The Dynamixels communicates through a serial interface. I believe it’s a single wire interface, so essentially, all the servos are sitting on the same bus, so I don’t think any hitec servos would work with a CM-5.
The Dynamixels are more then just a servo. It’s a servo packed with a temperature sense, load/current, position feedback, and much more with a serial interface. Each unit has an atmel 8 mcu on it…
The AX-12+ uses TTL, whereas their other servos uses RS485 (differential) so you can’t use the CM-5 to communicate with it directly. I believe you can use a TTL to 485 tranceiver and possibly talk to the RS485-based Dynamixels.
The Bioloid kits comes with (and you can readily download the latest software from Robotis’ site) a motion editor, which is kind of like a sequencer. You should go download their User’s Guide:
"http://www.trossenrobotics.com/images/productdownloads/Bioloid_User_Guide(English).pdf "
This is their software guide. I think some of the hardcore guys use C to program the CM-5 with GNU’s C compiler (gcc) and with existing dependencies and ones provided by users…
It’s kinda of a neat kit, but I can tell you from building the humanoid with the kit, the way brackets attach to servos and the build, it was kinda of a pain. The humanoid is probably the most difficult build out of all the default configuration. I’m usually the type that LOVES to build things (I have over 6 RC cars from kitted form, not RTR) but I can say that the Bioloid humanoid was a pain to build.
Before you start your build, I recommend getting a good size vise, one preferrably capable of 8-10" of jaw width, a good/quality phillips (#1 I believe, but don’t quote me on this) with a long shaft (you’ll see why you’ll need one with long shaft when you get to bolting the body/cover to the torso), preferrably magnetized.
What I failed to notice during the build was that Robotis actually has build tutorials on video files on the CD that comes with the kit. One of the most annoyance was insertion of the nuts into the lugs of each Dynamixels. I recommend getting some good tweezers too, I found those to be quite helpful…
IMO, you don’t really need something like the PICO ITX or stuff like that, unless you’re doing some advanced, university-level research stuff, such as running a Real-time environment (RTOS). I think for most things (such as for Robo-One), the CM-5 has more then enough processing power to do many fundamental autonomous or remotely controlled functions…
You should check out JonHyland’s website, he sells extension boards as well as IMUs for the CM-5.
) and you’ll see a ton of video of the humanoid. You’ll see a few balancing acts, such as the one where a humanoid is on a teeter-totter and another one reacting to “pushing”