Robots are adding efficiency to many commercial and industrial operations, and the robots of tomorrow must offer increased functionality and more capabilities to keep up with growing demands. If you are designing a robot, then you have perhaps considered drawing on the dynamic capabilities of a single board computer (SBC) for your application. If that is the case, then read on – we’ve determined a few things you should know.
SBC for Robotics
Single board computers are perfect for robotics since they simplify the process of adding a brain to the system, allowing you to focus on determining how the robot will perform its tasks.
Specialized robots tend to made in low quantities, so it may not be cost effective to spin a new board for every revision. Using an SBC allows you the convenience of using the same computer across many chassis or designs – in short, you can simply upgrade the brain of your system as more powerful hardware comes out.
Once you’ve ultimately decided to use an SBC for your robotics application, it’s time to go into detail and determine the capabilities your SBC might need to support.
Machine Vision in Robotics
If your robot needs to move independently in order to carry out its functions, you will probably have to look into machine vision enablement. Unfortunately, it requires a decent amount of processing power and finding strong support for machine vision enablement can be difficult. However, this feature is crucial for your robot to effectively understand and navigate a dynamic environment. Static environments pose few navigational challenges and can have fixed paths, but when a robot’s environment requires it to work with humans, it needs to be able to respond to the unexpected.
PWM Controller for Your Robot
You also need to consider various methods of motor control. A PWM controller will interface with your SBC to feed your motors impulses of power, controlling robot movement and speed. You might want to consider this one from ON Semiconductor or this option from Linear Technology. Pulse width modulation is a great way to regulate motor control and will typically give you the best efficiency, but speed can be regulated for small motors using simple hardware like a potentiometer.
Robot Navigation Sensors
Sensors and sensor interfaces are next on your checklist. These features are extremely useful for robots that need to determine anything about their environment, such as their orientation or direction. In robotics, you often hear the term “degrees of freedom.” Each degree of freedom represents a motion that can exist in a three dimensional space. Accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers give robots different types of information about their physical situation and thus the ability to move and position themselves within reality.
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Some boards already feature a decent sensing suite, but if your SBC has SPI or I2C busses available, you have the ability to easily add even more. Built-in analog to digital converters (ADCs) give you the option of using analog sensors, which generally have faster response and are less expensive than digital sensors.
Conclusion
Robotics and automation are becoming more and more common in our society, and they will start to take on more responsibilities. By starting your design with the right SBC and taking the necessary features for your project into account early on, you will be well on your way to designing and creating a successful and dynamic robotics application.