A request for change to next years Innovation FIRST control board/system.

[Marc P.]

I'd guess there's only a few ways IFI could make that happen...

One is to interface the flash rom directly with USB, which I don't think is possible (given the configuration of the PICs, and what little I know about how they read and write data).

The other is to put a serial --> USB converter right in the RC, which may work if there's enough room for an extra circuit on the PCB inside. This may be difficult, because it'd require a revamp of the RC circuit board, and IFI would have to license some technology from a company manufacturing the serial to usb encoder chips, which could get expensive.

I think the best option for the interim is to keep using the usb to serial adapters on the market. For the $20, it's definitely the easiest route. Or, if you're feeling thrifty, check on ebay for a cheapo old laptop in the $70-100 range, pentium 1ish, and donate it to the team for dedicated programming/downloading.