CURRENT ISSUE Contests
Feature Article
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Issue #212 March 2008
Robotics with Ada95
by Daniel Ramirez
Start | Why Use Ada95 For Robotics? | GNAT Ada95 Tools | Debugging Ada95 Applications | Ada95 Coding Style |Wireless Sensor Controller | Wireless Messages | The Glove In Action | XYZ Accelerometers | XBee-PRO Wireless UART | Controller Range | USB 2.0 Interface | Ethernet | The Kernel | Ada95 vs. Other Languages | Future Applications | Sources & PDF
FUTURE APPLICATIONS
Ada95 is currently used to develop life-critical embedded software used in medical devices, aircraft, and aerospace applications, but it can also be used in the future to increase the safety and reliability of commercial and robotics designs. The platform necessary to run Ada95 is now provided by 32-bit microcontroller-based boards that can be used with Windows, Unix, Linux, and LynxOS as their embedded operating system. Virtually any robotics application could benefit from the additional safety features afforded by developing the necessary embedded software using Ada95 (and soon Ada 2005). Although other computer languages have similar features, the tasking, protected records, deterministic scheduling, and real-time constraint checking are unique to Ada95, which make it an ideal candidate for life-critical and parallel-processing applications.
I provided some examples of how you can use Ada95 with today’s microcontrollers, including the dsPIC30F6014 16-bit DSP in the wireless sensor controller board that I used to collect data from the Vex Power Glove. Some of my other Ada95 applications include a USB high-performance DC motor controller that enables me to control DC motors from a laptop by sending its messages via the USB interface.[1] I plan to continue using Ada95 as I work on the robotics applications shown in Photos 2, 4, and 6.
