Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: AntonyNeal on February 28, 2011, 07:32:52 PM

Title: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: AntonyNeal on February 28, 2011, 07:32:52 PM
I am starting a project with three friend’s to build a robot which carries out one specific task based purely on timing with no sensor input. It would need to control two DC motors, a vacuum which I assume would be powered by AC but I have not selected one yet and possibly some servos no more than three. The timing would need to be fairly accurate and the motors need enough power to. I would like to buy one which comes with a programmer and preferably one with tutorials and or clear noob friendly instructions. Me and my friends have some experience programing in c and basic if that changes anything. Also anything well under 100$ would be preferably but if that’s not possible then it’s not possible. Does anyone have ay recommendations on what I should buy? And is the Axon worth buying for my purposes or is it over kill for my project?

From what I understand from reading the microcontroller article is that all I will need to program a Augmented microcontroller will be the microcontroller, a compiler which is the software that compiles the code into a format which the microcontroller can work with and a uploader which interfaces your PC with the microcontroller is this correct? I believe this package contains the uploader and the microcontroller but not the compiler http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1302/resources. (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1302/resources.) Do I need a specific compiler designed for this chip? And where does every one think I should get the software from?
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: praveen_khm on March 01, 2011, 04:03:39 AM
AVR microcontroller is always a good choice.

Quote
The timing would need to be fairly accurate and the motors need enough power to

You can use a atmega8 or atmega16 for this basic purpose and for motor controller, you need a motor driver, or a H-bridge.

SoR has nice tutorials and especially if you are using AVR, then this is a good place to learn.

Axon costs almost 100$ and Axon II more than 100$. But if you purchase one, then it is a good buy as it has almost all required features necessary for a DIY project.

Quote
Me and my friends have some experience programing in c and basic if that changes anything

Ofcourse C knowledge helps a lot.
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: joe61 on March 01, 2011, 06:40:42 AM
Take a look at one of the Orangutan controllers at Pololu http://www.pololu.com/catalog/category/8. (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/category/8.) I have a couple of the Baby-Orangutans ($20 each). They have built in motor drivers for two DC motors, and they're well documented. They also come with a very easy to use C/C++ library which also has good documentation. If you don't have a programmer already you can get this bundled with one: http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1302. (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1302.) The programmer comes with a software scope you can monitor signal levels with. I've never used that part of it because it only runs on Windows, but Pololu puts out good stuff.

Joe
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: AntonyNeal on March 01, 2011, 04:31:31 PM
Thanks a lot for the advice but the links you gave me are broken.
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: Soeren on March 01, 2011, 04:46:46 PM
Thanks a lot for the advice but the links you gave me are broken.
Just remove the trailing period in the address line and reload.
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: AntonyNeal on March 01, 2011, 06:42:23 PM
Thank you
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: AntonyNeal on March 11, 2011, 07:49:02 PM
So from what I understand from reading the microcontroller article is that to program a Augmented micro controller I will need the microcontroller, a compiler which is the software that compiles the code into a format which the microcontroller can work with and a uploader which interfaces your PC with the microcontroller is this correct?. I believe this package contains the uploader and the microcontroller but not the compiler http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1302/resources. (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1302/resources.) Do I need a specific compiler designed for this chip? And where does every one think I should get the software from?
Title: Re: Noob needs help selecting a microcontroller
Post by: joe61 on March 12, 2011, 09:32:13 AM
Started to respond before realizing Soren had beat me to it.