MARLIN Controller

MARLIN is PolyMate's hands-on robotics platform: students write Python scripts that drive real robots, from first motor spins to full competition matches. This extension turns VS Code into the MARLIN control station.

What it does

• Run your robot code — start your program straight from the match controls; the MARLIN Python API ships with the extension, so there is nothing to install.
• Talk to your robot — the extension bridges your script to the MARLIN Controller over USB, so your code just imports marlin and drives.
• Run a match — autonomous and driver phases, E-Stop, and a console that shows what your program and the robot are doing.
• Compete — connect to the MARLIN field server for matches: team registration, alliance and station assignment, and radio beacon channels are handled for you.

Getting started

1. Install this extension.
2. Click the MARLIN icon in the activity bar to open the control station.
3. Press Create New Project and pick a template. MARLIN makes the folder, writes src/main.py, and opens it. Your code needs to live in a MARLIN project — that is how the extension knows what to run.
4. Plug the MARLIN Controller into a USB port, then in the Controller card press Refresh Ports and Connect.
5. In the Robot Brain card, pick your brain from the list and press Connect. The panel scans for nearby MARLIN brains as it opens; if yours is not listed you can type its name instead. The Controller makes the Bluetooth link, so connect it first.
6. Write your code in src/main.py, then press Auton or Driver.

Full tutorials and classroom guides are in MARLIN docs.

Running your program

Auton and Driver start your program for you if it is not already running, and wait for the robot to accept its configuration before the phase begins. The same buttons sit in the editor title bar while a MARLIN project is open.

• Auton runs for 20 seconds, then the match pauses.
• Driver keeps going until you change the phase, so you can test for as long as you like.
• Pause idles the robot but leaves your program running, so Auton or Driver picks straight back up.
• Stop Script ends the program. Use it when you want to start over, or if your code is stuck in a loop that ignores the phase.
• E-STOP cuts the robot's outputs and stays latched until you press Clear E-Stop.

Edit src/main.py and press Auton or Driver again — MARLIN notices the file changed and restarts your program, so you are never running yesterday's code.

Press Open MARLIN Console to see your program's output alongside messages from the extension, the Controller, and the field. The console can filter by source, and while your program is running you can type into it to answer an input() call.

Calibrate Sticks measures the joysticks in two steps. Let go of the whole panel first and it records where the sticks rest, so centre reads zero. It then takes one joystick at a time — left, then right — asking you to push that one all the way over and roll it clockwise around its edge while leaving the other alone. One lap measures both of that joystick's axes, so their ends read a full -100 and 100 even when the stick stops short of its electrical limit. Skip either joystick, or Cancel to stop after the one already done; a joystick that is skipped keeps its old full-range scaling. The result is saved in your project.

Settings

The remaining marlin-controller.* settings are set for you by the control panel and the field, and are listed in the Settings editor if you need them.

Support

Questions or issues? Ask your instructor, or reach the PolyMate team through MARLIN docs.