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The most popular ARM processor for microcontroller applications is the ARM7TDMI. It's a 32-bit processor that is typically found in the 50-60MIPS range (with hardware multiply), and generally includes plenty of i/o, program and data memory at a very reasonable cost (as low as $1.50 for an NXP LPC2101). A number of companies produce microcontrollers based on ARM7 - ATMEL, Philips/NXP, Analog Devices, etc. A wealth of development tools are available, including free compilers (GNUARM), RTOS, Linux, etc. We use the Philips/NXP LPC2106 as our main processor, and are very pleased with the ease of software development and hardware integration. You'll find a nice overview here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture
The hot new ARM7 is the Philips/NXP LPC2368 - it's packed with goodies -512KB on-chip Flash ROM with In-System Programming (ISP) and In-Application Programming (IAP), 58KB RAM, CPU clock up to 72 MHz, On-chip crystal oscillator, On-chip 4MHz RC oscillator, On-chip PLL Enhanced Vectored Interrupt Controller, Ethernet 10/100 MAC with DMA, USB 2.0 Full Speed Device Controller, CAN 2.0B with two channels, General purpose DMA controller, Four UARTs, one with full modem interface, Three I2C serial interfaces, Three SPI/SSP serial interfaces, I2S interface, SD/MMC memory-card interface, 10-bit ADC with 6 channels, 10-bit DAC, Four 32-bit timers with capture/compare, Watchdog Timer, PWM unit for three-phase motor control, Real Time Clock with optional battery backup, Brown-out detect circuit, General purpose I/O pins.The LPC2368 costs $6.50 in 1k volume. Only issue is that it's a 160pin BGA package, so the circuit board isn't so cheap. The LPC210x has only 48 pins. Keil has a development board for the LPC2368. I've looked pretty closely at this chip, but probably will move toward a multiprocessor LPC210x architecture in future development.
So, are you saying that the board I have suggested is pretty old now? These, after all, were bought half a year ago.I was also wondering, whether, for the chips you have suggested, is there more cost involved to develop for them?Are there better boards available for the same rough costing, that are free to develop for?
Are there more powerful boards, say, with 1 MB of RAM and a ~25-50 MHz ARM processor? I'm wondering what could be used to build a small walker robot for example (say, something as big as plen the skateboarding robot, using servos to move all limbs). Something powerful enough to do a little bit of vision processing.
Quote from: Nyx on February 26, 2007, 05:27:28 PMAre there more powerful boards, say, with 1 MB of RAM and a ~25-50 MHz ARM processor? I'm wondering what could be used to build a small walker robot for example (say, something as big as plen the skateboarding robot, using servos to move all limbs). Something powerful enough to do a little bit of vision processing.If you're going to do vision processing, why not have a dedicated DSP?
What do you mean by a DSP, do you mean an FPGA? I suppose that's an option, but I would still need some algorithmic control in there, so my question still stands...There's also the fact that it's alot easier to tune a program.