I have alot of experience with PIC microcontroller’s and some experience with Linksys routers. I dont have a bot yet but at this point I am more interested in the programming/hardware of one. I saw the internet controlled robot by David Shelato who has posted it on here somewhere. He used a skid steer design. What do you guys think is the best type of robot for yard/home use that you can easily mount a webcam to? (skid steer? servo steer?, etc.)
I planned on programming the linksys router so there is a webpage that pops up with the controls and the webcam of the robot. This eliminates the need for another external program to run on the computer to talk to the router. I could then have the internal webpage talk directly to the on board serial port of the router. A PIC microcontroller could then be attached to the serial port to control the motors/servos of the robot, get battery voltages, temperatures, etc.
Another option would be to use the routers data lines (very few) to turn a few motors on and off and that would be it. It would be limited but very simple and easy to make. This way would not use the microcontroller, it would just turn relays on and off.
well i think a micro or a pic would make it more expandable and give u some obsticle avoidence since the iternet lag could make controlling it in tight places sorta tricky ,keep us posted , i just ordered a iogear serial wireless bluetooth dongle so this might work in with my plans.
Most of them do have onboard serial ports, they just dont have the connectors for them. They can be used to restore the firmware on a bricked router and other such tricks, its just that Linksys doesnt want the customer playing with them.
Pros: cheaper than most wireless serial servers/dongles, built in webserver, fairly strong support community for the custom firmware, and fairly easy mod. I wager most here would have no problem.
Cons: You gotta build it yourself. Kentucky fried warranty (yum), kentucky fried router if you slip with the soldering iron.
More info can be found here: rwhitby.net/projects/wrt54gs
If you`re considering using the ssc-32 and/or Sabretooth for servo/motor control. Remember that both devices support direct TTL in/out and the linksys does too…
that means that you can connect the ssc-32 directly to ttys0 on the linksys, and the sabretooth to ttys1, without needing a max232 to up the ttl levels.
I have already used this in conjuction with openwrt/WhiteRussian and it works like a charm.
Consider this; 32 servos, 2x10Amp motors, 4 digital/analog inputs…3 pieces of cheap hardware. and best of all OPENSOURCE
I looked at the page about adding the DB9 connectors, but I didn’t see any info on how one reads/writes bytes on the serial ports via a web page in the router. Can this be done nativly in the router, or does the firmware in the router need to be reprogrammed? Any web pages with details on how this is done?
I too would love to see some start to finish guides specifically for getting a wireless router running a SSC32, including software, which is the part thats stumping me too. I am a linux newb, knowing just enough to be dangerous. From what I understand, openWRT sees the serial ports as standard ttys, which is great, but then what do you actually DO with them? Route them as local ports on your machine across the wifi link? Replace/add on to the web interface with an app for sending commands to the port? I have been told both are possible but have no information as to how.
digmeup, could you give us some more info or links on this? Or perhaps post the firmware image you use?
I am planning on spending more on a bluetooth to serial adapter than it would cost me for a router, so such a guide would definately save me some coin!
In addition to using a router, you could use a linksys nslu2.
I used a Linksys nslu2 as my embedded computer, running the openslug firmware, which in turn boots a gentoo linux install off of a usb hard drive. I’ve written the code in C that runs on the linksys box. Here’s some pics to give you an idea:
and the ssc-32 connected through a cheap usb->serial adapter.
I’m going to work on a USB audio card tonight (cmedia chip based). The linksys has a ethernet connector in it, but no wifi. It has two usb ports, one I have going to the system hard drive (strapped on top of the linksys box), and the other to a powered usb hub. All other usb devices plug into the usb hub. There are quite a few DC power adapters for this setup
Takes forever to boot up, but it runs like a champ, and since it’s running gentoo (using the openSlug kernel…), it’s super easy to develop on/for since it has GCC right on it.
You just have to keep in mind the arm processor doesn’t have a floating point unit, so any code you execute with floating point calcs will take a big hit on performance.
You could also use a linksys based router, or any other embedded computer with linux.
If you need any code samples or part numbers lemme know. Hope this helps…
