Sensors and controls

[Sensor Guy]

Hello

Although I am not a robot building guy; I think it fits within my application. I am trying to setup a micro controller so that it would read different sensors and based on that it would turn certain things on. I would like to setup many of these micro controllers, so the cost has to be cheap eventually but for now I am interested in setting up a couple of demos.
in short here is what I would like to accomplish.
1- read many different sensors
2-turn on and off different components
3-Setup the communication so that I can use wireless communication between the micro controllers and have the data sent wirelessly (Zigbi...?)

My only issue is how do I protect the sensors and how can I make these things work together.

This might seem basic to many of you; however I would like to make sure I am on the right track

Thank you

[z.s.tar.gz]

By sensors I'm assuming your run of the mill rangefinders, accelerometers, and whatnot.
All these need is a regulated power supply so I don't know what you mean by "protecting" the sensors

Turning things on and off is slightly more complex. Low current components such as leds and buzzers can be powered directly from a microcontroller. High current components such as motors and servos however need to be run through a mosfet.

There are many ways to wirelessly communicate between microcontrollers so you'll have to do some research on your own. It all depends on your needs for this application.

In the future here's a little rule of thumb: The better the question the better the answer. Put as much information to work with into the question as you can.

[corrado33]

You've stumbled upon the basics of robotics.   

1- read many different sensors
2-turn on and off different components

Do you know any programming language?  C or C++ maybe?  To be able to do this, you're going to have to program a microcontroller.  I don't know any other way, although I'm sure there are some.  To read in different values from a sensor, you'd probably use the analog to digital converter, or ADC for short.  Search for those terms and you'll get lots of results.

Turning on and off different components based on sensor values is simple programming.  You would simply turn a port on the microcontroller "On" or "Off".  Again, you would need to learn how program before you could make any of this happen.

3-Setup the communication so that I can use wireless communication between the micro controllers and have the data sent wirelessly (Zigbi...?)

My only issue is how do I protect the sensors and how can I make these things work together.

Wireless communication...  Someone else is going to have to help you with that.  lol

And what do you mean by "protect the sensors".
This might seem basic to many of you; however I would like to make sure I am on the right track

[Soeren]

Hi,

I am trying to setup a micro controller so that it would read different sensors

Which sensors?
(There's quite a difference in reading eg. a rain sensor and a gyro).

and based on that it would turn certain things on.

Which things?
(Volt, Ampere, AC or DC, inductive or not, these things matter).

I would like to setup many of these micro controllers, so the cost has to be cheap eventually but for now I am interested in setting up a couple of demos.

Either it's important or it isn't. If it isn't, it's just obfuscating info.

in short here is what I would like to accomplish.
1- read many different sensors
2-turn on and off different components
3-Setup the communication so that I can use wireless communication between the micro controllers and have the data sent wirelessly (Zigbi...?)

Best way to communicate is probably through a base station.
But, again your question lack specificity - we engineers don't count in few, more, many, most, we have a secret language that for numeric sizes are called numbers, so how many sensors, how many controllers, how many actuators (eg. those that turns something on/off), how far between each unit?
Feel free to enlighten us with further data, like the purpose of it all, as it allways help to have a mental image as a model.

My only issue is how do I protect the sensors and how can I make these things work together.

Protect from what?
Noise, ESD, EMP, The Bogeyman?

Making them work together seems to be an issue to deal with later on, first you need to find out what needs to go where and what it should accomplish in a single module. When you have a couple of modules working their base functions you can start making them cooperate.

[corrado33]

The Bogeyman?

Har har har.   

Making them work together seems to be an issue to deal with later on, first you need to find out what needs to go where and what it should accomplish in a single module. When you have a couple of modules working their base functions you can start making them cooperate.

Agreed, start with the basics, and work your way up.

[waltr]

Agreed, start with the basics, and work your way up.

Yep. Do read through all of the SoR tutorials and articles (link at top of page). There you can start to pick up the basics of electronics and uControllers.
good luck and have fun

[Sensor Guy]

Hello;

Thank you all for the reply; I am trying to make a small data logger that will read and record sensor readings in the field. (growing strawberry plants) There are commercial systems out there but are very expensive. I can buy the sensors, all I need is a way to read them and then based on these sensors I can turn water valves on or off. I know this is off the topic but fits within what I am trying to do.

The idea is to have many of these stations and have all the information sent over the internet.

My ultimate goal is to build a field robot that will take those measurements for me from many different locations in the field. This will be for the future

Here are some examples of the sensors

1- Soil moisture sensor
Dielectric Measurement Frequency:    70 MHz.
Measurement Time:    150 ms
Power: 3.6 - 15 VDC, 0.3 mA quiescent, 10 mA during 150 ms measurement
Output: Serial TTL, 3.6 Volt Levels or SDI 12 (contact Decagon for information on SDI-12 mode)

2-Light Sensor:
Range:Full Sunlight: 400 mV (2000 μmol m-2s-1) Linear Range: 0 μmol m-2 s-1 (0 mV) to 5000 μmol m-2s-1 (1000 mV) note that full sunlight is about 2000 μmol m-2s-1
3-Humidity and Temp
Humidity Resolution:0.1% RH
Temperature Resolution: 0.1°C
Humidity Range:    3 to 100% RH
Sensor Type: Digital capacitance and thermistor
Output: I2C

[waltr]

build a field robot that will take those measurements for me from many different locations in the field

Great idea.
Do ask specific questions when you get stuck trying to understand something or getting it to work.
Best luck and have fun.