Custom Video Code
Many teams wish to use the assistance of a video feed on their dashboards this year while driving the robot. Gathered from test results of many different teams using both C++ and LabVIEW (with results shared on the Chief Delphi forum), many teams are reporting poor frame rates (lower than 5 frames per second even with small resolutions) and high latency, both of which make driving using the video feed difficult.
A solution currently being developed by Teams 537 and 2152 is to create our own C++ robot-to-pc video code. Because we are using the exact same camera code and port configuration as the solution provided from WPI, the only difference is in how the data is sent. Instead of sending images via a TCP connection, this custom solution segments images into multiple smaller packets and sends them using a UDP socket (to the same IP and port as the TCP equivalent would). While this creates the need for custom dashboard software to reassemble and display the images, the result is a much higher frame rate (20+ frames per second in initial tests) and lower latency.
Would such a solution be legal in a competition environment?
Teams 537 and 2152 are aware that special care must be taken while dealing with networking during a competition. To prevent any interference or possible issues with the FMS, the data will be sent to the exact same IP and port as the official solution operates on. The custom solution will use no more bandwidth than the official solution, so it will be ensured that the code does not exceed the allotted bandwidth provided to each team. If FIRST would like to monitor the development of this project or examine source code to ensure standards, both teams would be more than willing to comply. Any questions before reaching a decision can be forwarded to [message edited to remove personal contact information]
