Future use of cRIO?

[RyanN]

Originally Posted by EricH

Billfred is correct, I'm sure.

In regards to price, someone made a similar comment. The result. I'm thinking $3K of programming goodies is pretty good, if it's in the KOP one year and the KOP price isn't changed.

Billfred is correct... I know a few people that have my exact computer. (Hey! Who has a Dimension 2400???) I also forgot to add in the cost it takes to fabricate the whole system, as these are probably not made in China, and are made here in the USA. It also seems that NI and LabView are very well known in the industry. I know of three large corporations that use LabView to control large machines (Dupont is the one that comes to me first), so the quantity NI makes control system's is fairly large, but our particular system will probably be as large as any other particular system NI produces (Just speculation).

I'm also not including the programming software, and I hate to see any teams that purchase LabView on their own, as I just recently saw their prices. OUCH!

As far as Team Fusion goes, I believe we are able to afford a new control system every year, as our finances seem to be increasing steadily every year. I do know that most teams near us will not have the same benefit as us to afford a $3000+ control system every year plus a new KOP, 1 Regional, and the Championship.

Also to touch into the ruggedness of the system... I'm very satisfied to say that I doubt many teams will be able to destroy their system apart from ripping a port out. The cRIO is very heavy, and I was astounded by the weight when I first picked it up in Atlanta. I believe the controller's casing is cast iron with a thick powder coat of paint on the outside. I'm not sure if the metal case is necessary, but it will make it much harder for teams to drill through or jigsaw in half.

If teams find that it cost too much to buy a new cRIO every year, there is another system that all teams are still familiar with that should still be on sale, our old trusty IFI system. I do realize that there are limitations to the IFI system once we move to the NI system, but you can probably have a 90% functioning robot with the IFI system, minus the bandwidth and the camera abilities.