Feedback loops are easy if you have the time for trial and error. If you want to use math to design them it takes a little time to learn the math (usually as a junior in college).
“PID controllers” are just one approach to using feedback or feedforward paths in control systems.
FYI - “a feedback control loop” is the more fundamental and general term for what is going on. The obsession with calling them all “PID” loops seems to be mostly an oddity of the STEM robotics field, and probably a few other domains. Despite how often you find the term “PID” in STEM robotics discussions, it isn’t the name of an a truly fundamental concept.
If you continue to have trouble cutting through the fog, I can probably help by either hunting up some good online material or answering a few questions. I liked the PID article I read on Wikipedia. I thought it explained the PID-style branch of the feedback controllers family rather well.
Blake
PS: Vamfun (he posts in the forum occasionally) can blow away my dusty knowledge of control theory in acouple of seconds. You guys should try to tap into his wisdom. He has years of practical experience and knows what he is doing.
PPS: Sorry for this off-topic post. Time to get back on topic: Inspire award nominations.
Team 254B would like to nominate 254A for the Inspire Award because of their successful stacked-intake-roller design. First demonstrated at the All-Star Challenge on 11/12/10, their design had several key advantages over a normal claw, allowing them to quickly remove tubes from the wall posts (by aligning them for easy removal) and also to retrieve them from tight spaces where conventional claws couldn’t reach.
We feel that it is appropriate for us to nominate them because Team 254 designs its robots separately, and they decided to share their design for the benefit of the VEX community. We were inspired by the success of their intake design in the Disney All-Star Challenge and decided to change out our needle for an intake similar to theirs, which was key to our combined success at both the Pan-Pacific Championship and the Bellarmine Bay Area Tournament.
Photos of their intake (and robot) were uploaded with their permission in this thread discussing the All-Star Challenge: https://vexforum.com/t/disney-all-star-videos-posted/18175/1&page=2. We’d like to thank Cody Smith for uploading pictures of them after asking permission.
Team 1636, The Golden Tigersj would like to nominate Cranbrook Schools (Team 35, 36, 37, 38, 39) for the Inspire Award. For the last 2 years Cranbrook Schools and all of its Vex teams have mentored our teams from Highland Park. We often saw Cranbrook Schools at the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) events in the area and many times they invited us to come out and learn more about robotics. Two years ago we did and we saw something much more exciting than FLL LEGO’s……Vex robotics!
The Cranbrook Schools showed us how EasyC worked and how the different sensor arrangements worked with the program to develop a map of the playing field and then perform the task at hand. It was amazing and we were in, hook, line, and sinker! Unfortunately because we come from an economically disadvantage school district we could not afford the base kit or programming software that was needed to begin Vex, but our angels at Cranbrook Schools provided us with the equipment we needed and mentored us the entire season.
In our 1st Vex season with our big brothers at Cranbrook guiding us we had the following success: Tournament Finalist (Cleveland State University), Judges Award (Cleveland State University), Tournament Champions (2010 Vex Robotics Middle School Division), Programming Skills (2010 Vex Robotics Middle School Division), Driver Skills (2010 Vex Robotics Middle School Division), Amaze Award (2010 Vex Robotics Middle School Division), Judges Award (2010 Vex Robotics Middle School Division), and a trip to the Vex robotics World Championship in Dallas Texas.
This year has been just as amazing with 10 trophies to our team. In addition, due to the success of year 1 our school has given the robotics team $10,000 to go from having only 1 team to now having 4 teams! Cranbrook Schools have inspired an entire community to embrace project based learning and bridge the digital divide. We stand on the shoulders of our angels from Cranbrook and we thank you we the hearts of an entire community!
It is team 1636 (Golden Tigers) pleasure and honor to nominate the Cranbrook Schools for the Inspire Award. https://vexforum.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4804&c=8 https://vexforum.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=5026&c=8 https://vexforum.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=4516&catid=member&imageuser=2514 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ay0hcfocQ https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?p=121753#post121753 https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?p=128128#post128128 https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?p=113539#post113539 https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?p=109513#post109513
https://vexforum.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=5047&c=16