Subject:
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Interfacing BASIC Stamp and Lego?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Sun, 4 Jun 2000 02:58:28 GMT
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Viewed:
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575 times
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Hi Robotics Group-
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At the beginnning of the year, my high school and I participated in the FIRST
Robotics Competition. I got to go to Disney World, we all had fun, learned
lots, and life was good. Now that it's the offseason, It'd be nice to test
out different drivetrain ideas, control implementations, etc. However, each
Innovation First controller system isn't really ideal for testing stuff; $1400
each, batteries weighing >10 lbs., and overly powerful motor drivers are just
the start. What better prototyping system than Lego? Hours of research
later, I'd like to know which microcontroller is best.
</optional background>
I've narrowed my choice of a microcontroller to interface with lego down to a
few possibilities.
Maybe I could have some advice from the lugnet.robotics readers? Here's what I
know so far.
RCX:
Too expensive for what you get. I _absolutely_ need to have more than
four motor outputs, each running at the same time, so this is ruled out. Also,
the connector system makes wiring pots seem and servos seem tough.
<A HREF=”http://el.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/projects/handy-board/”>MIT
Handy Board:</A>
Really nice features, but just too expensive. It'd be great to have lots
of servo outputs, DC circuits built-in, and lots of other useful stuff, but at
the pre-built prices I've seen, I could buy stamps and an RF pair. Saving the
money by making it myself is out of the question, as I don't have much
experience with soldering.
<A HREF=”http://www.oopic.com>Savage Innovations OOPic</A>
The "virtual circuits" this microcontroller has, plus its OO design, would
make it really easy to use, and the price is right... but the documentation
isn't all that great.
<A HREF="http://www.basicx.com/">NetMedia BasicX-24</A>
Cheap and fast, and I really like the IDE.
<A
HREF="http://64.27.84.239/html_files/products/stamp_modules.asp#BS2">Parallax
BASIC Stamp II</A>
Cheap, and it has lots of other things going for it, best of which is that
it's the same microcontroller in the Innovation First Operator and Robot
interfaces. So any programming knowledge I gain from it would be directly
applicable to next year's FIRST robot. It has a great web site and
documentation behind it, and the number of accessories for it is huge.
Right now, I'm leaning heavily towards a BASIC Stamp II. I know it's not the
fastest or the most capable out of the box, but there are too many other
advantages to ignore. I'm probably going to get a few L293D quad half-bridge
motor controllers to power Lego motors. Some small solderless breadboards and
a BSII carrier board from Radio Shack, and I'll have a robot controller that
fits in the space of an RCX, costs about half as much as a Mindstorms set, and
allows me to control more motors, sensors, etc....
Eventually, I'd like to get two of the Parallax RF modules, a second
microcontroller, and a PlayStation dual shock controller. The PS controller
would allow me to add force feedback to the controller, which would ROCK!
literally.
Honestly, I have very little experience if at all with these, so I'm not
really qualified to make any decision. If anyone in the newsgroup has any
advice, comments, etc., I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks-
Brandon Heller
Montgomery Blair High School
northstarb@aol.com
P.S. When I go ahead with this, I'll be sure to set up a webpage and give
information on all developments. A walker platform is almost finished, a
scale Hummer is getting there, and other projects are already documented.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Interfacing BASIC Stamp and Lego?
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| In a flee market, I stumbled upon an Swedish electronics magazine with Lego on its cover. Of course, I had to buy it. :) The article's header read: "LightFinder - Controlling Robots using BASIC Stamp". The article is of course in Swedish but if (...) (24 years ago, 14-Jun-00, to lugnet.robotics)
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