Interactive DashBoard

[EHaskins]

I've successfully used Kevin's Serial, Camera, and ADC code on the Vex platform.

Since the processors used in the pre-2006 FRC RC is the same as the Vex controller, following Kevin's instructions to run his code on the old or EDU controllers will work for Vex. The only difference is that you need to use the Vex library, which is in the vex "starter code" available here.

EDIT: The instructions I refer to are in the readmes for each of Kevin's projects.

[6600gt]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

I've successfully used Kevin's Serial, Camera, and ADC code on the Vex platform.

Since the processors used in the pre-2006 FRC RC is the same as the Vex controller, following Kevin's instructions to run his code on the old or EDU controllers will work for Vex. The only difference is that you need to use the Vex library, which is in the vex "starter code" available here.

EDIT: The instructions I refer to are in the readmes for each of Kevin's projects.

You used MPLAB and C18 for this, right? I don't know much about Vex but what do most people use to program their VEX system, MPLAB or Easy C?

If you have gotten the serial port code to work, then all you have to do is include the DashBoard.c/h and setup the user_routines.c similar to the sample code(or follow the DashBoard_readme.doc instructions)...maybe get rid of the camera stuff...Does anyone use the camera with the VEX?

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by 6600gt

You used MPLAB and C18 for this, right? I don't know much about Vex but what do most people use to program their VEX system, MPLAB or Easy C?

If you have gotten the serial port code to work, then all you have to do is include the DashBoard.c/h and setup the user_routines.c similar to the sample code(or follow the DashBoard_readme.doc instructions)...maybe get rid of the camera stuff...Does anyone use the camera with the VEX?

I use c18 for Vex, the IDE I use changes frequently, but it's normally MPLab. From what I've seen most people are using EasyC for Vex, but like I said the processor is almost the same as the FRC RC, so most tools are compatible with both.

I've used the camera without any issues, there are porting instructions for that code as well.

[6600gt]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

I use c18 for Vex, the IDE I use changes frequently, but it's normally MPLab. From what I've seen most people are using EasyC for Vex, but like I said the processor is almost the same as the FRC RC, so most tools are compatible with both.

I've used the camera without any issues, there are porting instructions for that code as well.

I would gladly help anyone port over the code to VEX. Still, has anyone gotten a chance to test it?

To continue progress, which one should I continue working on right now:

• Joystick (Allows you to simulate all of the OI inputs from the PC)
• DataView data Logging into text file
• Text file based PWM name memory

[6600gt]

Thanks everyone for your support and enthusiasm.

Maybe it's because of the off season or summer, but not too many people seem interested. Is there something missing, or is it too hard to implement?

If someone can give me some pointers or ideas, I would be very thankful.

Thanks in advance.

Lohit

[Tottanka]

i believe it's the off season.
We ar currently working on the mechanical issues on our bot, but we will soon need the programming. I'll be sure to show our lead programmer your software, it looks great.
I can also promise to give you feedback once i have it. It will take a week or 2 though =]

[lndnny]

This program looks great!

Too bad team 808 is out of first for good... but we aren't giving up.
We are doing a program called the national robotics challenge and entering a robot for a grand total of 30 some dollars. With none of the limitations of FIRST, we are actually going to try to send sensor output to a laptop and do all the long calculations there, but we're having problems doing this. Would you mind answering a few questions?

Was this program created in Visual Basic using the .net framework?

If it was, can you provide some source code or provide an example on how to read data into the visual basic program? - every time I try to read input from the serial port in my test program from the RC, I get question marks.

I'm using Kevin's serial port code to send data to the computer. Our team membership currently numbers four and we are all trying to learn as much as we can.

Thanks for your time.
Dan - former team 808

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by lndnny

This program looks great!

Too bad team 808 is out of first for good... but we aren't giving up.
We are doing a program called the national robotics challenge and entering a robot for a grand total of 30 some dollars. With none of the limitations of FIRST, we are actually going to try to send sensor output to a laptop and do all the long calculations there, but we're having problems doing this. Would you mind answering a few questions?

Was this program created in Visual Basic using the .net framework?

If it was, can you provide some source code or provide an example on how to read data into the visual basic program? - every time I try to read input from the serial port in my test program from the RC, I get question marks.

I'm using Kevin's serial port code to send data to the computer. Our team membership currently numbers four and we are all trying to learn as much as we can.

Thanks for your time.
Dan - former team 808

This program is written on .net, I believe its managed C++, but I'm not sure.

If you want to see how to use .net serial comm to communicate with the RC have a look at seanwitte's dashboard viewer. Its written in C#, but the implementation is very similar.

If you want help with .net serial comm, or .net in general feel free to PM me.

[6600gt]

Originally Posted by lndnny

This program looks great!

Too bad team 808 is out of first for good... but we aren't giving up.
We are doing a program called the national robotics challenge and entering a robot for a grand total of 30 some dollars. With none of the limitations of FIRST, we are actually going to try to send sensor output to a laptop and do all the long calculations there, but we're having problems doing this. Would you mind answering a few questions?

Was this program created in Visual Basic using the .net framework?

If it was, can you provide some source code or provide an example on how to read data into the visual basic program? - every time I try to read input from the serial port in my test program from the RC, I get question marks.

I'm using Kevin's serial port code to send data to the computer. Our team membership currently numbers four and we are all trying to learn as much as we can.

Thanks for your time.
Dan - former team 808

It's written in C++. I don't really know C++ so the code is quite crude. If you want it, I will release the code to you. The serial port part is easy but I have no idea of Visual Basic syntax...

Make sure your baud rate on the program matches the RC's, which is 115200.

Trying to set up a communication protocol between the RC and the computer was probably one of the most time consuming parts of the whole project. I actually used a software called Free Serial Port Monitor to see every byte that entered and left the serial port. This helps you see the difference between what you believe it is sending and what it is actually sending. The software has some major bugs: feeding it too much data crashes it(ex. reading the bytes while flashing the RC will crash it). It was not that hard to freeze it but it was a valuable asset to my project. If it does start freezing go into Task Manager->Processes->Select Device Monitor->End Process. Don't try to do it by closing or ending task because it just hangs for a while. You might be able to find some better software but this was the only FREE one that I could find.

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/P...t_Monitor.html
Go to the bottom.

Just because you are getting a question mark doesn't mean you are not getting garbage data. ? = 63 in decimal...try reading byte instead of char from the serial port.

Could you elaborate a little bit more on your goal or setup?

Lohit

[lndnny]

Wow. Thanks for the quick replies.

EHaskins - thank you for showing me that white paper. I thought I had done a thorough search on serial ports in the white papers section, but it never occurred to me to search for another dashboard viewer.

6600gt - thank you for the program. It seems like it would help me a lot. It would be great to see what was truly being sent. To elaborate on what I'm doing: our robot is going to be a heavyweight sumo robot - 150 lbs fully autonomous. We hope to take all our sensor readings - both digital and analog - and send them to a laptop through a wireless serial transmitter. The laptop should then read the information and perform heavy math to find where the robot and the opponent are on the field. The laptop will then send pwm outputs back to the robot (within one program loop - would that be possible?). Thanks for the suggestion - I'm going to try reading bytes whenever I get the chance to.

Once again, thanks - these tips are great
Dan - 808

[6600gt]

Originally Posted by lndnny

The laptop should then read the information and perform heavy math to find where the robot and the opponent are on the field. The laptop will then send pwm outputs back to the robot (within one program loop - would that be possible?).
Dan - 808

It is possible if you can get the RC to transmit and the PC to process and transmit back all in 26.2ms! It is probably possible but the whole system will probably lag behind 1 or 2 program loops. Since you send the sensor values in the current loop and receive processed data in the next one.

[lndnny]

It works!!! - thanks for the monitoring program. Seeing what I was really sending helped a lot.

One to two loops behind isn't bad based on how slow the opponents are. I was surprised, there were only one or two robots there that moved over 1 fps.

Well - Thanks for the great help and sorry for hijacking your thread for a little bit
Dan - 808

[caffel]

Dataview
Joystick
Text.

Pls keep up the chat & work on VEX dashboard.
VEX students need this even more than the FRC students (they are younger).

Thanks,
Charlie Affel, mentor

[6600gt]

Originally Posted by caffel

Dataview
Joystick
Text.

Pls keep up the chat & work on VEX dashboard.
VEX students need this even more than the FRC students (they are younger).

Thanks,
Charlie Affel, mentor

I will try my best.

What do you mean by Text and what would you like change/add in DataView?

Most VEX teams use labview right? Can anyone provide me with the source code for the VEX system?

[caffel]

Pls recognize that we do appreciate the dashboard(s).
I was responding to the question of what to prioritize for next developments.
I'm not sure what was meant by text, I just value the others more.
For our purposes, we need to examine a time series of sensor and other values.
We don't have Labview and we need a dashboard.
To teach, we need to measure and view everything about the robot's internals.
Some people can't understand w/o that. Almost everyone is a better debugger with more information about what the robot was sensing (and doing) when a failure occurred.

CA