Using a different button to e-stop the robot instead of the space key

[Hsifeulbhsifder]

I was wondering if there was anyway of changing the emergency stop key of the driver station to some thing other than the space key. The point of this is to allow driving and programming to be done on the same laptop so we can easily tweak values without having to disable, deploy, and then re-enable. Are there any easy ways of doing this, or would it be better to create our own driver station? Disabling the robot to deploy code is not an option in our case. Thank you.

[notmattlythgoe]

Originally Posted by Hsifeulbhsifder

I was wondering if there was anyway of changing the emergency stop key of the driver station to some thing other than the space key. The point of this is to allow driving and programming to be done on the same laptop so we can easily tweak values without having to disable, deploy, and then re-enable. Are there any easy ways of doing this, or would it be better to create our own driver station? Disabling the robot to deploy code is not an option in our case. Thank you.

The robot must be disabled for the code to deploy. However you can have 2 computers connected to the robot at the same time. One with the driver station and one with the programming environment so coding can be done while the robot is running. Once you get to the deploy step though the robot will disable itself.

[Alan Anderson]

If you are just tweaking values, you might find it faster and more convenient to use Smart Dashboard variables instead of changing the program each time. Once you have found the value you want, then you can put it in the code.

The robot is going to disable itself anyway when you load new code. Why isn't it possible for you to disable it a few moments earlier?

[FrankJ]

I am not sure if the space bar estop's the bot when it is disabled, but the point (I assume) is Estop requires a power cycle to reset. At least it did on the Crios. Which means you can't edit code while the DS is connected to the robot without causing a Estop?

Not quite as annoying, but you have to remember not so use the enter (Disable) key while changing smart dashboard values.

[Hsifeulbhsifder]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

If you are just tweaking values, you might find it faster and more convenient to use Smart Dashboard variables instead of changing the program each time. Once you have found the value you want, then you can put it in the code.

The robot is going to disable itself anyway when you load new code. Why isn't it possible for you to disable it a few moments earlier?

Our current build system does not disable the running of the robot, and can allow changes dynamically coded in. This allows us to change code (not just values, but entire functions) on the fly. However, the space bar emergency stopping causes issues with this. As long as I don't use the space bar or enter, I can change the code dynamically. The driver station intercepting those keys does not allow us to do this.

[Greg McKaskle]

The driver station intentionally does not allow for a different key to be used for estop.

If each team or each computer used a different key, it would be unclear how to stop a runaway FRC robot. Similarly, other keys are not allowed to be remapped either.

The DS will not estop a disabled robot, only an enabled one.

If you are changing code while the robot runs, it is even more important that you have a reliable estop. And it is important that others around the robot know how to stop it -- in case the robot has you pinned against a wall or something.

So it is somewhat inconvenient to have an estop button that is easy to press. Safety mechanisms are almost always at odds with convenience and efficiency, but fingers don't grow back, FIRST doesn't give awards for best robot scars, etc. If you do use an alternate DS, be sure you can trust its estop and make sure it is well known to those operating the robot.

My suggestion is to use a dedicated laptop for the DS and a second, programming laptop, both networked to the robot.

Greg McKaskle

[CptAmerica1776]

It may not be the best solution, but you can copy and paste a space every time you need it.