569A Robotics
Coding Tutorial
A complete guide to programming a competitive VEX robot—from hardware setup through odometry, PID tuning, and precision distance-sensor resets—using real code from team 569A's ( one point away from worlds :( ) skills run.
Start Learning → Jump to Distance ResetsWhat You'll Learn
This tutorial walks through every layer of a competitive VEX robot's codebase, explaining why each decision was made alongside the code that implements it. By the end you'll understand:
Environment Setup
Install PROS CLI, create a project, and add the LemLib template.
Hardware Config
Wire motors, sensors, and pneumatics, then declare them in code.
Odometry
How dead-reckoning lets the robot know its X, Y position and heading.
PID Controllers
Tune lateral and angular PID so moves are fast and accurate.
Writing Autons
Build match autons and a full skills run from scratch.
Distance Resets ★
Correct odometry drift mid-run using wall-facing distance sensors.
Driver Control
Tank drive, intake logic, pneumatics, and button debouncing.
Tech Stack
| Tool / Library | Purpose | Version |
|---|---|---|
| PROS | Real-time operating system for V5 Brain | 3.x / 4.x |
| LemLib | Odometry, PID movement, path following | 0.4.x |
| VEX V5 Brain | Main compute unit | — |
| VEX V5 Motors | Blue gearset drivetrain + intake | — |
| Distance Sensors | Wall-relative position correction | V5 gen2 |
| Inertial Sensor (IMU) | Heading tracking | V5 |
| Optical Sensor | Game-object color detection (anti-jam / sorting) | V5 |
| GPS Sensor | Global position (backup / skills) | V5 |
Repository Structure
Vex-Robotics/
├── include/
│ ├── robot.hpp ← global hardware declarations
│ ├── autons/autons.hpp ← auton function declarations
│ └── systems/
│ └── chassis.hpp ← custom Chassis class (distance resets live here)
├── src/
│ ├── main.cpp ← initialize(), autonomous(), opcontrol()
│ ├── robot.cpp ← hardware definitions & LemLib config
│ └── autons/
│ └── autons.cpp ← all auton routines (match + skills)
└── static/ ← this website