Copyright © 2012 BEST Robotics, Inc. All rights reserved. 1

BEST Software Options

Greg Young William Polanco

Saturday Apr 27, 2013

Software Providers

• Simulink • easyCv4 for Cortex • ROBOTC • Solidworks, Inspirtech, HSMWorks

• Mathematica for Students

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Simulink Benefits• Simple Programming Interface

- Graphical drag and drop- BEST library provided (basic & advanced models included)- Generates C-code using easyCv4 function library

• More Efficient Design Flow- Parallel development- No waiting for robot to be built

• Simulation and Debug- Test your program without hardware

- What-if scenarios are easy- Interactive debug via realistic input (USB joystick)

• Advanced Functionality• Conditional programming with StateFlow• Textual program integration with MATLAB

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Simulink Access• Why MathWorks?

• BEST Corporate Partner• Use widely in industry and universities

• More than 5000 university/colleges all over the world• Students will likely see MathWorks in their future

• • Team Licensing

• 12 mo, 2 DVDs per team, open # seats, May• Unique license key from teams (on DVD sleeve)

easyCv4 Benefits• Block-based programming

- Drag and drop function blocks into a program flow- Extensive library provided for VEX

• Teaches C-programming structure- Basic programming constructs & structure- Less prone to syntax errors

• Real-time interface to robot- Debug hardware components using direct control- Requires VEX programming h/w kit (orange cables)

• Limit S/W Debug Capabilities• Feedback from robot program through terminal window• Embed debug functions in the code (e.g., PrintToScreen)

easyCv4 diagram

easyCv4 Access• Considerations

• Requires unique VEX firmware download• Intelitek offers a robotic curriculum using VEX

• Team Licensing• 5mo, download, 3 seats, July• Hub gets an allocation• Hubs assign to teams• Hub must enter license assignments in Dashboard

easyCv4 licenses

RobotC Benefits• Complete C Development Environment

- Based on ANSI C programming language- Code, compile, debug, download

• Interactive Run-time debugger- Single step code, set breakpoints, read variables- Requires VEX programming h/w kit (orange cables)

• Interactive Run-time debugger

http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/robotc/videos/1_cprogramming/cprogramming.html

3D CAD Software

• What is It?- 3D mechanical design software- intuitive 3D CAD modeling, data validation, data management

• Benefits- Students learn about part modeling- Students learn to create and read drawings- Offers design validation through simulation- Allow students to develop a highly-desired industry skill

• BEST applications- BEST provides Solidworks produced field drawings & models- BEST provides Solidworks part models for many kit components- BEST provides a complete game field model (eDrawing)

3D CAD Software

• Team Licenses- 150 day license, download, full product license, May 2013- Single special access code provided to all BEST teams- Teams request the software through a web application form- Hubs only need to distribute web URL and access code

Solidworks Training• Benefits

- Fundamentals of SolidWorks training - Companion video training, side-by-side training- Now is web accessible- Provides a path to SolidWorks certification for students!- Discounted pricing for teams off-season use

• Team Licensing- Online access, no more downloading required- 5+ month access- teams register through dedicated web form- Team is sent login information to access training- Hubs only need to distribute access information

Solidworks Training

CAM (Tooling) S/W• What is It?

- Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)- Generate cut instructions for your lathe or CNC- Cut out that wheel or gear on your CNC straight from your

CAD tool

• Benefits- More and more teams have access to CNC and lathes- Tooling products fully integrated within SolidWorks- Works with any lathe or CNC milling machine - Simple to use (30 min): load model, select tool, cut it

• 2 Products available- HSMExpress (2 ½ axis tooling) (target tool for BEST team)- HSMWorks (3+ axis tooling) (upon request)

CAM (Tooling) S/W• Team Licensing

- HSMExpress – free download @ hsmexpress.com- HSMWorks – full 3D package can be requested - Hubs do not need to be involved with licenses- Hubs only need to distribute access information

Mathematica• Benefits

- Computation Tool- Highly useful for research and visualizations- Especially useful for technical document creation

• Team Licensing- 12 month, download, student only license- BEST provides web URL and access code- Students must watch a short screencast before downloading

http://www.wolfram.com/common/includes/m8videos/students.html?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&width=870&height=509

Hub Licenses• MathWorks Simulink

• 12 mo, 1 DVD, open # seats, May• Unique license key from teams (on DVD sleeve)

• easyC• permanent, download, 3 seats• see BRI Dashboard, Hub Tools, Licensing

• RobotC• same as team license

• CAD/CAM (SolidWorks, HSMWorks, Inspirtech)• same as team license

FAQ

• How/when does my hub get a copy?• All hubs get hub copies of s/w upon hub creation or annually

(depending on the s/w)• Mathematica is provided for students only

• What’s my hub license key? Teams’ license keys?• BRI Dashboard > Hub Tools > Licensing• BE SURE you select “HUB licenses” or “TEAM licenses”

• Where can teams/hubs get support?• BRI website > Participants > Resources• Training videos, PPT, other technical docs, links to resources• http://www.bestinc.org/b_resources1.php