Anyone interested in a Linux-based robot solution?

[gvarndell]

Originally Posted by taichichuan

Yes, maybe a QEMU implementation with a virtual set of hardware. I know that WRS uses QEMU for its training classes. However, I think they're doing ARM rather than PPC. I believe QEMU does support a PPC instruction-set simulator, but I'm not sure about a virtual PPC 5200 that could run the FRC binaries.

Wind River now has Simics.
You should see an end to QEMU usage very soon.
There is no 5200 model yet.
Needless to say, nobody should hold their breath waiting for it, but it doesn't hurt to hope that Wind River will have one, and let FRC teams use it, next year. (dear santa, before build season would be swell)

And, as an example of what you *should* do in real-time control code, WPILib has many examples of how academics and field practice differ.

<biting my tongue, real hard> uh, yeah, you could say that....

So, we come back to the reason I started this thread. The goal is to make the code more accessible by providing a less expensive way to get it into the kid's hands and allow them to play with it, test code, and understand what's going on both during and outside of the build season. I feel that getting a good simulator may be one way to make this happen. But, I also feel that getting the code and interfaces running on a less expensive platform may be another.

Excellent goal.
I think the technical obstacles are negligible compared to 'other' problems though. OTOH, even if FIRST didn't officially approve these cheapo systems for competition, they could indeed be great learning platforms.
You've got me thinking now, I'll be watching where this thread goes.