Field Control System

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Nibbles

what do you all want?

Doesn't matter how it does it, I think we all want a field control system that works the first time, every time, and has no breakdowns, no updates, and no cases of Murphy.

Now, whether we get that is something we'll have to find out in March, unless they test it at some offseasons.

[cooker52]

Something fast, easy to use, CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP, and something you can wire literally anything you want into.

I also want it small (I like small )

For the most part, I don't really mind if it uses Wifi or is RC, just as long as it can be wirelessly programmed (so I don't have to play the programming cable game again ).

Oh, and if they would give us lighter electrical supplies, that would be great.

Besides that, nothing much

[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by EricH

Doesn't matter how it does it, I think we all want a field control system that works the first time, every time, and has no breakdowns, no updates, and no cases of Murphy.

Now, whether we get that is something we'll have to find out in March, unless they test it at some offseasons.

Ethernet is cheap, so are 10Mbps hubs (switches or anything >=100Mbps will cost you). WiFi should have dropped price, but the industry says customers don't care about price, they want speed! (actually it has a little). CAT5 cable for 10Mbps connections are cheap too (not to be confused with CAT6).

I think the best way to ensure that it doesn't break down is to use the same control system protocol that teams will. The biggest problem I see is the robot not finding the field or controller, as long as a team can verify they have found each other, that should solve most all of the field problems, so long as the field doesn't change modes (e.g. Team controllers discover the robot with one way, the field discovers it a second way).

Even better, make the entire control system free software (free as in freedom) so teams can ensure their robots work with the system, or hold pre-ship or off season competitions. Worst case, we have to passively sniff the field communications during the match and reverse engineer a control system.

[thefro526]

I'd like to see something that's simple to use and easy to replicate for experimental purposes. I think if the field controller is kept simple initially and then modified over time we'll have as few field failures as possible.

[Jon Jack]

Originally Posted by EricH

Doesn't matter how it does it, I think we all want a field control system that works the first time, every time, and has no breakdowns, no updates, and no cases of Murphy.

Now, whether we get that is something we'll have to find out in March, unless they test it at some offseasons.

Eric is right. Seems like every FIRST event I've been to has had some kind of field control problem. Field controller problems delay events.

[Nibbles]

One thing I remembered is how will the robot know which alliance it is on? More important to me is, how will the audience know? The flags really, really, badly bug me (not to mention fly 30 ft every so often when bent just the right way). Something I was thinking of was a two color, cold cathode tube almost identical to those used in the green field lights. These are already sold in switchable blue/UV varieties, with two lights inside a single plastic one. You would hook up a diode, so you just need to use a spike controller or something similar to flip the current and change the active light from red to blue. As an aside, if don't cut or extend the wires off of the cold cathode lights, the wires are insulated, and modifying them will result in cross talk (it must not be plain old DC current that comes out of the transformer) that kills the light.