We at Redux Robotics are proud to announce our first product: the Helium Canandmag. An idea born last year, we’ve spent the last several months making prototypes and field-testing these on FRC robots, and we’re finally ready to release them to teams.
Who We Are
Redux Robotics started when a group of FRC and FTC alumni decided to combine our shared experience and start a company to make performant and open products at affordable costs to teams. The idea grew into Redux Robotics, and the Canandmag, something that could plug into existing motor controllers, operate on the CAN bus, and simplify the API to the minimum without sacrificing performance for top-end teams. We’re proud to say that we’ve designed our products from the top down, starting with the requirements for low-resource and high-resource and designing something with no compromises. We leveraged our combined experiences as both students and mentors of the program to create something we feel best addresses many of the existing issues in the space.
Helium Canandmag
The Helium Canandmag is a CAN-enabled 14-bit encoder with a zeroing button and flexible data port. It interfaces natively with the Spark MAX and Talon SRX using a pulse width output, without fussy adapter boards or cables. If you don’t want to use the data port, it can be easily clipped off to decrease the height and footprint. Wide solder pads make soldering wires a breeze, and the zeroing button allows teams to zero an arm or swerve module without opening any software tools or setting offsets in code. It is directly compatible with many existing and popular products, including COTS swerve modules such as the SDS MK4/MK4i and WCP SwerveX, and we also have a throughbore upgrade package to make it easier to use the encoder on anything with a hex shaft.
The ReduxLib API is designed to be simple to use with simple and easy to understand methods, complete documentation, yet enough flexibility that one can rewrite the classes from the CAN message layer up if desired. We are committed to in-season API stability from the CAN spec all the way up to the Java/C++ classes.
The Canandmag will be available within the next two weeks at https://shop.reduxrobotics.com. Information about stock, availability, expected restock, and more will be posted to HTML Meta Tag the moment we get updates. In the meantime, check out https://reduxrobotics.com for quick links to our API Docs and https://docs.reduxrobotics.com for documentation on our product! For the programmers out there, we have detailed descriptions of the CAN packets as well as a link to a DBC file here
In addition to the encoder, we are opening up beta test applications for another upcoming product: The Boron CANandgyro, a high performance CAN connected 6-axis IMU. Interested parties can email [email protected] to be placed on the list.
Roadmap
We have a number of features planned for the Canandmag to be implemented over the coming months, including:
- Synchronized readings across devices
- Microsecond timestamps generated at precisely the same time a measurement is taken, avoiding latency-prone CAN timestamps
- Automatic latency compensation
- Advanced velocity filtering
- And much more
We are always open to suggestions, feedback, comments, ideas, criticisms. Feel free to drop a message on the website, email us at [email protected], or reply to this thread, and we will do our best to get back to you. Have a great offseason!