I posted this yesterday in another sub-forum, but apparently that one doesn’t get much viewership, and I didn’t get a single reply. So, forgive me if this is too much like a bump, but I think I’m not the only one who would like to see this answered:
I’ve been looking for an official document that defines the various patterns that the Robot Signal Light (RSL) displays. A mentor on our team found the following from Team 358 (thanks!):
The RSL blink pattern tells what state the robot is in. The patterns can be changed year-to-year but in 2011 they were:
Fast Blink = cRIO not communicating with Driver Station
Slow Blink = disabled
Short on/long-off Blink = either low battery or no code & disabled
Long on/short off blink = Teleop mode
Solid on = Autonomous mode
Since it can change every year, does anyone know a source for this year’s info? A link, reference to a manual, or simple cut&paste would be appreciated. I’ve done some searches on CD, but didn’t find what I was looking for. Surprising; maybe I didn’t use the right search terms.
Thanks for the link. However, that’s info for the Jaguars, and I am looking for info about the RSL - that big amber light that all robots are required to prominently include per [R57].
If the patterns have never changed, then I would happily use an older table. Hasn’t it been officially documented somewhere?
It was documented in less detail (only lists four states) in 2009 on the NI “FIRST community” forum:
There are four states of this status LED, listed here in order of priority. If multiple occur, the highest one listed is what is displayed.
1. Fast Blink (200ms on / 200ms off) - System error: No driver's station communication, bad cRIO Image, bad team ID, extensive communication errors.
2. Steady on - Everything ok
3. Fast-Slow Blink (200ms on / 900ms off) - Low battery (<12 Volts) and system disabled either by system watchdog, user watchdog, or Driver's Station set to disabled
4. Slow Blink (900ms on / 900ms off) - System disabled
EDIT: A comment from that page explains that the 5th state (long-on, short-off) was added in 2010:
New for 2010, there is an additional blink pattern. Instead of solid on for both Auto Enabled and Teleop Enabled, Teleop Enable now shows a short-off pattern. 1500ms on, 100ms off. This makes it more obvious which mode the robot is in.
Nate beat me to it but the flash pattern has been changed since 2009:
Fast Blink (200ms on / 200ms off) - System error: No driver’s station communication, bad cRIO Image, bad team ID, extensive communication errors.
Steady on - Autonomous
Short off - (1500ms on, 100ms off) - Tele-operated enabled
Fast-Slow Blink (200ms on / 900ms off) - Low battery (<12 Volts) and system disabled either by system watchdog, user watchdog, or Driver’s Station set to disabled
Slow Blink (900ms on / 900ms off) - System disabled
And of course if the light is off completely either the cRIO could still be booting or the light may be wired wrong. If the RSL has a different flash pattern that the LED on the Digital Side Car, make sure there is a jumper between La and Lb on the light.
I’ve always had a hard time telling some of those patterns apart at a glance.
I wish some of the errors could be something that stands out more, like a group of short flashes then a long off. You could actually count the flashes and know that something like a group of 3 flashes is no radio comms for example.
Also, which one of these patterns is the one we’re looking for to be ready to start a match? I’m assuming the slow blink (900ms on/off) is Disabled before the match starts.
Like I said, they all look the same to me. Good thing I’m not a FTA.