1. Hauppauge Robotics Conference
2015 Beta Control System
Hauppauge Robotics Conference
November 22, 2014
FRC team 358
team358.org

2. Agenda New Components Networking Programming Support Tools Breaking It
Presentation is located at:

3. Parts is Parts 2015 Acronyms: roboRIO w/ MyRIO Expansion Port (MXP)
Pneumatics Control Module (PCM)
Power Distribution Panel (PDP)
Voltage Regulator Module (VRM)
Victor SP
Talon SRX
AndyMark

4. New vs Old
Overall 1/3 smaller footprint, 1/3 vertical clearance, 2lb weight savings
roboRIO
Old: cRIO/modules/Digital Sidecar(DSC)/Analog Breakout
PCM
Old: Solenoid Breakout & DSC Compressor relay/pressure DIO
PDP
Old: Power Distribution Board (PDB)
VRM
Old: PDB 12v output + 12v/5v converter
Old: 5v power for camera
Victor SP
Old: Victor 888/Talon SR/Jaguar(PWM)
Talon SRX
Old: Jaguar (CAN)

5. New vs Old - Cost roboRIO ($435) Pneumatic Control Module ($90)
Power Distribution Panel ($200)
Voltage Regulation Module ($46)
New ($771)
Plus
Victor SP ($60)
Talon SRX ($80)
cRIO w/3 modules ($525)
Digital Sidecar ($174)
Analog Breakout ($152)
Solenoid Breakout ($152)
Power Distribution Board ($189)
12v/5v Converter ($12.50)
Old ($1204)
Plus
Victor 888 ($70)
Jaguar ($80)

6. Layout

7. roboRIO PWM (10) + up to (10) on MXP DIO (10) + up to (16) on MXP
(4) Relay
Analog Input (4) + (4) on MXP
(2) Analog Output on MXP
Communications
(2) SPI ports 1x4 & 1x1
(2) I2C ports
UART (1) RS (1) TTL
(2) USB host ports
(1) USB device port for tethering
(1) Ethernet for Dlink Rev B
(1) CAN for PCM/PDP/CAN speed controllers
Power pins for 6v(2.2a), 5v(1a), 3.3v(1.5a)
Note 6v measures low if not loaded
DIO/I2C/SPI are native 3.3v but handle 5v
Short circuit protection
Specs:

8. PDP Power Distribution Panel
Direct replacement of old PDB
Minuses:
(4) fewer 20/30a Wago connections (net loss of 1)
But old cRIO required (3) of those for control system
No warning LEDs for blown or missing breakers
Pluses:
Software Monitoring
25ms update rate, 1/8 amp resolution
Per channel current & short circuit (sticky fault)
Input battery under 6.5v (sticky fault)
Does not monitor special roboRIO/PCM/VRM power outputs
Via CAN communications
Other Notes:
Battery power lugs must fit within protective cover (.44” wide)
Special roboRIO/PCM/VRM outputs aren’t special. If more PCM/VRM devices are needed just use regular wago power (2015 rules allowing).

9. PCM Pneumatics Control Module
Replaces old Solenoid Breakout, Compressor Relay, Pressure Switch DIO
Automatic control of compressor operation- no direct user code involvement
Supports either 12v or 24v solenoids, pick one w/ jumper
The 24v for solenoids is fixed. The 12v just follows battery voltage (brownout danger).
(8) solenoid outputs - that’s (8) single or (4) double or a mixture
Additional PCMs can be powered directly from a PDP Wago connection
CAN communication
Smart monitoring for faults
Compressor/solenoid over voltage or short circuit
Compressor current
Solenoid on/off
Solenoid jumper setting 12v or 24v
25ms update rate
No Relay Spike for the compressor
Short circuit protection

10. VRM Voltage Regulation Module
Replaces 12v protected supply from the old PDB and the 12v/5v converter
Good down to 3.5v (long after everything else blacks out)
Short circuit protection
12v rail and 5v rail are separate, but each rail’s outputs are joint
All outputs on a rail share overall constraints
1.5a total continuous current across all rail outputs
500ma current limited outputs piggy-back off the 2a Max outputs
2a Max momentary current
matches the combined peak for a Dlink & AXIS camera (725ma+1.3a=2.025a).
Normal continuous current draw for these two is about 5v
Additional VRMs can be powered directly from PDP Wago outputs

11. Victor SP/Talon SRX Victor SP Talon SRX PWM only Sealed enclosure
60a continuous/100a surge
Much smaller footprint (2.5" x 1.125" x 0.875"tall)
Much lighter weight (.2 lbs)
LED indicators blink proportionately to output speed and in various colors (yellow blink=Disabled, green=forward, red=backwards)
Talon SRX
(2) CAN/PWM connectors-2nd is for CAN chain
Auto-detect CAN vs PWM use
(1) Quad Encoder connection
(2) Limit Switch connections-forward/reverse
(1) Analog Input (for 3.3v)
3.3v/5v available
Slightly larger than Victor SP
Modes include:
slave to another Talon, quad encoder, pot, %voltage

12. Networking DLink Rev B still being used
PC talks to roboRIO over USB or Ethernet connection
roboRIO-358.local (or USB-only )
roboRIO does not bridge between USB & Ethernet ports
Multicast Domain Name System (mDNS)
E.g., roboRIO-358.local
Static IP vs DHCP
Static 10.TE.AM.1 for robot DLink/default gateway
set aside for the user to assign, e.g., IP cameras, secondary processors
assigned via DHCP (Field Router or DLink at home)
roboRIO (roboRIO-358.local )
Driver Station
IP camera (axis-camera.local)
Development laptops

13. CAN Controller Area Network
Standard in vehicles
CAN for roboRIO/PCM/PDP/speed controller communications
Use two-wire awg twisted pair green/white wire
Bus starts at the roboRIO
roboRIO has a built-in terminator for one end of the CAN bus
The other end also need a 120ohm terminator
PDP has an optional terminator for the other end, or you can make your own
Other devices (PCM/Talon SRX/Jaguar) each have two CAN connectors to extend a chain of devices
CAN IDs are segregated by device type
The default is PDP id=0 and PCM id=0
The full CAN address of type+ID is hidden
Bandwidth
17 devices (15 Jags using %v+PCM+PDP) takes up 20% of bus bandwidth
Utilization goes up with a large volume of too rapid status queries, keep it under 90%
Dangerous to increase update rates from the default too high or for too many devices
PDP & PCM should be left at the default 0 address.
Additional modules can have other addresses
Default address 0 is assumed by the system for default logging

14. Considerations/Differences
Self-protect Brownout 7v
We might see more frequent but less damaging brownouts during matches, of shorter duration (drive stutter)
@7v PWM/CAN output set to neutral & PCM disabled- motors stop/start jitter
@6.5v the 6v rail shuts down
@6.2v the 3.3v/5v rails shut down - awkward for 5v devices such as encoders
@5v PDP looses CAN
@3.8v roboRIO shuts down
@3.4v VRM drops out
PWM plugs, snug but potential for rattling loose
Metal frag showers & pinout cups
Weimuller connections
Wire whiskers bunch up
Wire size (smaller gauge is easier to insert, big insulation doesn’t work)
Dual purpose MXP pins
Any Digital Output pins shareable with PWM will be Disabled with the robot
Windows 7/8 to run Driver Station & if using LabVIEW environment

15. Mostly the same programming API’s as last year for all three languages
Some class/function name changes
roboRIO will automatically run whichever language program was loaded last
New
Power API’s
Battery voltage, PDP current monitoring, Over current/short circuit faults PCM & PDP, Sticky faults
Indexing starts at 0 rather than 1
Joysticks, PWM, DIO, Analog I/O, Relay
Compressor no longer under user code control other than stop/start
Potentiometer class/vi
Built-in 3-axis accelerometer (MMA8452Q) w/selectable sensitivity of +/-2,4,or 8g
Missing
No Cypress board support by the Driver Station (discontinued)
No Driver Station user message display
No Kinect support on Driver Station
Windows, Linux, OSX for Java, C++ development
Eclipse for Java (JRE 8 SE Embedded-standard Java release) & C++ (gcc version 4.9.1)
Put files in the home directory of the account the program is run from "home/lvuser"

16. Programming Backward Compatibility
Option 1: LabVIEW & Java Can Use Existing Setups to program cRIOs
Java teams can continue using Netbeans with the old libraries
LabVIEW license from last season never expires (just this edition)
Option 2: C++ WindRiver Expires, so Use a Different Setup
C++ teams can use the project located on FIRSTForge here:
Option 3: LabVIEW-Only New Software Will Work on cRIO II
Backward compatibility for LabVIEW w/ 4-slot cRIO only

17. Joystick Handling POV as degrees
xBox Trigger Buttons are now on separate axes
Indexing starts at 0
Rumble Outputs are supported on xBox controllers (must use xInput)

18. LabVIEW Minor Palette Rearrangement Joystick functions revised
Legacy vi’s, e.g., Joystick Get, will partially work - removed from palette
Joystick Get Values replacement uses a generalized indexing scheme
Modified Behavior
Compressor Open not required, a Solenoid Open will activate the compressor
Index from 0, e.g., USB 0, Button 0, Axis 0, PWM 0
Power palette
roboRIO
Input voltage, current, brownout
3.3v/5v/6v rail faults
6v rail voltage & current
Disable 3.3v/5v/6v rails
PCM
Compressor current
Compressor & Solenoid see & clear faults
Input voltage
Solenoid voltage
PDP
Battery input voltage
(16) Wago channel currents
PDP Energy & Power usage
Outputs Enabled (DS Disabled, comms loss, overvoltage or brownout Disables)
Potentiometer & Limit Switch palettes
Read User Button

19. Update Rates PWM Talon, Victor SP, Jaguar, Talon SRX = 5ms
PWM Victor = 10ms
PWM Servo = 20ms
CAN Talon SRX = 10ms
CAN Jaguar = 20ms
PCM C++/Java= 20ms, LabVIEW=75ms (may change to 20ms)
PDP = 25ms
Internal PID on Jaguar & Talon SRX = 1ms

20. Miscellany
USB thumb drives work on roboRIO (mount as U & V on root directory)
Use IP or USB Cameras
Axis IP camera can use mDNS (axis-camera.local) or a static IP address
USB cameras are processed by user code on the roboRIO and the user can forward video/images to the Driver station
All user programs run under lvuser account on roboRIO
Java/C++ are started via the LabVIEW startup mechanism
Can ssh onto roboRIO as lvuser or admin (both blank passwords)
roboRIO clock
Initial date/time when roboRIO is booted seems to be 2/17/1970, 12:40am. When the Driver Station connects the time on the roboRIO gets sync'ed to the DS. So timestamps may vary accordingly if files are written/created before/after the DS connects after a roboRIO boot.

21. Support Apps, Tools, & Utilities
No automatic shortcuts on desktop or Start menu (user has to add if wanted)
Driver Station
Dashboard
WebDASH
roboRIO Imaging Tool 2015
Setup AXIS Camera Tool
Bridge Configuration Utility
BCD Comm (new Jaguar firmware)
3rd Party Tools
ssh (PuTTY or similar)
ftp
LV cRIO Backward Compatibility
cRIO Imaging Tool 2015
Net Console for cRIO

22. Driver Station
Option to switch back to 2014 FMS protocols. Allows FMS support for teams going to Week 0 events running FMS Offseason software.
Keyboard Shortcuts to Enable/Disable Driver Station
Enable - ' [ ] \ ' key combination.
Disable - Enter key

23. WebDASH View and Modify roboRIO settings Versions Update firmware
Force Safe Mode
Disable RT Startup App
System Resources Available/Used
Set Static/DHCP IP
CAN Bus Devices
Set CAN Ids for PCM, PDP, speed controllers
See PDP & PCM monitoring/clear sticky faults

24. Beta Testing
Some system behavior is due to the more generic use of the baseline MyRIO
WebDASH changes, for instance, are controlled by a different NI commercial group and could not be made for this year

25. Breaking It: What Didn’t
VRM
Handles short circuits on all outputs
Handles reversed power input
PCM
PDP
Overloading the PCM/VRM power outputs
roboRIO

26. Breaking It: What Did VRM -Bad Over current (>1.5a) on the 12v rail
Heating up from repeated over current cycles on 5v rail might eventually cause damage (we tried)
PCM - Bad
Compressor that pulls >17a constantly
PDP - Bad
20a fuse: Max load on VRM (2.125a) + high current compressor (>17a continuous)
Wire battery terminals backwards
Attach motor (inductive load) directly to Wagos w/o a speed controller
Wiring power to CAN bus
roboRIO
Can still overload the CPU, use WebDASH to disable user code

27. Beta Testing Still To Do
Benchmarking roboRIO vs cRIO Performance
Update LabVIEW examples to 2015 style and test
FIRST is still making adjustments
Minor circuit changes to CTRE hardware (roboRIO is in production)
E.g., removing a PCM internal fuse that does nothing
Firmware fine tuning
E.g., PCM overcurrent timing profile

28. Links NI Specs Team 358 Beta Other Beta Teams ChiefDelphi Community:
Team 358 Beta
Other Beta Teams
Team 11:
Team 1718:
Team 111:
ChiefDelphi Community: