Binary Driving

[Ryank]

Is it legal to use the remote contorls (the four channels we are allowed) to give the robot a full four digit binary number? (or a three or two digit one) For example I have four horizontal buttons and I pres the first and second button on the remote. I have effectively just told the robot 0011 or "3" in base ten. Is that legal? I realize that you cannot change what a button does during the match (for example you press it once and it raises the arm and then you press it agian and it drives forward) and you can't use two buttons at once.

Also radical theory, we were thinking this would be a one shot thing, that within the rules we could input one bidary number and then we're done, no other input (because we would be changing the function of the button), but, what if we could input multiple binary numbers? We could drive in binary. A four digit binary number covers 16 digits, 0 through 15. With that you could use 0 through 11 to be "clock" directions or increments of 30 degrees? And then per se 12-15 do things like, raise arm, lower arm, high gear, low gear. Technically I didn't see anything wrong with this, technically your only remote function is giving the robot a number, but how it interperets different numbers is the autonomous part.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Ryank

Is it legal to use the remote contorls (the four channels we are allowed) to give the robot a full four digit binary number? (or a three or two digit one) For example I have four horizontal buttons and I pres the first and second button on the remote. I have effectively just told the robot 0011 or "3" in base ten. Is that legal? I realize that you cannot change what a button does during the match (for example you press it once and it raises the arm and then you press it agian and it drives forward) and you can't use two buttons at once.

A thorough reading of Update 3 will reveal that this is not a legal maneuver. See especially paragraphs three and five, quoted below:

The RoboCoach may use up to four different buttons on the TV remote to transmit up to four different messages to the Robot. To transmit “message #1” she would press Button #1, to transmit “message #2” she would press Button #2, etc. Only four buttons are available for use in this manner. All other buttons or combination of buttons should be ignored by the Robot. Pressing multiple buttons simultaneously, or in a sequence, also should not result in a valid message recognized by the Robot.
[snip]
The actions that the Robot takes in response to the messages received should be repeatable and predictable. In practical terms, this means that when the RoboCoach presses Button #3, Action #3 always occurs. Robot responses that are time-dependent or message sequence dependent are not allowed. For example, programming the Robot so that it initiates Action “A” if Button #3 is pushed during the first five seconds of the Hybrid Period, and it initiates Action “B” if button #3 is pushed during the second five seconds of the Hybrid Period, etc. would not be allowed. This time-dependent context for the message interpretation is equivalent
to the ability to send more than four single, unique messages, and is contrary to the intended RoboCoaching concept.

(emphasis mine)
You sent a sequence, not a single command. The intent is that you have four buttons that produce four actions or groups of actions, one per button.

[Ryank]

ahahhahahahahha, I'm so sorry, thanks, I hadn't even seen that there was a 3rd team update yet. I forgot that they don't email them to you so I've only seen updates one and two.