FIRST Robotics Competition Documents
Introducing the NI roboRIO Advanced Robotics Controller. This rock-solid device was designed specifically with FIRST in mind. It's more powerful, lighter, and smaller than the previous cRIO, giving FRC teams unmatched power and versatility.
F.A.Q.
Does roboRIO support other programming languages?
> Yes, you can program the roboRIO in LabVIEW, Java, and C++. A few teams even use Python, although it's not technically supported.
When can we purchase a spare roboRIO?
> All rookie FRC Teams get a free roboRIO in their Kit of Parts. All FRC teams can purchase additional roboRIOs at an 80% discount off of the retail price from AndyMark here.
How is roboRIO different from cRIO?
> NI roboRIO uses the same basic architecture of a Real-Time processor + FPGA, but the roboRIO is faster due to the processor being dual-core. All of the I/O is accessible direclty on the roboRIO controller, so the cRIO's digitial sidecar is unnecessary. The Real-Time programming architecture you use to program the roboRIO is nearly identical to the way that professionals use LabVIEW to program their cRIO systems.
How is roboRIO different from myRIO?
> Both devices use the Xilinx Zynq chipset (processor + FPGA) and use a lot of the same architecture. roboRIO has connectors and I/O specific for use in FIRST (e.g. CAN and PWM connectors), while the myRIO uses generic screw terminals for all I/O. The software experience will also differ between the devices since the roboRIO will require the FRC Update Suite for use in FIRST Robotics Competition. Additionally, the roboRIO is designed to be more rugged than the myRIO so that it can survive multiple FRC seasons through features such as conformal coating and extra short protection.
What operating system does roboRIO Use?
> NI roboRIO will be running the NI Linux Real-Time OS which is used is most of NI's new RIO devices. Introduction to NI Linux Real-Time, Under the Hood of NI Linux Real-Time
Can I use a Linux computer to program the roboRIO?
> No. You will still need to use a Windows computer to program and control the roboRIO, as the roboRIO tool chain is only supported in Windows.
Can non-FRC Teams purchase a roboRIO?
> Yes. Industry professionals and university students can purchase the roboRIO directly from National Instruments here. FRC teams, affiliates, partners, and organizers can purchase roboRIO from AndyMark provided they will be used to support FRC teams and competitions.
Custom Electronics Port (MXP)
Create your own custom electronics board for any extra inputs and outputs for your system. Check out the MXP Developers Guide for more information on how you can deisgn your own MXP board.
! Idea: Have an awesome idea for a custom Expansion Board that would be useful for many teams? Create one and use tools like Kickstarter to share your work with other teams!
roboRIO MXP Pinouts
Wait... Let's say a certain team decided to throw on a swerve drive onto their robot for the next year. It has 4 modules and each module powers a cim and a geared motor, this means that there will be 8 PWMs in use...
What about the rest of the Electronics?
It seems as if each few years our capability of programming many things on a robot at once is slowly decreasing.
When the cRio II came out, we were lowered from 8 slots to 4 slots. the 8 slot cRio may be used in some VERY rare cases, but the 4-Slot one seemed to pull of the job just as well 
Now it seems as if we're loosing even more capabilities we've been lowered to 8 slots for PWMs which is a lot less than the previous 20 slots for PWMs
This is really kind of scaring me because I wanted a cool Swerve Drive on my robot 
lol
