Pinpoint Odometry Computer (IMU Sensor Fusion for 2 Wheel Odometry)

Help your robot know exactly where it’s at with the Pinpoint Odometry Computer! This coprocessor performs sensor fusion between two Dead-Wheel Odometry Pods (like SKU: 3110-0001-0001 or 3110-0001-0002) and an internal IMU to locate your robot to a precise pinpoint. It reads your robot’s estimated position back to the controller via I²C, giving you access to data in a snap.

Designed specifically for odometry in FTC, the Pinpoint hits two vital targets:

1. Ease of Use

The Pinpoint makes odometry easier than ever to implement in your robot. Having heard the voices of teams who wish they could’ve done more to use odometry to the fullest, the goBILDA® R&D team laser-focused on the pain points that create inaccuracies in most teams’ dead-wheel localization to create a product that leaves all those hours of tuning in the past. 

Almost all of the tuning is done for you when you use two odometry pods and the dead-on accurate IMU of the Pinpoint. It’s as easy as telling it what kind of pods you have—and, optionally, where they are mounted on your robot.

2. Pinpoint Precision

More than just easy-to-use, the Pinpoint earns its name with its extreme precision. It is a coprocessor that is designed specifically for dead-wheel odometry, which makes it the most accurate dead-wheel odometry system you can buy! It leverages two key advantages over most dead wheel odometry systems:

Refresh Rate: The powerful internal processor allows stunningly fast processing. Instead of estimating your position every 0.01 to 0.03 seconds, the Pinpoint estimates your robot’s position every 0.00065 seconds. To put it another way: while most FTC dead-wheel systems run at 100-300hz, the Pinpoint runs at 1,500hz. The minimization of travel distance between readings drastically cuts down on error and allows the Pinpoint’s Constant Velocity Pose Estimation algorithm to really shine. It also means you can push your robot faster than ever!

Heading: Acquiring an accurate estimate of the absolute direction your robot is pointing is one of the most important components of Pose Estimation, which determines where your robot is on the field. Instead of relying on a third dead-wheel odometry pod, the Pinpoint has a shockingly-accurate Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that makes it a completely plug-and-play odometry solution you can drop straight into your robot! Not only is the sensor fusion algorithm baked into the Pinpoint tuned for FTC, the IMU of every single Pinpoint is pre-calibrated before it goes out the door. While the high-quality STM IMU (coupled with our heading algorithm) comes to us from the factory within 0.1% potential of error, we tune that down to 0.002%. You might as well consider the Pinpoint’s accuracy to be “ancient philosopher level”—this IMU provides capital-T “Truth”!

Best with goBILDA® Pods

The goBILDA® Odometry Pods are tuned specifically for FTC, and using them cuts out another tuning step. Because of their grippy omni wheels, as well as their gearless, non-contact, and baked-in encoder—and including the hours of fine-tuning spring tension that each Pod comes with—goBILDA® Odometry pods don’t require tuning for their distance traveled. Simply bolt them to your robot and be off to the races!

Of course, even though the Pinpoint is designed with goBILDA® Odometry Pods in mind, it’s compatible with any dead-wheel system that uses quadrature encoders. The Pinpoint’s hardware quadrature decoder means that even with super-high resolution encoders, you can trust that the Pinpoint counts every step diligently, no matter how fast they come.