Subject:
|
Re: Brainstorms
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.robotics
|
Date:
|
Fri, 9 Aug 2002 04:22:14 GMT
|
Original-From:
|
Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.!Spamless!net>
|
Reply-To:
|
sjbaker1@*Spamless*airmail.net
|
Viewed:
|
729 times
|
| |
|
|
I2C devices are *tiny* because they don't need many pins. If you look at the
CPU chip inside the RCX, it's 4cm long and 2cm wide - that's because it has
thirty-some I/O pins on it. An I2C device typically needs two pins for power
and ground, a couple more for the I2C bus and a couple to drive whatever it
is it actually *does*. Dinky little 8 pin devices are common - and would
comfortably fit inside a 2x4 - or even a 2x2 brick.
Take a look at the I2C offerings from just one company:
http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/buses/i2c/products/index.html
Then there is the Pascalite II Piccolo microprocessor
which is in an 8 pin package and would actually fit
into a 2x2 Lego brick if you could figure out a small enough connector!
http://www.controlplus.nl/index.htm
It has power, ground, I2C in and out, RS232 in and out and one general
digital input and one output...enough for a 'START' button and an LED!
All of it's memory is hooked up via I2C - so you'd put a boot ROM in
a second brick and a RAM in another. There are of course both ROM and
RAM in 8 pin I2C formats. There is also an EEPROM that can be used as
slow RAM to allow non-demanding programs to run in just two 8 pin chips!
There is a Philips application note showing how an NE5570 motor controller
can be interfaced to I2C - so that part's not difficult.
There are lots of parallel port chips - so reading rotation and bump
sensors shouldn't be hard. There are a couple of Philips AtoD convertors
so light and temperature sensors should be easy to make.
The point is that all of these things are single chip solutions - and
in most cases, the chip is small enough to fit in a single 2x4 Lego brick.
----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
Mail : <sjbaker1@airmail.net> WorkMail: <sjbaker@link.com>
URLs : http://www.sjbaker.org
http://plib.sf.net http://tuxaqfh.sf.net http://tuxkart.sf.net
http://prettypoly.sf.net http://freeglut.sf.net
http://toobular.sf.net http://lodestone.sf.net
|
|
Message has 1 Reply:
 | | SV: Brainstorms
|
| There is a description including PCB and parts list of how to make an RCX to I2C interface in the Elector Electronics magazine No. 309,APRIL 2002: (URL) overview: I2C Interface for Lego RCX 'Brick' (Parts List) It has, by now, become well known that (...) (22 years ago, 31-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
|
Message is in Reply To:
| | RE: Brainstorms
|
| Elijah has IMHO a nice starting point for a series of modules for Robotics. My extensions, would be based upon a common addressing system ala Dalas Semi 1 wire. This allows for simple stacking of 1wire devices. Compiler/Interpreter keeping track of (...) (22 years ago, 9-Aug-02, to lugnet.robotics)
|
53 Messages in This Thread:
  
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
