[BB]: Beta Hardware

[Abrakadabra]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Keep in mind this isn't the programming laptop (we don't know if you can write code on it or if it's just a Driver Station), but it's a Driver Station. DSes failed all the time last year, as I fondly remember running around with the "magic stick" at the 10,000 Lakes Regional.

Chris,
How many of those DS failures do you think were due to static discharge? There certainly weren't many other ways that the integrity of the firmware could have been compromised, seeing as how we couldn't really "program" the thing. (Bugs in the firmware due to random keypresses or program commands, etc., however, are another matter, and we can't rule those out altogether either...)

I think you are correct when you conjecture that we probably will not be able to write code on the DS. In fact, I personally would bet that FIRST will follow a software model similar to last year's: Linux as the base OS, with the DS software autostarting on boot. Customization of the UI could possibly be done via an XML file (or equivalent) that is loaded via a flash memory stick, or via a programming API like we had last year for the "second" LCD screen. No command line or windowing GUI would be accessible. In other words, there would be very tight control over what could be done with it.

I worked on a similar "instant on" clamshell device for a well-known smartphone maker that was (unfortunately) never released. It ran Linux as the base OS, and had a preset menu of applications (email, WP, browser, etc.) that came up on waking. The apps all had a GUI, with complete keyboard and mouse control available. Access to a Linux terminal screen for debugging was only available via a "secret" hot key, and even that was disabled for final manufacturing. New apps could be installed only via complete firmware updates, but limited configuration of those apps could be done either via XML or via special UI options built into the base apps themselves.

The point is that the integrity of the DS software needs to be protected at all costs, and that may mean that the 2010 DS will be much closer to an "appliance" than a "laptop". You would still need another computer for programming the robot via WindRiver and/or LabView.

But again, we shall see...