasn't beta testing (they have specific tasks they want you to accomplish in the beta), but everyone from both teams got experience with all the hardware and beta software!

[FrankJ]

The non disclosure agreement NDA is fairly open, (At least the last time I saw it) since one of the goals of the testing is to share results & lessons learned with other teams to give everyone a level playing field. Mainly you are not allowed to share the First supplied software outside your beta group. The bigger trick is finding a close by beta team and develop a working relationship that fit every ones schedule.

[FlamingSpork]

During the 2015 season, my team used Windows 10 Tech Preview for our main driving/programming laptop. We did have a few issues with networking, though.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

The non disclosure agreement NDA is fairly open, (At least the last time I saw it) since one of the goals of the testing is to share results & lessons learned with other teams to give everyone a level playing field.

FIRST actually called it a "disclosure agreement" to emphasize that it wasn't about keeping things secret. The unreleased software and documentation themselves were to be kept away from the non-Beta-testing teams, but they could be freely discussed.

[Jon Stratis]

And just to clarify for anyone who hasn't participated in Beta Testing before... FIRST wants teams to avoid distributing the beta software/documentation only to help ensure non-beta teams don't get confused and use/reference the wrong source. It's much easier for everyone involved if there is only 1 location with documentation and software, as we can all know that we're looking at the most up to date version!