Controls

Programming

• 1678 Good Programming Workflow - Video 2020

• Beginner Java

  • Team 20 Intro to Java Programming
  • Java Tutorial for Beginners by Programming with Mosh
    • A good introduction for complete beginners to programming and to Java.
  • Learn Java In 3 Hours

• FRC Programming WPILib Docs: https://docs.wpilib.org

  • These are the official manuals for setting up the programming environment and learning the FRC-specific library.

• FRC Java Programming Tutorial Videos by FRC#4627

• FRC Drivable Robot Playlist FRC#6637

• FRC TEAM 3255 - THE SUPERNURDS - FRC Java Tutorial

  • Really nicely put-together tutorial to get started using FRC Java

• WPILIb Simulator Explained Video

• RobotPy - Python has been an officially supported FRC language since 2024, with pyfrc simulation and pytest integration

  • WPILib Python Documentation

• WPILib 3rd Party Libraries / Vendordeps

  • How to actually install PathPlanner, YAGSL, and other vendor libraries into a project - the step most other tutorials assume you already know.

• maple-sim - physics engine simulation where the robot collides with field elements and intakes game pieces, so autos can be validated without hardware

• Code Repositories

  • 2026 FRC Open Alliance Directory
    • The index of every team publishing code and design decisions in real time - the best starting point for finding current code releases.
  • Highlanders-Training FRC#8033 - a complete open source onboarding curriculum from Java and git through swerve, Choreo, and PhotonVision
  • 3061-lib FRC#3061 - documented swerve starter project with IO layers, AdvantageKit logging, multi-camera vision, SysId routines, and design write-ups
  • Triple Helix Java Repo
    • HelixUtilties is very useful
  • Team 1114 Code Release Java 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
  • Team 254 Code Repo Java
  • Spectrum Code Repo Java

• Swerve

  • YAGSL - JSON configured swerve library that makes standing up a swerve drive about as involved as a differential drive
  • CTRE Swerve Project Generator - the Tuner X workflow most Kraken and Falcon teams use to calibrate offsets and generate a working swerve project
  • Spectrum Swerve Guide

• PID / Control Theory

  • Controls Engineering in the FIRST Robotics Competition - Tyler Veness
    • Free book taking students from classical control through state-space, LQR, and Kalman filters, and the source of much of what is in WPILib’s state-space APIs. Direct PDF
  • Team 254 PID Overview
  • Intro to Control Theory - Wesley Aptekar-Cassels
  • PID without a Phd

• CTRE Phoenix

  • CTRE Phoenix 6 Documentation - the current library for Kraken, TalonFX, CANcoder, and Pigeon
  • CTRE Phoenix 5 Documentation - legacy library, for TalonSRX and Victor SPX era hardware
  • TalonSRX Motion Magic Seminar by FRC#3244
  • Motion Magic with FRC#6377

• REV

  • REVLib Documentation - device configuration, StatusLogger, and the 2026 library changes
  • SPARK MAX Examples

• Path Planning

  • PathPlanner - the path planning and autonomous tool most teams use now
  • Choreo - trajectory optimizer, an alternative to PathPlanner
  • WPILib Trajectory Tutorial
  • FRC#5190 Zero to Trajectory Tracking

• Vision

  • PhotonVision - free, open source, and the most commonly used vision solution in FRC now
  • PhotonVision Object Detection - NPU-accelerated game piece detection on Orange Pi and Rubik Pi
  • Limelight Documentation - official docs for Limelight 1-4, covering AprilTag, neural net, and color pipelines
  • Limelight MegaTag / MegaTag2 Localization - how multi-tag pose estimation works and how to fuse it into a WPILib pose estimator
  • WPIcal - calibrates the real AprilTag positions on your practice field so autos behave the same at competition
  • WPILib Vision Processing Documentation
  • FRC Vision Processing @ University Day 2018
  • FRC#254 Integrating Computer Vision with Motion Control

• Logging and Telemetry

  • AdvantageKit by Team 6328 - logging framework that enables deterministic replay for debugging
  • AdvantageScope by Team 6328 - robot telemetry and log viewer, ships with WPILib
  • Elastic Dashboard - drag-and-drop driver dashboard built for behind-the-glass use, the mainstream replacement for Shuffleboard and SmartDashboard
  • DogLog - minimal logging library built directly on WPILib DataLogManager and NT4

• Workshops

  • Gray Matter Coding Workshop FRC#5712
  • Orbit FRC#1690 Software Sessions Part I - Part II
    • Deep walkthrough of swerve, system control, their PoseTracker vision fusion, and shooting on the move.
  • FRC#1678: Robot Programming
  • FRC#1678: Test Driven Development

FRC Control and Electrical Systems

SystemCore Transition

• WPILib New for 2027
  • The canonical list of what changes with SystemCore: the edu.wpi.first to org.wpilib package rename, Commands v3, the new OpMode framework, NT3 removal, multi-CAN-bus support, and the removal of Shuffleboard, SmartDashboard, PathWeaver, and RobotBuilder.
• WPILib 2027 Documentation - the full doc tree written against SystemCore rather than the roboRIO
• SystemCore Introduction - hardware overview, port map, imaging, and the web dashboard
• System Core NE Mentor Conference Session
• FRC SystemCore Testing Github

General

• Official Control System Manual
• Spectrum FRC Electrical Guide
• FRC#900 Battery Wiring Upgrade
• Why Aren’t We Doing This - Tips for a more robust FRC control system by FRC#3015
• Five Fatal Mistakes: Why your robot is dead on the field by Evan Forbes
• FRC Electrical Bible by Mililanirobotics
• FRCElectrical.org
  • Open source electrical course covering control system fundamentals, crimping (Molex, Anderson, ferrules), mechanism wiring, and tool recommendations, plus an educators’ handbook.
• FRC#1678 RoboRIO and Sensors Workshop 2017 - 2016
• FRC#1678: Robot Wiring Workshop 2016
• Code Orange FRC#3476: How to crimp wires
• Spartan Series/ Intersection of Electronics, Design, and Programming - Brian Silverman
• Team 358 Electrical Resources
• FMS Manual
• All About Circuits
• FRC Driver Station Best Practices

Pneumatics

• FRC Pneumatics Manual
• Spectrum Advanced Pneumatics Guide
• A Bunch Of Hot Air, Or: How To Kind Of Know What You’re Talking About In FRC Pneumatics
• Team 358 Pneumatics Resources

Free & Low-Cost AI Access for Teams & Educators

• ChatGPT for Teachers — OpenAI’s free plan for verified U.S. K-12 teachers, staff, and administrators (not students). Verification runs through SheerID on a school or district email. The workspace is FERPA-aligned and its conversations are not used to train OpenAI’s models by default, which is what makes it usable with real classroom material.
• Claude for Teachers — Anthropic’s free premium tier program for verified US K-12 educators, granting full access to Claude models and tools. (Announcement and terms available at Anthropic News).
• Freebuff — A 100% free, ad-supported AI coding harness ecosystem (CLI, Desktop, and Cloud) providing free access to models without requiring subscriptions or API keys.
• GitHub Student Developer Pack — Free GitHub Copilot Individual subscription along with development tools and cloud credits for students and educators.
• Google AI Studio — Free-tier API keys for experimenting with high-context models directly through web prompts or custom script harnesses.