Smart Servos vs Normal servos & Arduino

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Hi There…

I am a Newb looking to build a walking robot and other robotic creations.
I want to DIY my own bots and not buy a kit as i have a 3d printer and CNC machine for building all my brackets etc.

I have managed to get Arduino to control standard servos before, so i know a little bit.

It seems sensible to me to go for smart motors as I have not yet designed my Bot, but I know I want accuracy in my joints and repeatability and I really like the idea of the servos knowing where they are.
Does this make sense to you ?

However after several days research I am still confused, and don’t quite know what i need.

If I went for the DynaMixel AX-12A’s what would I need to control up to 20 of them?

Will i be able to use my Arduino Uno or will I need a Mega?
Is there a better solution than an Arduino for small robotics ?
How do I set the ID for each servo ?
Do i need some kind of Breakout board for the servos or can i just connect all the servos in a daisy chain to the Arduino?
How does one read the position of the servos back into the code ?

I have plenty of lipo packs, so 11.1v not a problem.

I have been playing around with VRep, and i see that it’s very complicated and possibly over the top for what i need.
Can you suggest any other graphical software that will allow me to connect to my robot and test poses etc (ideally in real time?), read my servo positions and generally help me to get walking and other motions going.

Thanks for you help.
Sorry for the newb questions.
Martin

2

HI,

Yes, if you want to build good robots, smart servos are the way to go.

If you want to use an Arduino, DfRobot makes a shield for Dynamixel Smart Servos: robotshop.com/en/smart-servo-controller-arduino.html
It works with the Uno so no need to buy a new Arduino.

Smart servos work by serial command. There are commands to make them move, commands to get their information ( ex: actual position) and command to configure them( ex: set ID)

Servos have a default ID. To configure them, you need to plug them one at a time and send them, the new ID you want to use. You can also configure them with they windows software but you will need a USB2Dynamixel adapter.

We would not suggest connecting all of them daisy chain because you will have some power problems but we would recommend using multiple branches. The shield has multiple connector so you coud do one branche for an arm, another for the other arm, on for the leg … (each branch are a couple of servos daisy chained)

you can check the shield wiki to have an idea of how it works: dfrobot.com/wiki/index.php/D … KU:DRI0027

Best regards,
Best regards,