Java API summary#

The everyday tier, which is what most teams need. Every method validates its arguments and throws a message that names the fix rather than an array index exception.

Getting the device#

BBRDigitalExpander exp = hardwareMap.get(BBRDigitalExpander.class, "expander");

Encoders#

Method	Returns
`getEncoderCount(channel)`	Signed accumulated counts
`getEncoderVelocity(channel)`	Signed counts per second, computed on the board
`getPulseWidthUs(channel)`	Pulse width in µs (PULSE_WIDTH mode only)
`resetEncoder(channel)`	—
`resetAllEncoders()`	—

Sensors#

Method	Returns
`isSensorConnected(port)`	`boolean`
`getSensorType(port)`	`COLOR`, `DISTANCE`, or `EMPTY`
`getColorClass(port)`	`0` for no match, else the colour slot `1`–`7`
`seesColor(port, classSlot)`	`boolean`
`getDistanceMm(port)`	Distance in mm

Teaching and triggers#

All of these save to flash automatically, which is why they are setup calls: run them once, or on a button press, never in a match loop. See Set up once.

Method	Effect
`teachColor(port, classSlot)`	Learn the colour currently in view
`triggerOnColor(output, port, classSlot)`	Output high while that colour is seen
`triggerWhenNear(output, port, maxMm)`	Output high while something is within range
`triggerWhenEncoderPast(output, channel, counts)`	Output high past a threshold
`triggerWhenFacing(output, headingDeg, toleranceDeg)`	Output high while facing that heading
`clearOutputLatch(output)`	Un-latch one output
`clearAllOutputLatches()`	Un-latch all four

Heading and pose#

These throw rather than return a heading or pose the board cannot stand behind.

Method	Returns
`getHeading()`	Degrees, CCW positive
`resetHeading()`	—
`calibrateGyro()`	— (robot must be still, ~1 s)
`getPose()`	`Pose2D` — mm, radians, +X forward, +Y left
`setPose(pose)`	—
`waitForLocalizerReady(timeoutMs)`	`boolean`
`readImu()`	`ImuState`

Mounting and direction#

Set once when the board is bolted on; not auto-saved, so follow with saveConfigToFlash().

Method	Effect
`setEncoderInvertMask(mask)`	Bit per channel; set inverts that encoder’s direction
`getEncoderInvertMask()`	Current mask
`setImuAxisUp(axis)`	Which board axis points up (`BBRRegMap.AXIS_*`, flat is `AXIS_POS_Z`)
`getImuAxisUp()`	Current axis-up setting

Board identity#

Method	Returns
`getCapabilities()`	Capability bits
`isConfigDirty()`	Are there unsaved config changes
`isDataFresh()`	Did the last read actually reach the device

Advanced tier#

The full register map is available underneath: configureOutput(), writeColorClass(), writeDistanceClass(), setChannelMode(), setPwmChannelParams(), setLocalizerParams(), readTelemetry(), runCommand().

Nothing in the advanced tier saves automatically. Call saveConfigToFlash(), or the configuration is gone at power-off. isConfigDirty() tells you whether you have unsaved changes.

Behaviour worth knowing#

Init refuses loudly. A wrong device ID or an unsupported protocol version throws at init rather than producing corrupt data later.

One transaction per snapshot. The everyday getters share a snapshot refreshed roughly every 10 ms, so four questions in one loop iteration cost one transaction and the answers are mutually consistent.

Commands are idempotent. Every command carries a token, so an I2C retry cannot execute it twice.

Config writes are verified by readback. The bus layer never NAKs, so an out-of-range value would otherwise be silently ignored.

IMU access throws when the gyro cannot be trusted rather than returning zeros, because a heading of 0.00 that never changes is indistinguishable from working software.

Failed reads serve the last known good value. When a read cannot reach the device the driver returns the previous snapshot and isDataFresh() goes false, rather than throwing. This is what stops a normal OpMode shutdown from detonating your loop. A genuine wiring fault — a long streak of failures — still throws.

BBRTransportException means the read never reached the device, not that anything is broken. The SDK tears the I2C device down when an OpMode stops, so a read already in flight comes back empty. A polling loop should catch it and break.