4 motor Mecanum wheel code request

[inventor1254]

First thanks for the quick replies!

I have to say I'm not too sure what strafing is (googled it a little) I'm guessing thats when you use the rollers on the wheels to make the robot go sideways. I don't know too much about driving systems or their different advantages, (mostly math and lower level languages) but thats a different topic.

I would first ask for just the basic tank drive, just because we lost ours from last year, only with 2 motors per side. (I know LabView has a basic vi of the tank drive, but like I said most of my experience is with things like C++, too me Labview is just confusing.)

With the tank drive (y axis on 2 joysticks) leaves the x axis unused, I'm assuming that is where you would want to use the strafing [moving perpendicular to the wheels (correct me if I'm wrong on my vocabulary here]) but that leaves open 2 possible movements you can make with the joy sticks (that I can think of) one where both joy sticks go outward from each other, and the other where they point inward/toward each other. I'm not too sure what that would do or how those "gestures" could be utilized.


What I'd like is some thing that can utilize as much as possible, but still be simple to use. and thats where I have trouble with LabView is that seems like a lot of if statements, and I never quit get how those work.

So could we get a few basic examples, one with basic tank drive for 4 wheels, and one with the strafing. Plus maybe the strafing on one and tank on the other, but really this isn't my area of expertise. I'm only able to really talk with my team during the week, and am not sure exactly where they were going with this.

I'd just like to see a couple of different ones that I know work so I can kind of figure out how they work and how to edit them, because at the moment I'm not too sure what would work better.

Again thanks for any and all help, and all help already given! I don't want to ask for too much but I don't know too much about the drive system aspect, and if we were doing this in C++ a few of our teachers and I would probably be the main programmers, so we're kinda in the dark!

[Greg McKaskle]

Originally Posted by inventor1254

First thanks for the quick replies!
...

I would first ask for just the basic tank drive, just because we lost ours from last year, only with 2 motors per side. (I know LabView has a basic vi of the tank drive, but like I said most of my experience is with things like C++, too me Labview is just confusing.)

...

Again thanks for any and all help, and all help already given! I don't want to ask for too much but I don't know too much about the drive system aspect, and if we were doing this in C++ a few of our teachers and I would probably be the main programmers, so we're kinda in the dark!

LabVIEW examples for WPILib are most easily reached from the Getting Started window. You can click on the Examples list and it is near the bottom. It demonstrates how to use the Y axis on two joysticks to control a skid steer driving platform. At least on the update I have, there wasn't a holonomic example.

If you actually want to learn LV, I'd suggest watching a few tutorials, perhaps with the students. NI has quite a few, and there are also good ones on LVMastery.com.

Greg McKaskle

[inventor1254]

sorry, apparently my reply didn't get posted, been too busy to retype it.

Originally Posted by Greg McKaskle

LabVIEW examples for WPILib are most easily reached from the Getting Started window. You can click on the Examples list and it is near the bottom. It demonstrates how to use the Y axis on two joysticks to control a skid steer driving platform. At least on the update I have, there wasn't a holonomic example.

yeah, I know LabView has a lot of examples, including the tank drive, but with my current understanding of LabView I don't understand what I am looking at. I tried editing basic things on them last year with little or no luck, plus with the basic tank drive we have 4 motors, and the example only has 2. That's why I was hoping to get an example on here, so I can ask questions about it, and it would have a better description of what it is, a lot of the examples in LabView are named things that I don't know what are. Plus we need something a little more advanced than basic tank drive.

I haven't looked through every thing yet though, we just recently got LabView on some other computers so we can really learn it (before it was just on the NetBook).

Originally Posted by Greg McKaskle
If you actually want to learn LV, I'd suggest watching a few tutorials, perhaps with the students. NI has quite a few, and there are also good ones on LVMastery.com.

I really need to learn LabView, but I loathe having to do so, I'd rather just use C++, but my team wants LabView because they have a little more experience with it. I'm going to be watching more of the tutorials tomorrow though, one on LVMastery.com looks interesting to me, LabView for C programmers. Thanks for the site!

Most of our programmers can only program during the school day though, as they don't have LabView on their computers, (my self included) so we decided to ask so if we don't manage to learn LabView and program it in time we'll at least have some thing.

Again thanks for any and all help and all help already given!

[j.cole]

here u go if you need deadzones for direction tell me because we already figured out a way to do it http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/at...7&d=1265942765

[Greg McKaskle]

I was pointing out the Getting Started Examples link because as you mention, LV ships with thousands of VIs that cover many devices and used in many industries. If you look at the FRC specific ones, they should all be more applicable.

One thing you may find helpful, open the Help>>Show Context Help. This will give information as you idle over a particular node or wire.

Greg McKaskle