RObot Controllers

[alaverdure]

I am researching my robot project, but i am at a lost of which controller to use. can some one help me with the pros and cons of using a basic stamp, oopic-r, or ebox 2300 micro pc with WIN CE.

second question, Does microsoft robotic studio support programing for oopic-r

I am a novice at this, but i do program in BASIC so any help would be Great

Thanks  Alain

[Ro-Bot-X]

I strongly sugest NOT getting a oopic-r microcontroller.

Get a ATMEGA8. Use BASCOM-AVR to program it in Basic. Lots of samples on their website. I am also using it...

[Ro-Bot-X]

BASCOM-AVR is the original Windows BASIC COMPILER for the AVR family. It is designed to run on W95/W98/NT/W2000/XP and Vista


Key Benefits
Structured BASIC with labels.
Structured programming with IF-THEN-ELSE-END IF, DO-LOOP, WHILE-WEND, SELECT- CASE.
Fast machine code instead of interpreted code.
Variables and labels can be as long as 32 characters.
Bit, Byte, Integer, Word, Long, Single , DOUBLE and String variables.
 Support for the DOUBLE. Not found in any AVR compiler, BASCOM gives you the advantage to crunch huge numbers with the DOUBLE(8 byte Floating Point)
Large set of Trig Floating point functions.
 Date & Time calculation functions.
Compiled programs work with all AVR microprocessors that have internal memory.
Statements are highly compatible with Microsoft?s VB/QB.
Special commands for LCD-displays , I2C chips and 1WIRE chips, PC keyboad, matrix keyboad, RC5 reception, software UART, SPI , graphical LCD, send IR RC5, RC6 or Sony code.
 TCP/IP with W3100A chip.
Local variables, user functions, library support.
Integrated terminal emulator with download option..
Integrated simulator for testing.
Integrated ISP programmer (application note AVR910.ASM).
Integrated STK200 programmer and STK300 programmer. Also supported is the low cost Sample Electronics programmer. Can be built in 10 minutes! Many other programmers supported via the Universal Interface.
Editor with statement highlighting.
PDF datasheet viewer

Context sensitive help.
Perfectly matches the following  boards :

MAVRIC and the MAVRIC-II from BDMICRO.
AVR robot controller (ARC 1.1) from L. Barello
Active Mega8535 Micro Board from Active Robots
DEMO version compiles 4KB of code. Well suited for the AT90S2313.
English an German Books available
Special Tcp/Ip library, AT mouse simulator, AT keyboard simulator and others are available as  add on.

[alaverdure]

Is the AVR Compatible with Microsoft robotic studio?  what does everyone think about the ebox 2300.

I am looking for a controler that is powerfull, expandable, and easy to program.

from i have seen i think the AVR is more than i can chew

thanks for the help Alain

[Admin]

I think 95% of the experienced people on this site will either say PIC or AVR is the best.

If you want an AVR tutorial for beginners, check out this:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/step_by_step_robot.shtml

[Steve Joblin]

Agreeing with Admin, if you want to go the PIC route, there are two very good Microcontrollers based on PIC... Paralax Stamps are very well engineered and have a very large following with lots of support and tutorials.  Across the pond in the UK are the PICAXEs which are very inexpensive and probably offer the biggest "bang for your buck" for microcontrollers that can be programmed in BASIC.  Both offer a very friendly (and free) IDE (the software you run on your computer which enables you to create and debug your BASIC prorgrams), and do not need any additional hardware for loading your program from your computer to the Microcontroller.

Check out www.parallax.com and www.picaxe.com