wiki:ControlSystems/SoftwareTeam/Training/GettingStarted

Version 1 (modified by David Albert, 7 years ago) (diff)

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Welcome to Software!

Gear Needed

To start developing robot software for team 2537 you will need the following

  • A laptop running Windows 7 or Windows 10
  • USB A-B cable
  • USB Joystick or X-Box controller
  • Optional: USB webcam
  • One of:
    • A robot
    • A RoboRIO (the computer that controls the robot) and a 12v power supply

Setup your laptop:

  1. Install the Java JDK
  2. Install Microsoft VSCode and the latest WPILib extension. Detailed instructions are here
  3. Install the National Instruments (NI) FRC 2018 Update Suite here. Detailed instructions are here

Start with an example

The best way to learn about robot programming a robot is to start with a simple example program, run it, study what it does, and incrementally expand its functionality. The WPILib software you installed includes example programs that you can compile and run on a RoboRIO. Review how to use VSCode and then try creating a new robot project.

WPILib provides 3 frameworks for building robot programs. Build your first program using the iterative robot framework as described here.

  • Connect your laptop to the RoboRIO USB port
  • Use Microsoft Internet Explorer (not Chrome or Firefox) to connect to the RoboRIO's web interface (usually at http://172.22.11.2).
  • Launch the NI Driver Station Software. For details see here
  • Create a test project and follow these instructions to build, load, and run it on your RoboRIO/Robot