Simple Autonomous

Build an autonomous routine with timers and safe stops.

Module 8: Autonomous FoundationsAutonomous

In this lesson, you will:

01Sequence actions without blocking forever.
02Use timeouts on every movement.
03End autonomous in a known safe state.

Autonomous is a sequence of small promises

Each step should have one job: drive, turn, wait, move an arm, or stop. Small steps are easier to test and easier to fix at events.

Every step needs an exit

A robot should never wait forever for a sensor or encoder. Even basic autonomous code should include timeouts and a final stop.

Show the current step on telemetry

When autonomous misbehaves at an event, the first question is always: which step was it on? Printing the current step name means you can answer from the Driver Station screen instead of guessing from robot behavior.

TimedAuto.javaJava

waitForStart();
if (isStopRequested()) return;

runtime.reset();

while (opModeIsActive() && runtime.seconds() < 1.0) {
  setDrivePower(0.25, 0.25);
  telemetry.addLine("Step: drive forward");
  telemetry.update();
}

setDrivePower(0, 0);
if (!opModeIsActive()) return;
sleep(300);

runtime.reset();
while (opModeIsActive() && runtime.seconds() < 0.5) {
  setDrivePower(0.2, -0.2);
  telemetry.addLine("Step: turn");
  telemetry.update();
}

setDrivePower(0, 0);
telemetry.addLine("Step: complete");
telemetry.update();

Checks

Every moving step has both an active-state check and a timeout.
Pressing STOP during either movement returns drivetrain power to zero.
The routine sends a final zero command after the last step.
Telemetry shows the current autonomous step.

Lesson check

Check your understanding before moving on.

Why does every autonomous movement need a timeout?

What should the last action of an autonomous routine be?

0 of 2 answered

References

FTC DocsOfficial FTC SDK and robot programming documentation.Road Runner 1.0 DocsCurrent official setup guide. Confirm TeamCode's Gradle versions first; 1.0 is not compatible with 0.5.x examples.Road Runner 1.0 ActionsCurrent autonomous composition model. Verify the robot project uses Road Runner 1.0 before following these examples.