FRCTools

R702       *Teams may not alter coprocessor software. Modifying software on coprocessors, unless explicitly permitted in this rule or rule R703, is not allowed by teams. Firmware updates in binary form provided by the manufacturer may be applied as directed by the manufacturer.

The following are examples of allowed devices:

Example 1: The Adafruit BNO055 Absolute Orientation Sensor is an IMU package with an onboard ARM Cortex-M0 based coprocessor to crunch sensor data and produce composite output. Its coprocessor contains software that is not intended by the manufacturer to be modified by users.

Example 2: The SparkFun Optical Tracking Odometry Sensor is a laser and IMU tracking device that uses an onboard microcontroller to perform complex calculations and produce simplified results. SparkFun does provide the source code and toolchain for advanced users to modify/update the software, which is not permitted by this rule. Firmware updates provided by SparkFun are allowed to be applied to the device.

Example 3: The Digital Chicken Labs OctoQuad FTC Edition is an 8-channel encoder/PWM interface, utilizing a Raspberry Pi Pico coprocessor. Teams are not permitted to modify software running on the device, including replacing the software with their own. Updates provided in binary form by the manufacturer (Digital Chicken Labs) may be applied to the device.

Similar Rules

Rule R703
R703       *Some vision coprocessors can be programmed. Programmable vision coprocessors that are natively supported by the FTC SDK may be programmed. The programmable vision coprocessors that are supported are:
Rule R712
R712       *Only specified modifications to core control system devices permitted. The DRIVER STATION device and software, Android-based ROBOT CONTROLLER device, main and secondary power switch(es), power regulation devices, fuses, and batteries shall not be tampered with, modified, or adjusted in any way (tampering includes drilling, cutting, machining, rewiring, disassembling, painting, removing enclosures and replacing with custom enclosures, etc.), with the following exceptions:
Rule R701
R701       *Control the ROBOT with a single ROBOT CONTROLLER. ROBOTS must be controlled via 1 programmable ROBOT CONTROLLER. The ROBOT CONTROLLER is the only source of control for the ROBOT actuators and must be comprised of: 
Rule R713
R713       *Always keep control system device software up to date. The following table lists the recommended software versions for each core control electronics module, and a link on how to update this software. Note that some devices have multiple pieces of software that may need to be updated each season, and not all software is available prior to Kickoff each season. Check the FIRST Tech Challenge Blog for release announcements.