Indicator lights

Lights that tell the drivers what the robot is up to, with signals that take turns by priority.

Signals

A light on the robot can tell the drivers a lot: the intake is full, a target is in view, the shooter is ready. Many parts of the robot have something to say, so each asks through a signal of its own, and the light shows the one with the highest priority:

val fullSignal = robot.light.signal(priority = 10)
val newBallSignal = robot.light.signal(priority = 40)

everyTick {
    fullSignal.show(if (robot.intake.balls == 3) RgbColor.GREEN else RgbColor.OFF)
}
// A ball came in: blinks orange, hiding the green for a moment
robot.intake.beam.onTurnOn { newBallSignal.blink(RgbColor.ORANGE, times = 3) }

A signal shows something until told otherwise, or:

Call	Shows
show(state)	state, until told otherwise
show(state, lasting = 2.seconds)	state for a while, then nothing
blink(state, period = 250.milliseconds, times = 3)	state and off in turns; without times, until told otherwise
show(pattern)	states one after another, see below
clear()	nothing

Of the signals showing something, the highest priority wins; of equal ones, the one asked last. Asking a signal again for what it shows already changes nothing, so a blink asked for every loop keeps its rhythm instead of starting over. isShowing tells whether a signal has something to show, whether or not a higher one hides it.

A Pattern shows states one after another, each for its time, over and over or a number of times:

private val chase = Pattern("G00" to 150.milliseconds, "0G0" to 150.milliseconds, "00G" to 150.milliseconds)
...
leds.signal().show(chase)

Make a pattern once, in a property, rather than in every loop.

Lights are off from INIT, and again when the opmode stops. Only changes are sent to the hub, as each is a command to it.

goBILDA’s RGB light

goBILDA’s RGB indicator light plugs into a servo port and is configured as a servo, named light unless told otherwise:

val light = RgbLight(this)

Its colors are RgbColor.OFF, RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, SAGE, GREEN, AZURE, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET and WHITE. A change of color is one command to the hub, like a servo’s position.

REV’s LEDs

REV’s red/green LED indicators each take a digital port pair, configured as two LED devices: <name>red on the port that lights red, <name>green on the other. RevLeds is a row of them, led1, led2 and led3 unless told otherwise:

val leds = RevLeds(this)                                          // led1red, led1green, led2red, ...
val twoLeds = RevLeds(this, "status", listOf("left", "right"))

Its states are strings with a letter per LED: R red, G green, A amber (both), 0 off. "GG0" lights the first two green. Only LEDs that change are sent.

Lights of your own

Any light can be an indicator: extend Indicator<S>, with S what it shows, and say how to display a state. The signals, priorities, blinking and patterns come with it.

class Blinkin(parent: Component) : Indicator<BlinkinPattern>(parent, "blinkin", BlinkinPattern.BLACK) {
    val driver by hardware<RevBlinkinLedDriver>("blinkin")

    override fun display(state: BlinkinPattern) = driver.setPattern(state)
}