Run the intake in simulation

Let’s make your program’s behavior visible. The course supplies a small simulation that acts like an intake motor and piece detector. It models enough to test decisions, not the mechanical details of a real intake.

Launching the Copy¶

From the Chiron root, using your environment’s Python, run:

python tools/run_robot.py student-work/periodic-intake

The launcher finds robot.py in that folder and starts RobotPy’s HAL simulation window. It also makes the shared course helpers importable. Keep the terminal open; errors from the program appear there. Ctrl+C in the terminal stops it. If the window doesn’t open, check the terminal output. A missing robot.py means you need to check the assignment path; a missing module means you should repeat the environment check. The launcher runs simulation only.

Controls¶

In the simulation window, open Robot State and NetworkTables from the available menus if they aren’t visible. In NetworkTables, expand /SmartDashboard. These are values shared by the robot program with diagnostic tools. Our program creates them with wpilib.SmartDashboard.putNumber and putBoolean; getNumber and getBoolean read current values.

Value	What you do with it
`Intake request`	Edit a number from -1 to 1: positive collects, negative releases
`Piece available`	Edit a boolean: false prevents simulated acquisition
`Intake output`	Observe what the mechanism is actually requesting
`Has piece`	Observe the simulated detector

Robot State is where you choose the robot’s mode and enable it. NetworkTables holds the named inputs and readings in the table above. The dashboard stands in for physical controller input during this course.

Complete Cycle¶

Start disabled. Set Intake request to 0.5. Output should remain zero.
Select Teleoperated, then Enabled in Robot State.
Watch output become 0.5. After roughly 0.4 seconds, Has piece becomes true and the output returns to zero on a following periodic update.
Set request to -0.5. The intake releases; the detector becomes false.
Set request to zero, then disable. Output should be zero.

If the detector begins true, restart the program to get a fresh initial state. Always return inputs to zero before re-enabling so an old request doesn’t surprise you. Our simulated piece source can supply another piece after release.

Model Information¶

IntakeSim.set_output(request) bounds output to [-1, 1] and inhibits it when disabled. step(0.02) advances the simplified detector. Attributes detected, piece_available, and output expose its state. That shared support is already provided so you can focus on program behavior. It is not an electrical guide or a calibration for a real motor.

Before continuing, set Piece available false and predict what forward collection does. Explain the difference between an operator request, a motor output, and a sensor result. Write down the observed values, not just “it worked.”