Field Controllers (Beta)

A field controller is the hardware that tells the robots on a field when they may run. Competition Control drives it from the field timer: robots stay disabled while a match is queued, switch to Autonomous or Driver Control as each period runs, and are disabled again when the period ends, the match is cancelled, or the timer is lost. Nobody operates the controller by hand during a match.

Beta
Field controller support is a beta feature. The field timer and the Field Control page are not part of the beta. Test every field before your event (see Testing a Field), and report anything unexpected through Support.

The Field Controllers page is listed under Event in the sidebar with a Beta badge. The Scorekeeper, Head Referee, and Admin roles can open it. Only Admin devices can choose which field a controller drives. See Roles and Permissions.

Supported Controllers

VEXnet® Field Controller Kit (275-1401). It needs the Competition Control desktop app on the computer it is plugged into.
OpenFC boards. These work with the desktop app, and also from Chrome or Edge on a browser device. See Field Controllers on a Browser Device.

A controller does not have to be plugged into the host computer. Any computer running the desktop app can drive one, including the computer that shows a field's display, so the controller can sit at the field it serves.

Connecting a Controller

[Screenshot: Field Controllers page with the Controllers table and the Fields table]

Plug the controller into the host computer, or into the computer that shows that field's display.
On that computer, open Field Controllers under Event.
Check that the controller appears in the Controllers table, named VEXnet® Field Controller or OpenFC followed by its identifier. The desktop app finds controllers on its own. If one is missing, click Scan for Controllers.
If several controllers are connected, click Identify on a row to make that controller signal which one it is; a VEXnet® Field Controller flashes its lights. Click Stop identifying when you have found it. The button appears only for controllers plugged into the device you are using.
On an Admin device, choose the controller's field in the Field column. See Choosing the Field a Controller Drives.
Check the Fields table. The field's Status reads Connected once the controller is driving it.

Until a device reports a controller, the table reads No device has reported its controllers yet. or No controllers found on the devices that have reported.

Choosing the Field a Controller Drives

The Field column of the Controllers table decides which field each controller drives.

Follow display: Offered only for a controller plugged into a device that is showing a field display. The controller drives the field that display belongs to and moves with the display if it is assigned to another field. This is the default on such a device, so a controller plugged into a field's display computer needs no setup.
Not assigned: The controller drives nothing. This is the default on any other device, including the host computer, until you choose a field.
A field name: The controller drives that field, wherever it is plugged in.

The Status column shows Idle for a controller that is not driving a field. Otherwise it shows the field and the connection state: connected, connecting, disconnected, or faulted, followed by the fault when there is one. (also driven from another device) means controllers on more than one device are driving the same field; check the Field column on each of those rows.

Checking Each Field

The Fields table lists every field, the controllers driving it under Driven by, and an overall Status: Connected, Connecting, Faulted, Disconnected, or No controller. Click the button at the end of a row to open that field.

Testing a Field

[Screenshot: A field's page with Test field control, the controller list, and the Event Log]

Run a test on every field before matches start, and again whenever a controller is moved or plugged back in.

On the Field Controllers page, open the field from the Fields table.
Under Test field control, click Start test. The test uses no match. It is a three second countdown and five seconds of Autonomous, then a three second countdown and five seconds of Driver Control.
Click Start to run the autonomous half, then Resume to run the driver half. Watch the robots or the controller switch modes each time.
When the test finishes, click Reset. To stop early, use Abort Match.

Below the test, the page lists the controllers driving the field and an Event Log of every connection and command for that field. The log is kept on the host computer, so any device that can open the page can read it, not only the one the controller is plugged into. All fields returns to the list.

During the Event

Once a field has a controller, run matches as usual. Queue and start the match from the scoring dialog, the Field Control page, or the Solo page, and the controller follows the timer. See Field Control and Scoring and Solo Matches.

Messages on This Page

This device cannot drive field controllers. The device is not running the desktop app and its browser cannot reach serial ports. Plug the controller into the host computer or a device showing a field display. Controllers on every other device are still listed, and their activity still appears in the Event Log.
The VEXnet® Field Controller needs the desktop app. To drive other field controllers from this device, open the secure address in Chrome or Edge. The page was opened over plain http. Follow the link and see Field Controllers on a Browser Device.
This browser cannot drive field controllers. The browser has no serial port support. Use the desktop app, or for controllers other than the VEXnet® Field Controller, Chrome or Edge on a secure address.
The VEXnet® Field Controller needs the desktop app, so one plugged into this device is not listed. Shown in Chrome or Edge on the secure address, which can drive other field controllers.
Another window on this device is driving the field controllers. It will hand over if it closes. Only one window on a device drives its controllers. This is normal when the device has more than one Competition Control window open.
Nothing on [port] answered like an OpenFC board. The port you chose is not an OpenFC board, or the board is not responding. Check the cable and scan again.
The board's RP2350 co-processor is not responding, so Smart ports C and D are offline and every command is slow. Flash the RP2350 firmware from the OpenFC flasher.

Remarks

Where a computer at the field shows that field's display, plug the controller into it: the controller follows the display and there is no assignment to manage. Choose a field by hand only for controllers on the host computer or on a device that shows no field display. A browser device needs the host computer's secure address, which uses extra ports; see Network Requirements.

Robotics Education & Competition Foundation and Competition Control are not sponsored by, affiliated with, or endorsed by VEX Robotics, Inc. or Innovation First, Inc. VEX® and VEXnet® are registered trademarks of Innovation First, Inc. and are used here only to identify hardware that can be used with Competition Control.