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Robotics/Computer Control/The Interface/SBC and multichip modules

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SBC: Single Board Computers

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Single Board Computers are a complete computer on a single printed circuit board. These usually require only a single power supply. SBCs commonly provide all standard PC I/O support like keyboard, mouse, SVGA, serial and parallel ports, ethernet, IDE, SCSI and USB. Some provide a PCMCIA connector. Late model SBCs are also replete with multiple CPU/Pentium 4/Xeon/AMD configurations.

SBC are commonly used in the industry in process control. Although they are quite expensive and hard to find (in retail), they can be a great way to control a larger robot. For small robots their power consumption would be a problem.

Stacking modular connector boards

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Many robots include a "stack" of boards, typically with a processor on one board, H bridge motor driver on another board, and a wireless communication on another board.

Many people prefer to build rapid prototypes out of many single-purpose boards that can be disassembled and re-used for the next prototype, rather than making a single big specialized PCB prototype that is used once for testing and then thrown away. There are many standards for such electronic pieces.[1]

TinyDuino uses stacking connectors
  • TinyDuino stacking connector
  • Wouter van Ooijen's Dwarf Boards have 10 pin shrouded header connected by IDC ribbon cable connectors (GND, +5V, and 8 GPIO pins).
  • "Stacking Arduino Shields" (compatibility between shields can be a little tricky)
  • ...
  • ... (Add to me)

(If I think the stacking idea is good, but my robot is too small for PC/104, do you have any tips for picking an appropriate stacking connector, and arranging which electrical signal/power goes where?)

The "stackable headers"[10] are one way to stack boards together. What other options do we have for stacking connectors?

Multichip Module Boards

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Is there a better name for this sort of thing? See Talk:Robotics#terminology.

Multichip Module boards are lighter versions of the SBC. These boards provide less I/O abilities than a full fledged SBC, but are considerably less expensive. For example the Acme Foxboard provides a 100Mips processor with 16MB RAM and 4MB Flash running Linux. This board has IDE, SCSI, USB, Ethernet, I2C and more on a surface of aprox. 6x7cm. It consumes about 280mA and costs around €170. While this particular board is designed for embedded internet-enabled applications, it's a great board for controlling your robot. Another alternative is to use a Linksys router and install OpenWRT on it. You can usually pick these up for around $50. If you spend some time shopping around you may find similar boards that are better or cheaper.

Further reading

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Wikipedia has more about this subject:

  1. ↑ Timm Linder. "A comparison: Arduino vs. .NET MF vs. .NET Gadgeteer + others". Compares and contrasts the "DaisyLink" system, the ".NET Gadgeteer" system, and the "Seeedstudio Grove" system.
  2. ↑ "GROVE System" at Seeed Studio
  3. ↑ Grove-related posts on the Seeed Studio blog.
  4. ↑ "Better connector for Electronic Bricks?" discusses about the advantages and disadvantages of several connectors.
  5. ↑ "GROVE Starter Bundle" has photographs illustrating "Cluster mode" and "Jigsaw mode".
  6. ↑ "New electronic brick idea" describes the electrical connections in "Jigsaw mode" in more detail.
  7. ↑ "Introducing .NET Gadgeteer"
  8. ↑ "Home - Gadgeteer"
  9. ↑ http://gadgeteer.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=.NET%20Gadgeteer%20Socket%20Types ".NET Gadgeteer Socket Types"]
  10. ↑ "Stackable Header Kit"
  • linuxstamp board runs Linux -- open hardware
  • ARMUS Embedded Linux Board -- open hardware
  • The Balloon Project designs boards that can run Linux -- open hardware
  • "Teeny weeny Linux SBCs"
  • ""Linux computer fits in USB key"". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28.
  • TINI, the Tiny INternet Interface: TINI reference design TINI board webring "Unofficial TINI Information Site"
  • small motherboards that run Linux
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