[DFTF] Operator Interface...

[Joe Johnson]

This is part of a series of posts called Drinking From The Firehose on getting Dr Joe back up to speed on All Things FIRST.



Today's topic:
Operator Interface...

Whoa... ...that jet of water his hitting full in the face now!

I almost titled this "Is FIRST trying to kill rookies with this mess they call a Control System?" cause, boy howdy, the FRC Control System is a lot of things, but Rookie Friendly ain't one of 'em!!!

Let's leave that because I am in a good mode after a great day in The Box*

Here is the thing. I have never had to build an operator interface since the switch to the cRio/Classmate Combo.

I know from the help I gave to Ursa Major #2849 2 years ago (funny video of them balancing a robot using the Kinect as an input here), I am planning to include a FIRST Battery & AC Power Converter to keep the Classmate from having a low power shut down while waiting for a match -- no 120VAC outlets available (this really happened -- ouch). Has FIRST fixed this, do I need to do this any more?

What else should I know?

One thing that surprises me is the pretty open rules: fit on the shelf, run the right code, display diagnostics, interface via the Ethernet, and nothing but approved wireless. Seem like you can drive a truck through those rules.

What do people do with this openness?

I have a strong bias toward using gamepads rather than the joysticks from the kit. Have others used them?

What about this FIRST Touch IO thing. I have tried to look to discover what it does and I am not really getting it. It is a SOIC and we are allowed to modify it's firmware (per rule [R58] section L) or maybe I can't (per the blue box in under [R58]) but what do folks do with it?

I suppose that folks drive lights and read switches and such. But can you do other things as well. It is suppose to work with the driver's station but in what way?

Is this the only way to do IO on the Operator Interface?

Anyway, tell me what I need to know.

Thanks in advance.

Joe J.


*our team's nick name for meeting room in the basement of the school -- our team is called Schrodinger's Cat. Get it?