New Speed Controller Announced

[ajlapp]

I'll try to get some tomorrow.

It is slightly larger than the victor. The demo unit they used at Nationals had an NI protype of the device.

Compared to the cRIO the jaguar is only slightly different. They mentioned many times during their presentation that the new larger size was part of the game challenge.

Also interesting, everything here is Solidworks. they've given many impressive demos of labview directly interacting with Solidworks models. I'm not sure how this will play out in the future, since Autodesk is such a major FIRST supplier.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Working from the picture on the flyer, (and by no means a scientific measurement) I get 3.6 x 2.4 inches. The Victor is 2.7 x 2.2 inches for comparison.

[ajlapp]

I scored a few comparison pics of the Jaguar next to a Victor....I uploaded them. I'll link them over as soon as they're approved.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by ajlapp

They mentioned many times during their presentation that the new larger size was part of the game challenge.

Was anyone dressed up in a purple suit saying, "It's all part of the plaaaaaaaaan", followed by some derisive cackling?

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Working from the picture on the flyer, (and by no means a scientific measurement) I get 3.6 x 2.4 inches. The Victor is 2.7 x 2.2 inches for comparison.

"Yes, I'd like to Super Size my speed controller combo and add a jumbo distribution block, please."

"You want fries with that?"

[Greg Needel]

Pictures are up.....OMG that thing is HUGE




HUUUUUUGGGGEEEE Rochester HUUUUUGGGGE (anyone from upstate NY will get that reference)

[Lowfategg]

If you flip them on there sides and then stack them horizontally, it might not be that bad.

They do sort of dwarf the victors.

[Dave Flowerday]

Why is it that every single piece of the new control system seems to be twice the size (or more) of the old stuff? IFI's stuff was more-or-less 10 years old - you'd think that the advance in technology would make things smaller, or at least the same size considering there's more powerful stuff inside.

How much functionality are teams going to have to sacrifice to make room for all the extra space needed by the new stuff? I know several of the robots we have made in the past would simply not be possible now (2001 for example).

Another thought: with the increase in functionality offered in the new controllers I hope they're getting a very serious and thorough testing. Adding that much complexity and software to something that's as safety-critical as a speed controller definitely increases the risks of bugs. Having a bug in something that's supposed to turn OFF the motor when the robot is disabled would be scary... I think a lot of people have taken for granted that with IFI, when you disable the robot with a disable switch it is OFF. Personally, I'm not going near a robot w/ the new control system unless it is physically powered-off until I gain enough confidence that it works the way it's supposed to. As a software guy I know all too well that trusting software for my safety can be a dicey proposition.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

Pictures are up.....OMG that thing is HUGE

Yeah, its almost Pizzone sized

So are PWM's optional now? LAN cables wouldn't fall out as much. Thats a major plus IMO.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Hachiban VIII

Yeah, its almost Pizzone sized

So are PWM's optional now? LAN cables wouldn't fall out as much. Thats a major plus IMO.

LAN cables weigh a lot more and take up more space (I sense....a theme).

Plus you'd still have the problem of coiling the extra cabling if you didn't have a DIY RJ45 kit.

Dab o' hot glue for the win.

[Richard McClellan]

Originally Posted by Hachiban VIII

Yeah, its almost Pizzone sized

So are PWM's optional now? LAN cables wouldn't fall out as much. Thats a major plus IMO.

For 2009, you have to use the PWM ports. The can bus (with the RJ-45 connectors) will not be available until "future years" which probably means 2010 because the CAN module that they have for the cRIO won't be in the kit for 2009.

[tdlrali]

Wow, judging by the pics, that thing is bigger yet than I imagined. Besides, what's with the round edges? We're not going for looks here, and square things just stack much better.

[lynca]

Here is the video from the Demo NItro robot at NI week 2008 and jaguar components on the MentorSearch Channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mentorsearch

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by lynca

Here is the video from the Demo NItro robot at NI week 2008 and jaguar components on the MentorSearch Channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mentorsearch

I didn't realize the Victor supported SPI. WoW!

... cool video anyway. Thanks.

NI is spending a lot of money promoting the Jaguar if it's not definite it will be included in the KOP

[lynca]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

NI is spending a lot of money promoting the Jaguar if it's not definite it will be included in the KOP

If you dig around the MentorSearch Channel you can find a few more interesting videos about the Jaguar and VXworks

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by lynca

If you dig around the MentorSearch Channel you can find a few more interesting videos about the Jaguar and VXworks

This is a great video. Things I noticed:

• It would be nice if the Brake/Coast feature was a switch and not a jumper. (People lose jumpers)
• CAN looks very powerful. I love how you can daisy chain Jaguars together. This will keep wiring simple.
• The Jaguars run on 12V (from the literature). Can you assume they know the robots electrical system will be 12V in 2009 with some sort of 24V transformer for the cRio?