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Added Stage 1C overview and Stage 1C section on sidebar #159

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e181658
Updated sidebarConfig with stage 1C and added overview for 1C
Venture-Capitalist Jul 31, 2026
7bd54ef
updated 1c overview to match linter recommendations
Venture-Capitalist Jul 31, 2026
61ec184
Merge branch 'main' into stage1c
Adrianamm Aug 1, 2026
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10 changes: 10 additions & 0 deletions src/config/sidebarConfig.ts
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -162,6 +162,16 @@ export const sidebarSections: Record<string, SidebarSection[]> = {
},
],
},
{
label: 'Stage 1C: Control and Telemetry',
collapsed: true,
items: [
{
label: 'Stage 1C Introduction',
slug: 'learning-course/stage1/stage1c/stage-overview',
},
],
},
],
},
],
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36 changes: 36 additions & 0 deletions src/content/docs/learning-course/stage1/stage1c/stage-overview.mdx
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---
title: Stage 1C Overview
description: An overview of Stage 1A
prev: ../stage-overview
next: false
---

import YouTube from '../../../../../components/YouTube.astro';

If you've watched matches from any recent FRC game, you'll notice that robots typically have to line up quite precisely with a field element to score.
Take this example from Purdue University's Robot in 3 Days (Ri3D) team showcasing their autoalign program:

<YouTube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV6SQ46Dijs" />

@DylanB5402 DylanB5402 Aug 1, 2026

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I like what you're getting at here, but I wonder if this is the right framing. We're more making a robot turn in place here, not aligning to a target - even if those are pretty similar operations in practice. Also in the sense that this is showing a swerve bot while they're actually programming a tank bot.

Drive + turn in place autos aren't really a think you see in the program these days, in the age of swerve, but that's kinda what we're building towards in this stage.

@Adrianamm @roboteer5291 thoughts?


In 2026, robots had to line up with the hub to successfully shoot fuel.
In 2025, robots had to line up with hangers on the reef to place coral.
To execute these tasks, teams run automatic positioning programs rather than burdening the driver with such precise movements.
In Stage 1C, you will learn fundamental concepts pertaining to "control theory:" a field of research dedicated to guiding real-world systems (such as robots) to do the things we want.
Control theory guides the motion of each and every mechanism you will program in FRC.

@DylanB5402 DylanB5402 Aug 1, 2026

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I'm honestly kinda opposed to talking about the term "control theory" explicitly at all - or maybe bring it up later. Seems a little more academic than what we want to focus on here. Not an awful strongly held opinion though


## Key Concepts

In FRC, different mechanisms can be thought of as "systems."
Mechanisms have "states" such as position, angle, velocity, and acceleration.
A PID (Proportional, Integral, Derivative) controller takes a desired state of a system, called a "setpoint," and guides a system's actual state towards this setpoint.
The output of your mechanism's control algorithm is called "control effort," and, in FRC, control effort will almost always be measured in Volts.
You can track the states, setpoints, and control efforts of your robots through logging in NetworkTables, a system for sending data between the robot and the driver station.

@DylanB5402 DylanB5402 Aug 1, 2026

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A little concerned we're going a bit too into the weeds here and throwing around a lot of controls jargon - states, setpoint, control effort, etc. I think opening up with all these words might be a bit too intimidating? All we really want out of this stage is to be able to write commands using a P controller to turn in place, and composing that with commands (might be out of scope for how we originally planned 1c, but I think it's good to have some command compositions as an exercise). We'll be going more into control in Stage 2 when we're doing elevator stuff, which may be a better place for some of this content.


## Stage 1C Goals

By the end of Stage 1C, you'll program a feature which enables your kitbot's drivetrain to automatically and smoothly turn in place to any given angle such that your kitbot can aim towards the hub on its own.
You will also be able to read data from your kitbot via logging in NetworkTables.

This stage will cover the following topics:

- WIP