|
Table of Contents
Task
Manager
Get
Ready to Build,
by Jennifer Huber
Priority
Interrupt
Beware
the Trolls,
by Steve Ciarcia
New
Product News,
edited by John Gorsky
Servo
Animation Controller
Peter
Montgomery
If
you’re into robotics and animatronics, this is the
perfect project for you. Peter built a programmable
68HC11-based servo animation controller to bring
life to some sophisticated Halloween props. p.16
Keywords:
Servo, animatronics, robotics, 68HC11, Halloween,
PWD, SX-28
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
Outdoor
Mobile Robot
Paul
Beckling, Ray Pettit, Todd Quasny, & Robert
Watson
Need
a rugged yet inexpensive general-purpose outdoor
mobile robot? No problem. This foursome of designers
explains how to construct one for less than $2,000.
p. 24
Keywords:
Robot, Power Wheels, outdoors, RCM3000, servo, MC-7
motor driver, steering, optical encoder, compass,
OPB770T, VCD30-D12-S5, HMR3300
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
—Feature
Article —
Robot
Localization and Control
Freescale
Wireless Design Challenge Winner
|
|
Read
it now!
by Ethan
Leland, Kipp Bradford, & Odest Chadwicke
Jenkins
This team shows you how to use wireless nodes
to simultaneously localize and control a WowWee
Robosapien humanoid robot. The ZigBee nodes’
outputs mimic the control signals. A simple
GUI makes controlling the robot a cinch. p. 36
Keywords:
Robotics, Robosapien,
ZigBee, localization, MC13192, SARD, accelerometer,
triangulation, data packet
|
FROM
THE BENCH
Simple Robotics Experimentation
Jeff Bachiochi
Want to experiment with an easy-to-use programmable
robot? The mobile Scribbler Robot is the perfect
system. Not only does it connect directly to your
PC, it also comes with free software that enables
you to write your own programs. Jeff puts it in
play. p. 30
Keywords:
Robotics,
Scribbler, IR, PC, BASIC Stamp, BS2, SPI, PIC16F818
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
Digital
Compassing
Build a Tilt-compensated Digital Magnetic Compass
Vadym
Grygorenko
Vadym
built a PSoC-based digital compass with a three-axis
magneto-resistive sensor featuring tilt compensation.
The system stores calibration data in the PSoC’s
internal EEPROM. p. 40
Keywords:
Compass, PSoC, CY8C27443, HMC1053, ADXL311, accelerometer,
roll, pitch, magnetic field
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
Optical
Proximity Sensor for Robots (Part 1)
Simple PCB Design with the gEDA Suite
Stuart
Brorson
This
step-by-step tutorial shows you how to use the Linux-based
gEDA suite to create a miniature, PCB-based optical
proximity sensor with LED output. It’s perfect for
mobile robots. p. 48
Keywords:
gEDA, PCB design, robotics, proximity, schematic
capture, gschem, net list, gnetlist, IS471F
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
—Sponsored
Article —
FIR
Factor
|
|
Read
it now!
by Tom
Cantrell
SILICON
UPDATE
If you want to be
able to design a complete four-channel signal
processing and filtering solution in minutes
rather than days, consider the QF4A512 four-channel
signal converter. But before you do, check
out Tom’s review. p. 36
Keywords:
Signal
conditioning, analog, QF4A512, amplifier,
filter, multiplexer, ADC, resolution, SPI,
noise, attenuation
Sponsored
by Quickfilter Technologies
|
Concurrent
Small-C for PIC18 MCUs
Andy
Yuen
You
can write concurrent programs for a PIC MCU with
the Concurrent Small-C (CSC) programming language.
Andy covers the language’s main features and then
describes a complete multitasking CSC demonstration
program. p. 62
Keywords:
Concurrent Small-C, CSC, PIC18, multitasking, IPC,
stack, compiler, real-time kernel, limitations
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
—Sponsored
Article —
Remedy
for USB-to-MCU Pain
Embedded
USB with HIDmaker FS
|
|
Read
it now!
by Fred
Eady
APPLIED
PCs
Take
the pain out of USB-to-MCU integration with
HIDmaker FS. Fred explains how HIDmaker FS
can help you write USB applications and concentrate
on data rather than the USB protocol. Developing
USB code for PIC microcontrollers has never
been easier. p. 74
Keywords:
USB, HIDmaker FS, PIC, LAB-XUSB
Sponsored
Article: Trace Systems, Inc.
|
Low-Cost
Serial Servo Controller
Michael
Dvorsky
When
an Illinois-based robot manufacturer mentioned his
need for servo controller boards, Michael designed
an inexpensive solution. Now you too can generate
stable servo pulses for 32 servo channels with this
ATmega8-based design. p. 80
Keywords:
Servo,
serial, ATmega8, bank, shift register, edge array
processing, SSC-32, CodeVisioAVR
(If you have pop-ups disabled, click
here for a password.)
Crossword
Index of Advertisers
PREVIEW
April #189
Wireless
Communications
Wireless
Sump Pump Monitoring System
Stock
Clock: Wireless
Network Delivers Market Data
Data Acquisition for Mobile Applications
Monitor
and Control with Text Messaging
Low-Cost 2.4-GHz Spectrum Analyzer
Solution to Stand Alone ISP Programming: Low-Cost
STK500-Based Project
Optical Proximity Sensor for Robots (Part 2): Open-Source
PCB Layout Editor
ABOVE THE GROUND PLANE RF
Mixer Isolation and Coax Stub Filters
APPLIED PCs
Get Started in Mechatronics
FROM THE BENCH
Automating Sudoku: A Simple Program for Complicated
Puzzles
SILICON UPDATE
Rock 'Em and SoC ’Em
|
