Using VEXlink, is it legal to have a separate brain, not attached to the robot; but given to the drive team, that they could use to utilize their auton-switcher, or for relaying motor/sensor data to the other brain?
It is illegal for VRC. A team may only use 1 brain, and since you are “using” two brains for 1 robot, it violates R11.
It also violates G8 (assuming you’re putting it in the alliance station) as you are bringing a communication device (part a) to simplify the game challenge (c).
I don’t really interpret this the same way at all.
- This isn’t using two brains on one robot. It’s intended as a communications protocol between robots. I don’t interpret that as using an additional microcontroller on a single robot, rather just two robots talking.
- By this logic, all VEXNet radios would be illegal. They’re wireless communication devices.
That being said, I don’t think there’s really any practical use to VEXLink’s API in VRC. It would require your alliance partner to have prewritten code specifically for listening in on a specific VEXLink channel ID and processing the data packets, and even then the uses of it are pretty limited.
I guess that a potential misuse of it would be routing controller inputs from your partner controller to your alliance’s robot, but I’m pretty sure that’s well covered as illegal under other rules.
Based on my interpretation, the OP asked if he could use the brain in an alliance station that communicates with the robot. @SkyTiffyTDM could you clarify how you plan to go about this?
So our team has an autonomous switcher so we can write all of our code on one program. We were wondering if it’s legal to have a separate brain that we could connect via VEXlink, to select our autonomous before the match starts and to track motor temperature, unless this violates the one microcontroller ruling.
Yea, it’s not going to to be allowed. Q&A is closed for this year but these rules probably apply.
<R16> Robots use VEXnet. robot must ONLY utilize the VEXnet system for all wireless robot communication.
That one is a little ambiguous as it can be argued that VEXlink is a form of VEXnet, but I doubt the GDC would see it that way
<R23> One or two Controllers per Robot. No more than two (2) VEX V5 Controllers may control a single robot.
specifically part b
b No other methods of controlling the robot (light, sound, etc.) are permissible.
I think a separate brain/radio using VEXlink would be considered another method of controlling the robot and is not allowed.