Software versions

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picos_pit_crew
Software versions

Hi can you please confirm which versions of software we are using on the robots? I'm interested particularly in the Raspbian version, Python(2.?), numpy, opencv and picamera python modules.

I'm asking because the GPIO Pirez failed start last night seems identical to the Pico HB failed start from Challenge 2 last season. This is odd because both robots last night were using identical camera setups, and one ran but the other didn't.

Last season there was a roll-back of the Raspbian version from March 2018 to May 2016, then we had that failed start, and after that we were offered to use the 2018 version, kept for us as as if it were a custom SD card. This season we haven't asked for a custom SD card due to the standard installation instructions at this page seeming to indicate 2018 Raspbian: https://www.formulapi.com/race-code/sd-card-summer-2018 but it might be that the previous SD card has been continued to be used for PicoHB?

From the logs (with the python commands used to retrieve the info):
Pico HulkenBorg:
sys.version
2.7.13 (default, Nov 24 2017, 17:33:09)
os.popen("vcgencmd version").readline()
Mar 13 2018 18:52:21

SerGPIO Pirez:
sys.version
2.7.9 (default, Mar 8 2015, 00:52:26)
os.popen("vcgencmd version").readline()
May 20 2016 19:05:21

Can you explain why they are different, and which versions are we supposed to be using?

Thanks, Jon

Arron Churchill
Arron Churchill's picture
We decided to stick with the older image

After all of the trouble last season we decided that it would cause less problems if we stuck with the older image.

I forgot to change the page on the website, so I apologise for that. I have now changed it so that the correct instructions are shown on the Race Code tab of the site.

Your SD card for Pico HulkenBorg is the same one from last season and is still set as a custom card. Typically competitors have wanted to keep using the same setup each season so we always re-use any custom cards until told to do otherwise :)

SerGPIO Pirez was run with a completely standard card, hence the difference in versions between the two. I presume you need the same versions to run, so I have made another SD card with the same load as Pico HulkenBorg and marked it as a custom card for SerGPIO Pirez to use for the rest of the season.

Generally speaking teams should expect this image for the Winter 2018 season unless they have a custom SD card (mailed or setup by us) from last time. We advise any teams who have / want custom code to confirm their expectations to avoid any further confusion.

We had hoped to use a brand new image this season, but we decided against it for three reasons:

  1. It would have been short notice and it may have affected some teams adversely.
  2. The standard code as-is does not work on the latest copy of Raspbian due to changes with what camera modes can be asked for. The code would need to work with 640x480 @ 40fps images which means a number of changes that need proper testing.
  3. Because of point 2 most code from existing entries would also not work without changes. In the past this has caused a lot of problems with teams trying to run older code that will not start.

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