Today I read a small article where someone said the best setup for doing small experiments for home automation or other beginner experiments was an ICOP ebox-4300, Phidgets and WinCE Driver for Phidgets.
My programming experince has been with Microsoft Visual Studio. Is the above a good combination. Are there other equipment, as a microcontroller and sensor, motor group?
My criteria is to be .Net and/or Microsoft Robotics Studio. I want to be cost conscious. I would say that my applications will be simple to moderate.
I went and looked at Phidgets. This is very interesting and I donwloaded their example code for C#.
Looking at this for the first time: I can see where a person can write a program using Phidget sensor hooked directly to my computer. This would work as long as you are not looking for portability. I person could pick up an older Windows XP machine for $100 and that is a pretty cheap CPU unit.
Also, I looked at the product above and saw that a single purchse RoBoard would be about $350. I guess if mobility or portability is important than that is worth the upgrade from the $100 older computer.
Question: Where does a product like The Serializer WL Robot Controller fit into the mix? It appears to be just an interface between either a computer or a RoBoard (or other WindowCE). It looks like it is about $165. Is it a replacement for Phidgets Interface Kits…so that you can use Phidget products and other manufacturer products in the same project.
Yes the RoBoaed can if I may add my 2 cents… I was using mini ITX but they consume so much current… and did not have any I/O access… I thought about a lap top and the same, it did not have any I/O’s the RoBoard has I/O’s and PWM’s
So I chose to order it… I am waiting on delivery should be here in the morning…Bozook
Not many 100$ PCs can compare to the RoBoard RB-100 in terms of power consumption, size, fanless operation and direct IO capabilities. A RB-100 and cables runs you about 270USD if you can RDP into it via the integrated LAN port but a video card is suggested for development.
The Serializer is a robot controller, basically giving your PC control of motors and actuators and the ability to take inputs from sensors. The manufacturer even has a service for Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio for the Serializer.
The RB-100 can do all this and more, such as plug servos directly to the board, I2C bus, etc. There are manuals for installing XP and Linux on the RB-100. Keep in mind that this board is only 96mm x 56mm and is ideal for embedded robotics due to it’s size and flexibility. The RoBoard RB-100 could easily be used for checking your email or even setting up a Linux server. It could replace the need for external hardware such as Phidgets entirely since the I/O are integrated.
There are many options out there, choose the one you feel most comfortable working with.
You could simply use the Phidgets with you PC if you want to keep it simple. If you want it to be completely seperate from the PC then ya you can use an external processor like the RoBoard. You can put windows on there so your microsoft robotics developer studio services can run on it. WinCE is fine too but I’ve never tried it.
cost, usability, portability and power comsuption is important… is it right ?
The best, for my need, I found is that solution :
netbook computer : eeepc from ASUS with USB 2.0 ports
Cheap price, low weight, easy portability…
Above, the entire solution to develop a robot :
eeepc : the main ‘brain’
irobot create : the programmable and mobile base from irobot
a good USB camera that can be controled with an API
phidgets and / or a robotic arm
the RoBoard RB-100 is really a cool product but it’s not an integrated solution… You’ll have to consider many other parts like a screen to see and speakers to hear… it will never beat a computer with is OS (XP or linux). For my opinion, a PC is the best controler you’ll find. And what else you can do with a PC… gaming, read your mail, hear songs, etc. You can developp your own program in your own langage with all the examples you’ll find on the net. Do this with the RoBoard RB-100…
Well, I red a second time and red all the specifications. This product is truly amazing… I already have a eeepc… damn. It’s so small…Well, this thing is a better solution actually.
And for the price, it’s very nice. But it’s new… and the only way to know if a gadget is a success story is to wait a little. Phidgets still exist since more than 5 years…
I was using mini ITX but they consume so much current… and did not have any I/O access… I thought about a lap top and the same, it did not have any I/O’s the RoBoard has I/O’s and PWM’s