Controller#

Introduction #

The EXP Controller allows users to control and customize behaviors for their robot.

Below is a list of all available methods:

Actions – Turn Controller-programmed actions on or off.

remote_control_code_enabled – Enable or disable Controller configured actions.

Getters – Read button states and joystick positions.

.pressing – Returns whether the specified button is being pressed.
.position – Returns the position of the joystick’s specified axis.

Callback – Run code when buttons or joysticks change state.

.pressed – Calls a function when the specified button is pressed.
.released – Calls a function when the specified button is released.
.changed – Calls a function when the joystick’s axis changes.

Constructors – Manually initialize and configure the controller.

Controller – Create a controller.

remote_control_code_enabled is a variable that can be set to a boolean that enables or disables Controller configured actions from the Devices menu. The Controller is enabled by default. It can be set to either of the following:

True — Enable Controller configured actions.
False — Disable Controller configured actions.

Usage: remote_control_code_enabled = False

# Drive forward or backward using the left joystick
remote_control_code_enabled = False

while True:
    if controller.axis3.position() > 0:
        drivetrain.drive(FORWARD)
    elif controller.axis3.position() < 0:
        drivetrain.drive(REVERSE)
    # Press A to use the controller configured actions
    elif controller.buttonA.pressing():
        break
    else:
        drivetrain.stop()
    wait(20, MSEC)

remote_control_code_enabled = True

Getters #

.pressing #

.pressing returns an integer indicating whether a specific button on the controller is currently being pressed. This method must be called on a specific button object, such as buttonEDown (see full list of button objects below).

1 - The specified button is being pressed.
0 - The specified button is not being pressed.

Usage:
One of ten available button objects can be used with this method, as shown below:

Button	Command
`buttonA`	`controller.buttonA.pressing()` — The A button
`buttonB`	`controller.buttonB.pressing()` — The B button
`buttonDown`	`controller.buttonDown.pressing()` — The Down button
`buttonUp`	`controller.buttonUp.pressing()` — The Up button
`buttonL1`	`controller.buttonL1.pressing()` — The L1 button
`buttonL2`	`controller.buttonL2.pressing()` — The L2 button
`buttonL3`	`controller.buttonL3.pressing()` — The L3 button
`buttonR1`	`controller.buttonR1.pressing()` — The R1 button
`buttonR2`	`controller.buttonR2.pressing()` — The R2 button
`buttonR3`	`controller.buttonR3.pressing()` — The R3 button

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Turn right while L1 is pressed
while True:
    if controller.buttonL1.pressing():
        drivetrain.turn(RIGHT)
    else:
        drivetrain.stop()

.position #

.position returns the position of the joystick’s specified axis as an integer from –100 to 100, representing a percentage. This method must be called on a specific axis object, such as axis1 (see full list of axis objects below).

Usage:

One of four available axes can be used with this method, as shown below:

The front side of the EXP Controller with the joystick axis numbers highlighted in red. On the surface of the controller, the left joystick is labeled as Axis 4 for left and right movement and Axis 3 for up and down movement, while the right joystick is labeled as Axis 1 for left and right movement and Axis 2 for up and down movement.

Axis	Command
`axis1`	`controller_1.axis1.position()` — The Right Joystick’s horizontal axis
`axis2`	`controller_1.axis2.position()` — The Right Joystick’s vertical axis
`axis3`	`controller_1.axis3.position()` — The Left Joystick’s vertical axis
`axis4`	`controller_1.axis4.position()` — The Left Joystick’s horizontal axis

Parameters	Description
	This method has no parameters.

# Turn with the left joystick
remote_control_code_enabled = False

while True:
    if controller.axis4.position() > 10:
        drivetrain.turn(RIGHT)
    elif controller.axis4.position() < -10:
        drivetrain.turn(LEFT)
    else:
        drivetrain.stop()
    wait(20, MSEC)

Callback #

.pressed #

.pressed registers a function to be called when a specific button on the controller is pressed. This method must be called on a specific button object, such as buttonEDown – (see full list of button objects below).

Usage:
One of the ten available button objects can be used with this method, as shown below:

Button	Command
`buttonA`	`controller.buttonA.pressed(callback, arg)` — The A button
`buttonB`	`controller.buttonB.pressed(callback, arg)` — The B button
`buttonDown`	`controller.buttonDown.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Down button
`buttonUp`	`controller.buttonUp.pressed(callback, arg)` — The Up button
`buttonL1`	`controller.buttonL1.pressed(callback, arg)` — The L1 button
`buttonL2`	`controller.buttonL2.pressed(callback, arg)` — The L2 button
`buttonL3`	`controller.buttonL3.pressed(callback, arg)` — The L3 button
`buttonR1`	`controller.buttonR1.pressed(callback, arg)` — The R1 button
`buttonR2`	`controller.buttonR2.pressed(callback, arg)` — The R2 button
`buttonR3`	`controller.buttonR3.pressed(callback, arg)` — The R3 button

Parameters	Description
callback	A function that is previously defined to execute when the specified button is being pressed.
arg	Optional. A tuple containing arguments to pass to the callback function. Functions with Parameters for more information.

# Drive forward when A is pressed
def drive_forward():
    drivetrain.drive_for(FORWARD, 100, MM)

controller.buttonA.pressed(drive_forward)

.released #

.released registers a function to be called when a specific button on the controller is released. This method must be called on a specific button object, such as buttonL1 – (see full list of button objects below).

Usage:
One of the ten available button objects can be used with this method, as shown below:

Button	Command
`buttonA`	`controller.buttonA.released(callback, arg)` — The A button
`buttonB`	`controller.buttonB.released(callback, arg)` — The B button
`buttonDown`	`controller.buttonDown.released(callback, arg)` — The Down button
`buttonUp`	`controller.buttonUp.released(callback, arg)` — The Up button
`buttonL1`	`controller.buttonL1.released(callback, arg)` — The L1 button
`buttonL2`	`controller.buttonL2.released(callback, arg)` — The L2 button
`buttonL3`	`controller.buttonL3.released(callback, arg)` — The L3 button
`buttonR1`	`controller.buttonR1.released(callback, arg)` — The R1 button
`buttonR2`	`controller.buttonR2.released(callback, arg)` — The R2 button
`buttonR3`	`controller.buttonR3.released(callback, arg)` — The R3 button

Parameters	Description
callback	A function that is previously defined to execute when the specified button is released.
arg	Optional. A tuple containing arguments to pass to the callback function. Functions with Parameters for more information.

# Drive backward when A is released
def back_up():
    drivetrain.drive_for(REVERSE, 100, MM)

controller.buttonA.released(back_up)

.changed #

.changed registers a function to be called when the joystick’s position changes. This method must be called on a specific axis object, such as axis1 (see full list of axis objects below).

Usage:
One of four available axes can be used with this method, as shown below:

Axis	Command
`axis1`	`controller.axis1.changed(callback, arg)` — The Right Joystick’s horizontal axis
`axis2`	`controller.axis2.changed(callback, arg)` — The Right Joystick’s vertical axis
`axis3`	`controller.axis3.changed(callback, arg)` — The Left Joystick’s vertical axis
`axis4`	`controller.axis4.changed(callback, arg)` — The Left Joystick’s horizontal axis

Parameters	Description
callback	A function that is previously defined to execute when the axis’ value changes.
arg	Optional. A tuple containing arguments to pass to the callback function. See Functions with Parameters for more information.

# Play a sound when the left joystick moves
def tada_sound():
    brain.play_sound(SoundType.TADA)
    wait(1, SECONDS)

controller.axis4.changed(tada_sound)

Constructors #

Constructors are used to manually create Controller objects, which are necessary for configuring a controller outside of VEXcode. You can only create two controllers in a project.

Controller #

Controller creates a controller.

Usage:
Controller()

Parameters	Description
	This constructor has no parameters.

# Create a Controller
controller = Controller()