Motor Controller Feature Matrix

This page provides a comprehensive comparison of supported SmartMotorControllerConfig features across all motor controller wrappers in YAMS.

Supported Motor Controllers

Wrapper

Vendor

Hardware

Package Location

TalonFXWrapper

CTRE

TalonFX (Kraken X60, Falcon 500)

yams.motorcontrollers.remote

TalonFXSWrapper

CTRE

TalonFXS (controls NEO, NEO 550, Vortex, Minion)

yams.motorcontrollers.remote

SparkWrapper

REV

SparkMax, SparkFlex

yams.motorcontrollers.local

NovaWrapper

ThriftyBot

ThriftyNova

yams.motorcontrollers.local

Vendor Configuration Classes

Each wrapper accepts a specific vendor configuration class via SmartMotorControllerConfig.withVendorConfig(). This allows you to pass through vendor-specific settings that YAMS doesn't directly expose.

Wrapper

Accepted Vendor Config Class

Package

TalonFXWrapper

TalonFXConfiguration

com.ctre.phoenix6.configs

TalonFXSWrapper

TalonFXSConfiguration

com.ctre.phoenix6.configs

SparkWrapper (SparkMax)

SparkMaxConfig

com.revrobotics.spark.config

SparkWrapper (SparkFlex)

SparkFlexConfig

com.revrobotics.spark.config

NovaWrapper

ThriftyNovaConfig

com.thethriftybot.devices.ThriftyNova

SparkWrapper Note: The vendor config class must match the actual hardware. Use SparkMaxConfig for SparkMax controllers and SparkFlexConfig for SparkFlex controllers. Using the wrong config type will throw a SmartMotorControllerConfigurationException.

Vendor Config Examples

TalonFX with TalonFXConfiguration

import com.ctre.phoenix6.configs.TalonFXConfiguration;
import com.ctre.phoenix6.signals.NeutralModeValue;

TalonFXConfiguration vendorConfig = new TalonFXConfiguration();
// Configure vendor-specific settings not exposed by YAMS
vendorConfig.Audio.BeepOnBoot = false;
vendorConfig.Audio.BeepOnConfig = false;

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withVendorConfig(vendorConfig)  // Must be TalonFXConfiguration
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(1, 0, 0)
    // ... other YAMS config
    ;

SmartMotorController smc = new TalonFXWrapper(talonFX, DCMotor.getKrakenX60(1), config);

TalonFXS with TalonFXSConfiguration

import com.ctre.phoenix6.configs.TalonFXSConfiguration;
import com.ctre.phoenix6.signals.MotorArrangementValue;

TalonFXSConfiguration vendorConfig = new TalonFXSConfiguration();
// Note: Motor arrangement is auto-detected by YAMS based on DCMotor type
// but you can configure other vendor-specific settings here

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withVendorConfig(vendorConfig)  // Must be TalonFXSConfiguration
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(0.5, 0, 0)
    // ... other YAMS config
    ;

SmartMotorController smc = new TalonFXSWrapper(talonFXS, DCMotor.getNEO(1), config);

SparkMax with SparkMaxConfig

import com.revrobotics.spark.config.SparkMaxConfig;
import com.revrobotics.spark.SparkMax;
import com.revrobotics.spark.SparkLowLevel.MotorType;

SparkMaxConfig vendorConfig = new SparkMaxConfig();
// Configure vendor-specific settings not exposed by YAMS
vendorConfig.signals.primaryEncoderPositionPeriodMs(10);
vendorConfig.signals.primaryEncoderVelocityPeriodMs(20);

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withVendorConfig(vendorConfig)  // Must be SparkMaxConfig for SparkMax
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(1, 0, 0)
    // ... other YAMS config
    ;

SparkMax sparkMax = new SparkMax(1, MotorType.kBrushless);
SmartMotorController smc = new SparkWrapper(sparkMax, DCMotor.getNEO(1), config);

SparkFlex with SparkFlexConfig

import com.revrobotics.spark.config.SparkFlexConfig;
import com.revrobotics.spark.SparkFlex;
import com.revrobotics.spark.SparkLowLevel.MotorType;

SparkFlexConfig vendorConfig = new SparkFlexConfig();
// Configure vendor-specific settings not exposed by YAMS

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withVendorConfig(vendorConfig)  // Must be SparkFlexConfig for SparkFlex
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(1, 0, 0)
    // ... other YAMS config
    ;

SparkFlex sparkFlex = new SparkFlex(1, MotorType.kBrushless);
SmartMotorController smc = new SparkWrapper(sparkFlex, DCMotor.getNeoVortex(1), config);

ThriftyNova with ThriftyNovaConfig

import com.thethriftybot.devices.ThriftyNova;
import com.thethriftybot.devices.ThriftyNova.ThriftyNovaConfig;

ThriftyNovaConfig vendorConfig = new ThriftyNovaConfig();
// Configure vendor-specific settings not exposed by YAMS

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withVendorConfig(vendorConfig)  // Must be ThriftyNovaConfig
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(0.5, 0, 0)
    // ... other YAMS config
    ;

ThriftyNova nova = new ThriftyNova(1);
SmartMotorController smc = new NovaWrapper(nova, DCMotor.getNEO(1), config);

Configuration Priority: Settings in SmartMotorControllerConfig always take precedence over vendor config settings. The vendor config is applied first as a base, then YAMS overwrites any settings it manages directly.

Feature Support Matrix

Legend

Symbol

Meaning

✅

Fully Supported

⚠️

Partially Supported (see notes)

❌

Not Supported

🔧

Requires Vendor Config

Basic Configuration

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Motor Inversion

✅

Encoder Inversion

✅

❌

Idle Mode (Brake/Coast)

✅

Reset Previous Config

✅

Vendor Config Passthrough

✅

Starting Position

✅

Current Limits

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Stator Current Limit

✅

Supply Current Limit

✅

Voltage Configuration

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Voltage Compensation

✅

Closed Loop Max Voltage

✅

Ramp Rates

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Open Loop Ramp Rate

✅

⚠️ (uses closed loop value)

Closed Loop Ramp Rate

✅

Nova Note: ThriftyNova does not support separate open loop and closed loop ramp rates. The closed loop ramp rate value is used for both.

Gearing

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Mechanism Gearing

✅

External Encoder Gearing

✅

Mechanism Circumference (Linear)

✅

Closed Loop Control

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

PID Controller

✅

LQR Controller

⚠️ (RoboRIO)

Closed Loop Tolerance

✅

Control Period Override

✅

LQR Controller Execution: LQR is not natively supported by any motor controller hardware. When configured, the closed loop control runs on the RoboRIO via SmartMotorController.iterateClosedLoop(). This means you must call iterateClosedLoop() in your periodic method (mechanism classes handle this automatically). See LQR Controllers for details.

Motion Profiles

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Trapezoidal Profile

✅ (Motion Magic)

✅ (MAXMotion)

⚠️(RoboRIO)

Exponential Profile

✅ (Motion Magic Expo)

⚠️ (RoboRIO)

Profile Execution Location:

TalonFX/TalonFXS: Profiles run on the motor controller (Motion Magic)
SparkMax/SparkFlex: Trapezoidal profiles run on motor controller (MAXMotion), exponential profiles run on RoboRIO
Nova: All profiles run on RoboRIO

Feedforward

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

SimpleMotorFeedforward

✅

ArmFeedforward

✅

ElevatorFeedforward

✅

Simulation Feedforward

✅

Soft Limits

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Angle Soft Limits

✅

Distance Soft Limits

✅

Continuous Wrapping

✅

⚠️ (RoboRIO PID only)

External Encoders

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

External Encoder Support

✅

External Encoder Inversion

✅

❌

External Encoder Zero Offset

✅

❌

Use External for Feedback

✅

Feedback Synchronization

✅

❌

Supported External Encoder Types:

Wrapper

Supported Encoders

TalonFX

CANcoder, CANdi (PWM1/PWM2)

TalonFXS

CANcoder, CANdi (PWM1/PWM2)

SparkMax/Flex

SparkAbsoluteEncoder (Through Bore, REV Hex)

Nova

ThriftyNova ExternalEncoder (ABS type)

Follower Motors

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Hardware Followers

✅

Follower Inversion

✅

Loosely Coupled Followers

✅

Follower Compatibility: Followers must be the same brand as the leader motor controller. You cannot mix vendors for hardware followers.

Telemetry

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Telemetry Name

✅

Telemetry Verbosity

✅

Custom Telemetry Config

✅

Simulation

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

DCMotorSim

✅

Moment of Inertia

✅

Custom Sim Supplier

✅

External Encoder Sim

✅

⚠️

Safety Features

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

Temperature Cutoff

❌

✅

SysId Integration

Feature

TalonFX

TalonFXS

SparkMax/Flex

Nova

SysId Routine Support

✅ (SignalLogger)

✅

Custom SysId Config

✅

Motor Type Support by Wrapper

TalonFXWrapper

Kraken X60 / Kraken X60 FOC
Falcon 500 / Falcon 500 FOC

TalonFXSWrapper

NEO (via JST connector)
NEO 550 (via JST connector)
NEO Vortex (via JST connector)
Minion (via JST connector, with Advanced Hall Support)

SparkWrapper

NEO (SparkMax with brushless mode)
NEO 550 (SparkMax with brushless mode)
NEO Vortex (SparkFlex)
Any brushless motor (SparkMax/SparkFlex)

NovaWrapper

NEO
NEO 550
NEO Vortex
Any motor compatible with ThriftyNova

Configuration Examples

TalonFX with CANcoder

TalonFX motor = new TalonFX(1);
CANcoder encoder = new CANcoder(2);

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(1, 0, 0)
    .withGearing(new MechanismGearing(GearBox.fromReductionStages(5)))
    .withExternalEncoder(encoder)
    .withExternalEncoderZeroOffset(Degrees.of(90))
    .withUseExternalFeedbackEncoder(true)
    .withIdleMode(MotorMode.BRAKE)
    .withStatorCurrentLimit(Amps.of(40))
    .withTelemetry("ArmMotor", TelemetryVerbosity.HIGH);

SmartMotorController smc = new TalonFXWrapper(motor, DCMotor.getKrakenX60(1), config);

TalonFXS with NEO

TalonFXS motor = new TalonFXS(1);

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(0.5, 0, 0)
    .withGearing(new MechanismGearing(GearBox.fromReductionStages(4)))
    .withFeedforward(new SimpleMotorFeedforward(0.1, 0.12, 0))
    .withIdleMode(MotorMode.COAST)
    .withStatorCurrentLimit(Amps.of(40))
    .withTelemetry("FlywheelMotor", TelemetryVerbosity.HIGH);

SmartMotorController smc = new TalonFXSWrapper(motor, DCMotor.getNEO(1), config);

SparkMax with Absolute Encoder

SparkMax spark = new SparkMax(1, MotorType.kBrushless);

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(1, 0, 0, DegreesPerSecond.of(180), DegreesPerSecondPerSecond.of(360))
    .withExternalEncoder(spark.getAbsoluteEncoder())
    .withExternalEncoderInverted(true)
    .withUseExternalFeedbackEncoder(true)
    .withExternalEncoderZeroOffset(Degrees.of(45))
    .withFeedforward(new ArmFeedforward(0, 0.5, 0, 0))
    .withIdleMode(MotorMode.BRAKE)
    .withTelemetry("WristMotor", TelemetryVerbosity.HIGH);

SmartMotorController smc = new SparkWrapper(spark, DCMotor.getNEO(1), config);

ThriftyNova Basic Setup

ThriftyNova nova = new ThriftyNova(1);

SmartMotorControllerConfig config = new SmartMotorControllerConfig(this)
    .withControlMode(ControlMode.CLOSED_LOOP)
    .withClosedLoopController(0.5, 0, 0)
    .withGearing(new MechanismGearing(GearBox.fromReductionStages(5)))
    .withFeedforward(new SimpleMotorFeedforward(0, 0.12, 0))
    .withIdleMode(MotorMode.COAST)
    .withStatorCurrentLimit(Amps.of(30))
    .withTelemetry("IntakeMotor", TelemetryVerbosity.MEDIUM);

SmartMotorController smc = new NovaWrapper(nova, DCMotor.getNEO(1), config);

Known Limitations

ThriftyNova (NovaWrapper)

No separate open/closed loop ramp rates
No encoder inversion support
No external encoder inversion
No zero offset for external encoders
No feedback synchronization threshold
Continuous wrapping only works with RoboRIO-side PID

SparkMax/SparkFlex (SparkWrapper)

Exponential profiles run on RoboRIO, not on motor controller
External encoders must be REV-compatible (Through Bore, Hex)

TalonFX/TalonFXS

Requires Phoenix 6 library
CANcoder/CANdi must be on same CAN bus for best performance

PreviousSmart Motor Controllers NextSimulation Only PID + FeedForward

Last updated 7 days ago

hashtagSupported Motor Controllers

hashtagVendor Configuration Classes

hashtagVendor Config Examples

hashtagTalonFX with TalonFXConfiguration

hashtagTalonFXS with TalonFXSConfiguration

hashtagSparkMax with SparkMaxConfig

hashtagSparkFlex with SparkFlexConfig

hashtagThriftyNova with ThriftyNovaConfig

hashtagFeature Support Matrix

hashtagLegend

hashtagBasic Configuration

hashtagCurrent Limits

hashtagVoltage Configuration

hashtagRamp Rates

hashtagGearing

hashtagClosed Loop Control

hashtagMotion Profiles

hashtagFeedforward

hashtagSoft Limits

hashtagExternal Encoders

hashtagFollower Motors

hashtagTelemetry

hashtagSimulation

hashtagSafety Features

hashtagSysId Integration

hashtagMotor Type Support by Wrapper

hashtagTalonFXWrapper

hashtagTalonFXSWrapper

hashtagSparkWrapper

hashtagNovaWrapper

hashtagConfiguration Examples

hashtagTalonFX with CANcoder

hashtagTalonFXS with NEO

hashtagSparkMax with Absolute Encoder

hashtagThriftyNova Basic Setup

hashtagKnown Limitations

hashtagThriftyNova (NovaWrapper)

hashtagSparkMax/SparkFlex (SparkWrapper)

hashtagTalonFX/TalonFXS

Supported Motor Controllers

Vendor Configuration Classes

Vendor Config Examples

TalonFX with TalonFXConfiguration

TalonFXS with TalonFXSConfiguration

SparkMax with SparkMaxConfig

SparkFlex with SparkFlexConfig

ThriftyNova with ThriftyNovaConfig

Feature Support Matrix

Legend

Basic Configuration

Current Limits

Voltage Configuration

Ramp Rates

Gearing

Closed Loop Control

Motion Profiles

Feedforward

Soft Limits

External Encoders

Follower Motors

Telemetry

Simulation

Safety Features

SysId Integration

Motor Type Support by Wrapper

TalonFXWrapper

TalonFXSWrapper

SparkWrapper

NovaWrapper

Configuration Examples

TalonFX with CANcoder

TalonFXS with NEO

SparkMax with Absolute Encoder

ThriftyNova Basic Setup

Known Limitations

ThriftyNova (NovaWrapper)

SparkMax/SparkFlex (SparkWrapper)

TalonFX/TalonFXS