09' DS PS2 Controller?

[GarrettF2395]

I Just wanted to know if any of the teams that received the new FRC control system, have looked into the possibility of using a Dualshock2 controller (or other kind of control device) instead of the joysticks.

My team was planning on using a controller till they announced the cRIO.
Since we still have not received the new components yet, I was just wondering if anyone else had thought about this.

I know they are giving us new joysticks as well but, we would still like to have a back up plan in case our drivers don't like them.
If anyone has already come up with a way to interface the DS with a controller please let me know.

[Akash Rastogi]

From what Brian on 103 said during his presentation, team's who don't know how to use different controllers' drivers should consider using Logitech's other controllers since the drivers are similar or are basically plug & play.

[EricVanWyk]

The DS theoretically supports any USB device that conforms to the HID Joystick class spec. Many (most?) joysticks and game pads comform. Try them and report back if they work.

As a general rule of thumb, if the joystick/gamepad requires extra drivers to be installed, it won't work (the DS doesn't have those extra drivers). For example, the xBox controllers don't work.

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by lilstogi11

From what Brian on 103 said during his presentation, team's who don't know how to use different controllers' drivers should consider using Logitech's other controllers since the drivers are similar or are basically plug & play.

Yeah there's a controller made by logitech that is completely plug and play with the new system. It's essentially a PS2 controller with different colors and button labels and it's USB but overall it looks pretty good.

[Pat Fairbank]

Originally Posted by thefro526

Yeah there's a controller made by logitech that is completely plug and play with the new system.

To be more specific, that would be the Logitech Dual Action Gamepad. Team 1114 used this during the beta test for arm control, and it worked perfectly. We also wrote and released a C++ class to make it easier to use (see here).

[GarrettF2395]

Thanks, that should help us a lot.
As soon as my team gets the new control system we will be sure to test everything out and see how well it works compared to the joysticks.

[willson.thomas]

There isn't support for the Xbox 360 controller? I would have thought they would at least include that driver since it was a pretty popular choice previously. Maybe in a future update?

ALSO: Does anyone know if the Logitech Chillstream works. I am a little weary due to the lack of Mac support, suggesting it might require special drivers.

[Joe Ross]

There's a listing of the controllers that some of the beta teams tested, on the public beta test forums. http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=10592

As everyone tests other controllers, I hope the information gets shared.

[tonsoffun2325]

you can buy a chiklet that lets you. i have seen these around and we do have one for an xbox controller. but i aint sure if you have to do some programming to get it to work.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

There's a listing of the controllers that some of the beta teams tested, on the public beta test forums. http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=10592

As everyone tests other controllers, I hope the information gets shared.

Joe,
Great info. thanks. Plan to pick some up soon.