Pedro Pathing vs Road Runner

Pedro Pathing is a path-following library that utilizes a reactive vector follower that implements translational, heading, and centripetal force correction to dynamically converge to the target position.

Links:

• Docs: https://pedropathing.com
• Quickstart: https://github.com/Pedro-Pathing/Quickstart
• Library: https://github.com/Pedro-Pathing/PedroPathing
• Visualizer: https://visualizer.pedropathing.com

Pros of Pedro:

• Can make your bot drive faster.
• Excellent correction for unexpected disturbances.
• Has a no-code, browser-based path visualizer.
• Caches motor writes by default.
• Corrects for centripetal force to hold the robot onto curved paths.
• Path curves can be manually set using control points.

Cons of Pedro:

• Newer, so potentially buggier.
• Less people use it compared to Road Runner.
• Tuning is mostly manual.
• Not necessarily time-consistent; speed is prioritized over consistency.
• Visualizer uses a nonstandard (0 - 144) coordinate scheme.
• Path curves are not automatically optimized, and must be manually set using control points.
• Quickstart code is not under the standard TeamCode package name, making using SlothLoad and integrating existing projects more difficult.
• Does not bulk read by default.
• No logs, so no replays of each run and much more difficult debugging.
• No AdvantageScope support.

Road Runner is a motion-profiling-based follower library that includes a command-based action system and geometry.

It prioritizes time consistency above all else.

• Docs: https://rr.brott.dev/docs/v1-0/installation/
• Quickstart: https://github.com/acmerobotics/road-runner-quickstart/tree/master/
• Library: https://github.com/acmerobotics/road-runner/
• Visualizer: https://github.com/acmerobotics/meepmeep

Pros of Road Runner:

• Stable, minimal bugs if any.
• Time consistent by default.
• Tuning is almost fully automated, making it difficult to screw up.
• Extensively tested and used by thousands of teams; almost all possible problems have been solved before.
• Path curves are automatically optimized to create the ideal path based on your robot's constants.
• Uses the FIRST-recommended standard coordinate system consistently.
• Works with SlothLoad immediately.
• Bulk reads by default.
• Built-in custom logs, for easier debugging and full replays of every run.
• Full AdvantageScope support.

Cons of Roadrunner:

• Prioritizes time consistency above all else, meaning potentially worse correction.
• Slower speed by default.
• Path curves are less flexible then Pedro.
• Path visualizer is code based.
• Does not cache motor writes by default.
• No built-in centripetal force correction.

Last Updated: 2025-3-29