The Basics

The cortex is a simple controller, it really does not do that much. There are 12 digital ports, these can be used as inputs or outputs or be configured for more complex sensors that use multiple connections. There are 8 analog inputs and 10 motor ports. Two of the motor ports use built-in motor controllers while the other 8 use three wire servo style connections. There are two serial ports that can be used for the VEX LCD display or other user defined functions and, last but not least, an I2C port that currently supports the integrated motor encoders.

Almost all robotic control programs on the cortex have the same elements.

1. We must configure the cortex for the motors and sensors that are connected.
2. We read information from the joystick and connected sensors.
3. We drive the motors forwards and backwards based on the data we have read.
4. We give the operator feedback using LEDs, the VEX speaker and the VEX LCD display.

The following sections discuss the basic commands needed to achieve these.

• Loading the demo projects
• Creating a new project
• Cortex configuration
• Reading Joystick values
• Controlling motors
• Reading sensors
• Display on the LCD
• Debug and command shell
• Using multi tasking