Programming

From FIRSTwiki

FIRST Lego League also has a page about Programming.

Programming is an integral part of building a robot. Fabrication is necessary to have something to work with; but, without the brains, the robot is impotent. This is where programming comes in. A program is simply a set of instructions to the computer (the Robot Controller in this case). The computer then responds, based on these instructions. The response might be effecting an actuator, sending power to a motor, or anything else the programmer desires.

1 Programming in FRC
2 Autonomous Mode
3 See also
4 External links

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Programming in FRC

For the FIRST Robotics Competition, programming is done using a programming language and is downloaded to the RC.

Since 2009, the robot controller can be programmed using C/C++, LabVIEW, or Java.

In the past, the robot controller has been programmed using a language such as PIC C although it could also be programmed in assembly or the C code can have assembly in it. This generally isn't done unless speed is really important, and the need outweighs the costs in code maintenance.

For information regarding programming resources, see:

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Autonomous Mode

Note that beginning with Stack Attack in 2003, FRC games have included an autonomous mode -- a period of time, so far 15 seconds at the beginning of the match, under which the robot must act without user input. This is a major challenge to programming the robot, and can be as complicated as a large network of sensors with many lines of code ... or as simple as a trial-and-error dead reckoning solution.

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