Gray Matter
FRC 5712 · Coding Workshop
WPILib 2027 is still in alpha: these pages change as the APIs settle.
Gray Matter Coding
Gray Matter Coding Workshop
FRC 5712 · Hemlock, Michigan

FRC Team 5712
Coding Workshops

30 lessons on programming an FRC robot, from spinning a motor in Tuner X to a swerve drive that finds itself with a camera. Every lesson runs on real hardware.

What you’ll program

Four mechanisms. Five workshops.

01Hardware & CTREBench mechanisms tuned in Tuner X before robot code begins.
The single-jointed arm on its bench mount
Position control
Robot Arm
Hold an exact angle while gravity pulls against you.
The two-motor shooter flywheel
Velocity control
Shooter Flywheel
Keep one speed under load, shot after shot.
03–04Swerve & VisionThe whole robot: calibrated motion, field pose, and perception.
A CTR swerve drive module
Holonomic drive
CTR Swerve
Eight motors, four encoders, one heading you trust.
A Limelight camera mounted on the robot
Perception
AprilTag Vision
Let the camera correct what the wheels got wrong.

The syllabus

Read it in order. Each lesson leaves the code in a state the next one starts from.

00
Getting Started
What the workshop is, what you need installed, and the CAD for the mechanisms.
01
Hardware & CTRE
Set up, identify, test, and tune a motor entirely in Phoenix Tuner X.
02
Code Foundations
The Java and the Commands v3 vocabulary a robot program is built out of, before you write any of it.
03
Robot Programming
Make the project, write the mechanism and its commands, bind them to a controller, and drive it closed loop.
04
Routines
Put commands in order, end a step when the mechanism arrives, write a routine that holds two things at once, and record what it did.
05
Swerve & Autonomous
Generate and calibrate a swerve drive, plan a path, and run an autonomous OpMode.
06
Vision & Navigation
Add vision, drive to field poses, profile the motion, and plan around obstacles.

30 lessons · six workshops · one code repository

Get started
Powered by
CTR ElectronicsMichAutoOffice of Future Mobility and ElectrificationLockwood STEM Center
Written by
Joe Lockwood · Josh Bacon
Chris Bale · Alex Haltom
Team 5712, Hemlock
With
Ethan Shannon
Team 5216
frc5712.com
© 2026Hemlock’s Gray Matter
Privacy