84 What is the XXX Microcontroller? (Robotics)
Description
This article is from the Robotics FAQ, by Kevin Dowling nivek@cs.cmu.edu with numerous contributions by others.
84 What is the XXX Microcontroller? (Robotics)
Which microcontroller should I use and what are the differences
between them? What about motor controllers and motor drivers?
There are a wide variety of microcontrollers that can be used in
robotics projects. Some of the most popular are 6811's (Miniboard and
many single board computers), 80186, and PIC's. This topic engenders
hot debates of the merit of one chip over the other. Therefore, the
best way for you to decide is to understand your problem requirements
and see which devices fit your needs. At that point, you can look at
issues of support platforms, cross-compilers, cost etc to make the
best decision.
Related newsgroups include:
* [3]comp.sys.intel
* [4]comp.realtime
* [5]sci.electronics
* [6]alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt
A FAQ devoted to Microcontrollers can be found at the following:
[7]ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.answers/microcontroller-faq/prim
er The maintainer is Russ Hersch, sibit@datasrv.co.il
In this FAQ, just brief overviews and pointers are provided for these
families of microcontrollers and related devices.
Basically there are three kinds of "boards" out there that are of
interest to design engineers and the definitions are necessarily
broad:
1. The evaluation board. This is a board designed by the manufacturer
of a part to demonstrate its features. Using such a board a DE can
decide whether the part will meet their needs for the design they
are creating. Generally somewhat expensive (because they are
produced in relatively small numbers) except when the part is
being 'pushed' by the manufacturer and there is some sort of
promotional deal going on. Often the evaluation board will have
some sort of breadboard area on the board for custom circuitry.
2. The Single Board Computer or SBC. These are generally produced by
a third party using some manufacturers chip. The are generally
pretty flexible but may not 'expose' all features. SBCs come in
all sizes and price ranges, some are availabe in kit form. Many
have development tools available for them.
3. The Embedded processor. These are generally boards dedicated to
some particular function (like driving a stepper motor, running a
modem etc) and are usually available pretty cheaply on the surplus
market. Unlike SBCs there are rarely any design tools available to
use with them but they can be quite inexpensive.
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