Remote Debugger
The Remote Debugger allows you to manually control and view motors from your computer. It is designed to be used by the Hardware Team to test their new prototypes without having to write a custom OpMode.
The Debugger exists in two parts, the FTC Remote Debugger app and the Debugger feature. They communicate via a WebSocket
connection.
Installing the Client
The source code for the FTCRemoteDebugger can be found in the GitHub repository.
You can either run it from source code using npm, build your own binaries, or
use the pre-built binaries.
While the application can be run on any platform, we currently only host pre-built binaries for Windows.
Currently, the builds cannot and will never pass the Windows Defender SmartScreen test. This limitation is out of our control. If you get a prompt saying that SmartScreen has blocked the file from running, you have to click the "More Info" then "Run Anyway" buttons.
You can also right click on the executable file, go to properties, then check the "Unblock" box.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Running from Source
To run the source code, run the command npm i to install dependencies, then npm start to start the application.
Building from Source
To build the source code, run npm i to install dependencies, then npm package. The output will be stored in the out
directory, formatted for whatever your current OS is.
Connecting to the Robot
To connect to the robot, the robot must have a currently running supported OpMode. Currently, only OpModes with the feature
explicitly added are supported. To add the feature, add the following line to your OpMode's init() method:
registerFeature(new Debugger());
There is also a special OpMode, RemoteDebuggerOpMode, which is designed to be used with the Remote Debugger.
Your computer also needs to be connected to the same network as the robot. Once both conditions are met, you can connect to the robot by pressing the Connect to Robot button.
Manipulating Motors
The Remote Debugger allows you to manipulate motors in real time. To use the motors, just type the desired power level from -100 to 100 into the text box and press the Set Motor (number) Power button. The power level will be sent to the robot, and the motor will be set to that power level. You can also view the motor's current power level below the Set buttons.
There is also a Set All Motor Powers button, which allows you to set all motors to the same power level.
If you have give a mis-input and the robot does some very bad things, there is a red o no button which will set all motors to 0.
Only motors marked as enabled by the OpMode will be allowed for use. The others will be grayed out and disabled.
The view of the motors is on a scale from -1 to 1, but the input box is on the scale of -100 to 100.
For Developers: Adding Support for the Remote Debugger
Support for the Remote Debugger can be added to any OpMode by adding the following line to the init() method:
registerFeature(new Debugger());
By default, no motors will be enabled. To enable a motor, use the following code:
RDWebSocketServer.enableMotorStatic(0);
If your OpMode persistently sets its own value for a motor, it will override the value set by the Remote Debugger.
Note: you can enable a range motors in one by calling enableMotorStatic with the first and last motor you want enabled.
RDWebSocketServer.enableMotorStatic(0, 3);