Robot Builders Source Book - Gordon McComb Episode 1 Part 10 docx

microcontrollers-hardware 342 The Basic Stamp Microcontroller Since its inception, the Basic Stamp has provided the “onboard brains” for countless robotics projects. This thumbprint-sized microcontroller uses Basic language com- mands for instructions and is popular among robot enthusi- asts, electronics and computer science instructors, and even design engineers looking for an inexpensive alternative to microprocessor-based systems. The Basic Stamp, which is manufactured by Parallax is really an off-the-shelf Microchip PICmicro microcontroller. Embedded in this PIC is a proprietary Basic-like language interpreter, called PBasic. The chip stores commands downloaded from a PC or other development environment. When the program is run, the language interpreter built inside the Stamp converts the instructions into code the chip can use. As a result, the Basic Stamp acts like a programmable electronic circuit, with the added benefit of intelligent control—but without the complexity and circuitry overhead of a dedi- cated microprocessor. Instead of building a logic circuit out of numerous inverters, AND gates, flip-flops, and other hardware; you can use just the Basic Stamp module to provide the same functionality, doing everything in software. The Basic Stamp uses two kinds of memory: PROM (programmable read-only memory) and RAM. The PROM memory is used to store the PBASIC interpreter; the RAM is used to store data while a PBASIC program is running. Housed in a separate chip (but still part of the Basic Stamp itself; see the description of the BSII module, later) is EEPROM memory for the programs you download from your computer. In operation, your PBASIC program is written on a PC, then downloaded—via a serial connection—to the Basic Stamp. The program is stored in EEPROM. The Basic Stamp is available directly from its manufacturer or from a variety of dealers world over. Prices from most sources are about the same. The Basic Stamp is available in several versions, including the older BSI, the ever-popular BSII, and new BSII-SX, 2p, and 2e. The Stamp comes stand-alone or is part of several kits: • BSII Module. The Basic Stamp module contains the actual microcontroller chip, as well as other support circuitry. All are mounted on a small printed circuit board that is the same general shape as a 24-pin IC. In fact, the BSII is made to plug into a 24-pin IC socket. The BSII module contains the microcontroller, which holds the PBASIC inter- preter, a 5-volt regulator, a resonator (required for the microcontroller), and a serial EEPROM chip. • BSII Starter Kit. The starter kit is ideal for those just, well, starting out. It includes a BSII module, a carrier board, programming cable, power adapter, and software on CD- ROM. The carrier board has a 24-pin socket for the BSII module, a connector for the programming cable, power adapter jack, and a prototype area for designing your own interface circuitry. • Basic Stamp Activity Board. The Activity Board, which is typically sold without a BSII module, offers a convenient way of experimenting with the Basic Stamp. It contains four LEDs, four switches, a modular jack for experimenting with X-10 remote-control modules, a speaker, and two sockets for easy interfacing of such things as serial ana- log-to-digital converters (ADCs). • Growbot and BOE Bot. The Growbot and BOE Bot products are small mobile robot kits that are designed to use the Basic Stamp microcontroller. The robots are similar, with The Basic Stamp microcontroller. microcontrollers-hardware 343 the BOE Bot a little larger and heavier and able to accommodate more experiments. A BSII module is generally not included with either robot kit. • Basic Stamp Bug II. Another robot kit, the Basic Stamp Bug II is a six-legged walking robot. The Bug is meant to be controlled with a BSI microcontroller, though it could be refitted to use the BSII. The Basic Stamp module is extra. The PBASIC language supports several dozen special functions, many of which are ideal for robotics. You’ll want to study these statements more fully in the Basic Stamp manual, which is available for free download from Parallax and is also included in the Starter Kit as a printed book. • button—The button statement momentarily checks the value of an input and then branches to another part of the program should the button be in a LOW (0) or HIGH (1) state. The button statement lets you choose the I/O pin to examine, the “target state” that you are looking for (either 0 or 1), and delay and rate parameters that can be used for such things as switch debouncing. • debug—The Basic Stamp Editor (which runs on your PC) has a built-in terminal that dis- plays the result of bytes sent from the Basic Stamp back to the PC. The debug state- ment “echos” numbers or text to the screen and is highly useful during testing. • freqout—The freqout statement is used to generate tones primarily intended for audio reproduction. You can set the I/O pin, duration, and frequency (in Hertz) using the fre- qout statement. An interesting feature of freqout is that you can apply a second fre- quency, which intermixes with the first. • input—The input statement makes the specified I/O pin an input. As an input, the value of the pin can be read in the program. Many of the special function statements, such as button and pulsin, automatically set an I/O pin as an input, so the input statement is not needed for these. • pause—The pause statement is used to delay execution by a set amount of time. To use pause you specify the number of milliseconds (thousandths of a second) to wait. For example, pause 1000 pauses for one second. • pulsin—The pulsin statement measures the width of a single pulse, with a resolution of two microseconds (2 µs) on the Basic Stamp II. • pulsout—Pulsout is the inverse of pulsin: with pulsout you can create a finely measured pulse, with a duration of between 2 µs (on the Basic Stamp II) and 131 milliseconds. The pulsout statement is ideal when you need to provide highly accurate waveforms. • rctime—The rctime statement measures the time it takes for an RC (resistor/capacitor) network to discharge to an opposite logical state. The rctime statement is often used to indirectly measure the capacitance or resistance of a circuit, or simply as a kind of simplified analog-to-digital circuit. • serin and serout—Serin and serout are used to send and receive asynchronous serial communications. It is one method of communicating with other devices, even other Basic Stamps, all connected together. You use serout to send commands and text to the LCD. • shiftin and shiftout—The serin and serout statements (see previous) are used in one- wire asynchronous serial communications. The shiftin and shiftout statements are used in two- or three-wire synchronous serial communications. The main difference is that with shiftin/shiftout a separate pin is used for clocking the data between its source and destination. Additional information on the Basic Stamp can be found at the following Parallax Web sites: http://www.parallaxinc.com/ http://www.stampsinclass.com/ http://www.siteplayer.com/ http://www.netmedia.com/ http://www.web-hobbies.com/ x V  http://www.elproducts.com/ Chuck’s resells the Atom from Basic Micro, MBasic compiler software, ePic boards, and bootloader pack- ages. x V Crownhill Associates Ltd. 203650 32 Broad St. Ely Cambridgeshire CB7 4PW UK  +44 (0) 1353 666709  +44 (0) 1353 666710  http://www.crownhill.co.uk Resellers of PC microcontrollers, development boards, PIC compilers, and related hardware/software. x V CSMicro Systems 203450 213 Sage St. Ste. #3 Carson City, NV 89706 USA  (775) 887-0505  (775) 887-8973  (888) 820-9570  CSMicroSystems@CSMicroSystems.com  http://www.csmicrosystems.com/ Embedded systems reseller (Basic Stamp, BasicX, PIC micros). Also carries the CodeVision editor for PIC Basic, BasicX, and others and the EPIC PIC program- mer modules. x V microcontrollers-hardware 344 Also try these Google.com search phrases to locate program examples and circuit dia- grams using the Basic Stamp: “basic stamp” program examples “basic stamp” programming examples “basic stamp”—site:www.parallaxinc.com The BasicX-35 microcontroller and development board, from NetMedia. Photo NetMedia Inc. Bill Ruehl 202061 http://www.robotdude.com/ Microcontroller info and projects: • Hardware hacks • Robot-building info • Links  Chuck Hellebuyck Electronics 203057 Electronic Products 1775 Medler Commerce, MI 48382  (248) 515-4264  (413) 825-0377 microcontrollers-hardware 345 Dontronics, Inc.  202041 P.O. Box 595 Tullamarine, 3043 Australia  +61 3 9338 6286  don@dontronics.com  http://www.dontronics.com Dontronics specializes in microcontrollers, as well as the SimmStick prototyping development board system. Highlight products: • DT007 Micro Motherboard • DT104 Atmel Micro on a SimmStick • DT107 SimmStick for 8051, 8252, AVR 8515, and AVR 28-pin Micros • DT108 SimmStick Video • DT205 Relay Board • SIMM100 SimmStick compatible for the AT90S8535 • Gigatechnologies USB There’s lots more; Don’s Web site is jammed with useful trinkets for robot builders and electronics experi- menters. He ships worldwide. x V Elan makes a number of microcontroller, interface, and specialty ICs. These include: • 4-bit microcontroller, general purpose • 4-bit microcontroller, with DTMF • 4-bit microcontroller, for LCD • 8-bit microcontroller, general purpose • Mouse controller • Keyboard encoder • Analog-to-digital converter high-speed ADC Data sheets and application notes provided on the Web site. x  Elektronikladen Mikrocomputer GmbH 202326 Wilhelm-Mellies-Str 88, D-32758 DETMOLD Germany  +49 (0) 5232 8171  +49 (0) 5232 86197  detmold@elektronikladen.de  http://www.elektronikladen.de/ Microcontroller development boards, including: • USB08 Starter Kit-MC68HC908 Evaluation Board and USB Reference Design • HC08 Welcome Kit-Low-cost MC68HC908 Evaluation Board • HC12 Welcome Kit-A Starter Kit with Motorola’s 68HC812A4 Web site is in German and English. x V Embedded Acquisition Systems 203059 c/o Kin Fong 2517 Cobden St. Sterling Heights, MI 48310 USA  (240) 266-4252  sales@embeddedtronics.com  http://embeddedtronics.com/ Makers of MiniDaq, a small data acquisition module for the PC. Also offers the EAS Finger Board II; scaled-down Handy Board. The Web site includes pics of prototype robots the company has made using their products. x V SimmStick DT003, from Dontronics. Dontronics: PIC List 204117 http://www.dontronics.com/piclinks.html Don McKenzie’s listing of useful PIC Web sites. Elan Microelectronics Corp. 202027 No. 12, Innovation Rd. I Science-Based Industrial Park Hsinchu City Taiwan  http://www.emc.com.tw/ Embedded Systems Design Website 202264 http://www.microcontroller.com/ News, product announcements, tutorials, references, selection guides, and more for the serious microcon- troller developer. You can search for information by microcontroller brand to help you zero in on the data you want. Embedded Systems, Inc. 202164 11931 Hwy. 65 NE Minneapolis, MN 55434 USA  (763) 767-2748  (763) 767-2817  http://www.embedsys.com/ Makers of low-cost development systems and add-ons for (among other things) Atmel AVR microcontrollers: • AVR Sprint 2313 development system • AVR Sprint 2313 Basic starter kit • AVR Sprint 2313 microprocessor module • LCD Display • Sprint Basic (private label version of BASCOM AVR) x V Eric’s PIC Page 203067 http://www.brouhaha.com/~eric/pic/ Links, products, and information on using Microchip PICmicro microcontrollers.  Gleason Research 202648 P.O. Box 1494 Concord, MA 01742-1464 USA  (636) 536-7179  (978) 287-4170  (800) 265-7727  http://www.gleasonresearch.com/ Sellers of the MIT Handy Board and Handy Cricket sin- gle board computers. The Handy Board is a favorite at MIT and for many university and college robotics courses. x V Handy Board, The 202936 http://www.handyboard.com/ The Handy Board uses a Motorola 68HC11 microcon- troller to build a sophisticated robotics central brain. The Handy Board is used in many college and univer- sity robotics courses (it was originally developed at MIT) and is suitable for education, hobby, and indus- trial purposes. As the Web site says, “People use the Handy Board to run robot design courses and competi- tions at the university and high school level, build robots for fun, and control industrial devices.” The features of the Handy Board are: • Motorola 68HC11 microcontroller • 2-line LCD • Integrated 700mAh ni-cad rechargeable battery (not included in some versions) • 8 analog inputs • 9 digital inputs • Infrared output and input • Start and stop buttons • Piezo buzzer • 32K battery-backed memory to store programs • 4 1.1 amp H-bridge motor drivers (not included in some versions) • Serial (RS-232) and SPI interfaces The HandyBoard.com Web site is a facilitator of the Handy Board; MIT allows the board to be reproduced by anyone for noncommercial purposes. However, you may find it easier to get one already made, either assem- bled or in form. Vendors are listed on the Web site and include Gleason Research, The Robot Store in Hong Kong, and Acroname (all are listed in this book). A variety of software choices are available for the Handy Board, but the most common recommended is Interactive C, a multitasking C language that allows for compiling programs, as well as line-at-a-time command execution. A free version of Interactive C is available for microcontrollers-hardware 346 Main informational Web site for the Handy Board. the PC (running in a DOS window), Mac, and Unix- based computers. A great deal of documentation, user-supplies programs, and other material exists to support the Handy Board. But one of the best is a book by the Handy Board’s cre- ator, Fred Martin. Check out Robotic Explorations: A Hands-on Introduction to Engineering (ISBN 0130895687). It is not an inexpensive book, but it does an excellent job of teaching robotic concepts. Though “controller agnostic,” most of the examples revolve around the Handy Board.  High-TechGarage.com 202650 2615-1/2 Taylor Ave. Racine, WI 53403 USA  (413) 714-4523  support@High-TechGarage.com  http://www.high-techgarage.com/ Basic Stamp enhancement products (timer, coproces- sor). The company sells what they describe as “innova- tive enhancements for your BS2, BX-24 and ATOM.” Datasheets (in Adobe Acrobat PDF format) available for all products. x V HTH/High Tech Horizon 203066 Asbogatan 29 C S-262 51 Angelholm Sweden  +46 (0) 431 410 088  +46 (0) 431 410 088  info@hth.com  http://www.hth.com/ Resellers of Basic Stamp, Atmel AVR, and Basic-X microcontrollers, as well as the BASCOM programming software. Web site is in Swedish and English. x V iButton 204068 4401 South Beltwood Pkwy. Dallas, TX 75244 USA  (972) 371-4448  (972) 371-6600  http://www.ibutton.com/ The iButton is a miniature special-function microcon- troller made by Maxim/Dallas Semiconductor. Application includes nonvolatile memory, time and temperature, and personal code key (think “magic decoder ring”). Can be programmed in Java. Development samples can be ordered directly at the Web site. V Intec Automation, Inc. 203733 2751 Arbutus Rd. Victoria, British Columbia V8N 5X7 Canada  (250) 721-5150  (250) 721-4191  info@steroidmicros.com  http://www.steroidmicros.com/ High-end microcontroller and microcontroller boards. Includes the SS555 (“Steroid Stomp”), a $500 micro- controller with an “obscenity of features.” Software options include ImageCraft C and Dunfield C. x  JStamp See the listing for Systronix (this section). Kanda Systems Ltd.  203311 Units 17-18 Glanyrafon Enterprise Park Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3JQ UK  +44 (0) 1970 621030  +44 (0) 1970 621040  info@kanda.com  http://www.kanda.com/ Programmers for microcontrollers for the following microcontrollers and subsystems: • 8051 • Atmel AVR • CAN • Internet/Ethernet • Scenix •ST7 • Xicor microcontrollers-hardware 347 microcontrollers-hardware 348 The BasicX Microcontroller Microcontrollers are fast becoming a favorite method of endowing a robot with smarts. Offering both speed and ability is the BasicX by NetMedia, a company that previously devoted itself to home automation and small Web cams. The BasicX-24 is actually a member of a family of microcon- trollers from NetMedia, which also includes the less expen- sive (but network-capable) BasicX-1, as well as the BasicX- 35. We’ll concentrate just on the BasicX-24 (or BX-24) from here on out. A selling point of the BX-24 is that it is pin-for-pin com- patible with Parallax’s Basic Stamp II. It’s important to note that the BX-24 is not a Stamp “clone.” The two microcontrollers don’t share the same programming languages, so programs written for one will not work on the other. The BX-24 directly supports 16 input/output (I/O) lines. For each I/O line, or pin, you can change the direction from an input or an output. When an I/O line is an output, you can individually control the value of the pin, either 0 (logic LOW) or 1 (logic HIGH). When an I/O line is an input, you can read a digital or analog value of a TTL-compatible device con- nected to the BX-24. Eight of the 16 I/O lines can be used for analog connections. The BX-24 incorporates its own built-in 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Under soft- ware control, you can indicate which of the eight input lines is to be read. Three of the plated-through holes of the BX-24 serve as optional I/O and are pro- grammatically referred to as pins 25, 26, and 27, making a total of 19 input/output pins. (The remaining plated-through holes provide a way to connect to the chip’s serial peripheral interface, or SPI, lines. Connecting to these lines is not recommended unless you’re familiar with SPI interfaces, especially as the BX-24’s EEPROM is controlled by these same I/O lines.) A nice touch on the BX-24 is its two LEDs: one red and one green. The green LED is normally used to indicate power-on for the chip, but you can individually control both LEDs from your own programs. You might use the LEDs as status indicators, for example. The LEDs share two of the additional plated-through hole connectors on the BX-24. The BX-24 board comes with its own 5-volt voltage regulator, which provides enough operating current for all the components on the board, plus several LEDs or logic ICs. If you plan on using the BX-24 to operate a robot, you’ll want to provide a separate power supply of adequate current rating to the other components of the robot. You should not rely on the BX-24’s onboard regulator for this task. In order to program the BX-24 you need to purchase the BasicX-24 developer’s kit, which contains one BX-24, a programming cable, a power supply, a “carrier board,” and programming software on CD-ROM. Cost as of this writing is $99 for the developer’s kit, with additional BX-24s at $49.95 each. You plug the BX-24 into the carrier board, which has a 24-pin socket and empty solder pads that you can use to add your own circuitry. The programming cable connects between the carrier board and a serial port on your PC. The power supply is the “wall wart” variety and provides about 12 to 16 vdc. The BX-24 uses a proprietary programming environment, which consists of an editor and a download console, which also serves double-duty as a terminal for data sent from the microcontroller. The program editor supports the BasicX language, which is a subset of Microsoft Visual Basic. Don’t expect all Visual Basic commands to be available in BasicX, however. BasicX supports the same general syntax as Visual Basic and many of the same data types (bytes, integers, strings, and so forth). If you’re familiar with Visual Basic, then you should feel right at home with BasicX. The BasicX language supports the usual control structures, such as If/End If, While/Wend, The BasicX-24 (BX-24) micro- controller, on a development board. microcontrollers-hardware 349 For/Next, and Select/Case. Your BasicX programs can be subroutines, and you can call those subroutines from anywhere in the program. The BX-24 is a general-purpose microcontroller, so many of its built-in features are geared toward any typical personal or commercial microcontroller application. Still, a number of features of the BasicX programming language lend themselves to use in robot- ics. These features are implemented as functions added to the BasicX language. To use a feature, you merely include it in your program, along with any necessary command parameters. • GetADC and PutDAC. Recall from previously that the BX-24 has its own eight-channel, 10-bit ADC. With the GetADC function, you can read a voltage level on any of eight I/O pins and correlate that voltage level with a binary number (from 0 to 1,023). Conversely, you can use the PutDAC function to output a pulse train that will mimic a variable volt- age. • ShiftIn and ShiftOut. With ShiftIn you can receive a series of bits on a single I/O pin and convert them to a single byte in a variable. ShiftOut does the inverse, where you can convert a byte into a series of bits. Both functions allow you to specify an I/O pin for use as the data source and another I/O pin for the clock. The BasicX software auto- matically triggers the clock pin for each bit received or sent. • OpenCom. The BX-24 supports as many serial ports as you have available I/O pins. With OpenCom you can establish serial communications with other BX-24 chips or any other device that supports serial data transfer. One common use for OpenCom is to establish a link from the BX-24 chip back to the download window of your PC; this win- dow can serve as a terminal for debugging and other monitoring tasks. • PulseIn and PulseOut. The PulseIn function waits for the level at a given I/O pin to change state. One practical application of this feature is to watch for a critical button press to activate some function on your robot. PulseOut sends a pulse of a certain duration (in 1.085-microsecond units) out a given I/O pin. PulseOut is one of the most commonly used functions, used to blink LEDs, trigger sonar pings, and command ser- vomotors to move to a new location. • InputCapture. Somewhat akin to PulseIn, InputCapture watches for signal transition on a specific I/O pin of the BX-24. InputCapture can time the duration of these transitions, thereby giving you a “snapshot” of a digital pulse train, including how long each pulse lasted. • PlaySound. The PlaySound function outputs a waveform that, when connected to an amplifier via a decoupling capacitor, allows you to play previously sampled sound that has been stored in the EEPROM. You can play back sounds at various sampling rates and control the number of times the sound is repeated. Find out more about the BasicX-24 and other members of the BasicX family at the company’s Web site: http://www.basicx.com/ Try these Google.com search phrases to locate program examples and circuit dia- grams using the BasicX: basicx program examples basicx programming examples basicx—site:www.basicx.com—site:basicx.com Support for the Atmel AVR line is a specialty. Also sells starter kits, microcontroller chips and development boards, project boards, compilers and programming software (for both Basic and C), books, and PC inter- faces. Additional offices in the U.S. x V http://www.seattlerobotics.org/ x V LART Pages, The 202037 http://www.lart.tudelft.nl/ According to the Web site: “The LART is a small yet powerful embedded computer capable of running Linux. Its performance is around 250 MIPS while con- suming less than one watt of power. In a standard con- figuration it holds 32MB DRAM and 4MB Flash ROM, which is sufficient for a Linux kernel and a sizeable ramdisk image.”  LAWICEL 204207 Klubbgatan 3 S-282 32 Tyringe Sweden  +46 (0) 451 598 77  +46 (0) 451 598 78  info@lawicel.com  http://www.lawicel.com/ LAWICEL makes and markets a line of inexpensive microcontroller board products, many with Controller Area Network (CAN). An example product is the StAVeR24-4433, a 24-pin microcontroller based on the Atmel AVR AT90S4433, which uses the same pinout as the Basic Stamp. Web site is in English and Swedish. SEE ALSO: http://www.candip.com/ x  Lugnet: Handy Board Mail List Archive 202937 http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/handyboard/ Lugnet’s Handy Board group is focused on the MIT- developed Handy Board. Topics include “obtaining, debugging, or using the Handy Board design; trou- bleshooting problems; exchanging ideas and tech- niques; sharing code; etc.”  microcontrollers-hardware 350 STK300, for programming Atmel AVR microcontrollers. Kevin Ross 203983 P.O. Box 1714 Duvall, WA 98019 USA  (425) 788-5985.  kevinro@kevinro.com  http://www.kevinro.com/ Kevin Ross sells a whole mess of BotBoard Plus micro- controller boards and BotBoard interface products. Many of the boards are available in parts kit or assem- bled form. For those who are new to the BotBoard Plus, it uses a Motorola 68HC11-based microcontroller and provides various connectors to attach robotic parts to it. According to Kevin, “The BotBoard Plus is widely used by Universities and hobbyist for learning and experi- mentation. The members of the Seattle Robotics Society have been using the BotBoard design for several years.” Additional boards using other models of Motorola microcontrollers, such as the MC68HC912D60 and MC68HC812A4, are available as well. All are profession- ally produced, with green solder mask and plated- through holes. Kevin is also the editor of Encoder, the official publica- tion of the Seattle Robotics Society; see: M2L Electronics 202359 250 CR 218 Durango, CO 81303 USA  (970) 259-0555  (970) 259-0777  sales@m2l.com  http://www.m2l.com/ Device programmers for EPROM, 8751 devices, Microchip PICmicro controllers. x  Micro Engineering Labs 203254 Box 60039 Colorado Springs, CO 80960 USA  (719) 520-5323  (719) 520-1867  support@melabs.com  http://microengineeringlabs.com/ Micro Engineering Labs makes and sells development tools for the Microchip PICmicro microcontrollers. Their products in review: • PicBasic Compiler-Compatible with the Basic Stamp I, adds I2C support, instructions to access external serial EEPROMs, serial speeds to 9600 baud, in-line assembler code. • PicBasic Pro Compiler-Compatible with the Basic Stamp II, adds I2C support, direct and library rou- tine access to any pin or register, automatic page boundary handling past 2K, real If Then Else Endif structures, built-in LCD sup- port, to access more external devices including serial EEPROMs. • EPIC Plus PICmicro Programmer-For Windows and DOS compatible, capable of in-circuit serial pro- gramming, parallel port interface, and works with most PICmicro microcontrollers. • LAB-X1 experimenter board-Includes its own 2x20 LCD, 16-button keypad, serial port with 9-pin D con- nector, programmable oscillator, speaker, and more. Also offered is the LAB-X2 with less built-in hard- ware. Additional support products include: • 2x16 LCD • Serial graphics LCD module • Coprocessor modules (analog input, pulse out, PWM) • PICProto boards • Loader x V Microchip Technology 202371 2355 W. Chandler Blvd. Chandler, AZ 85224 USA  (480) 792-7200  (480) 899-9210  http://www.microchip.com/ Microchip makes a broad line of semiconductors, including the venerable PICmicro microcontrollers. Their Web site contains many datasheets and applica- tion notes on using these controllers, and you should be sure to download and save them for study. The company is also involved with radio frequency identification (RFID), selling readers and tags, as well as developer’s kits. x d  National Control Devices 202140 P.O. Box 455 Osceola, MO 64776 USA  (417) 646-5644  (417) 646-8302  ryan@controlanything.com  http://www.controlanything.com/ NCD wants you to control anything and everything. They offer some microcontroller-enabled products to help, including: • A/D converters • Character displays • Graphic displays • Input/output devices • IO expansion modules • Microcontrollers • Motor controllers • Quick-start kits • Relay controllers • Serial interface services • Video switchers Many of the products are connected to a host (micro- controller, PC, etc.) via an addressable serial line, meaning you connect several of them on a single pair microcontrollers-hardware 351 [...]... Microcontrollers-Hardware x 203066 Asbogatan 29 C S-262 51 Angelholm Sweden +46 (0) 4 31 410 088 +46 (0) 4 31 410 088 info@hth.com http://www.hth.com/ 20 216 4 Web page for Imagecraft Software microcontrollers-software 365 Kanda Systems Ltd 203 311 Micro Engineering Labs 203254 Units 1 7 -1 8 Glanyrafon Enterprise Park Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3JQ UK +44 (0) 19 70 6 210 30 +44 (0) 19 70 6 210 40 info@kanda.com... than $4 Steve Curtis: Robotics Experiments 202492 P.O Box 46 210 1 Garland, TX 7504 6-2 10 1 USA (972) 27 2-9 392 (972) 49 4-5 814 support@tech-tools.com http://www.tech-tools.com/ V 20 210 5 Basic Stamp computers, PIC microcontrollers, and related embedded technologies http://n.webring.com/hub?ring=hc 11 20 210 4 202229 http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/ Web-based control of servos (via a Mini SSC II servo controller)... ilkwang Building 16 5 6-2 , Seocho-Dong Seocho-Gu Seoul South Korea MCS Electronics 202340 G Brautigamstraat 11 15 06WL Zaandam Holland + 31 75 614 8799 + 31 75 614 418 9 info@mcselec.com http://www.mcselec.com/ Publishers of BASCOM AVR and BASCOM-80 51 Also provides embedded system development and support Sells SimmStick, AM RF modules, programs, and simulators x V 204072 +82 2-5 9 7-8 224 +82 2-5 9 7-9 4 41 info@roboblock.co.kr... http://www.rdk20 01. com/ RDK sells Atmel AVR microcontrollers and robotics kits (minibot, Micro Mouse) The Web site provides useful examples of using the AVR with the BASCOM AVR Basic language compiler x V P.O Box 217 1 Warwick Western Australia 6024 Australia + 61 8 9344 8474 203654 555 South 300 East Salt Lake City, UT 8 411 1 USA (8 01) 53 4 -1 017 (8 01) 53 4 -1 019 info@systronix.com http://www.systronix.com/ Embedded... info@wilke-technology.com http://www.wilke-technology.com/ Single-tasking and multitasking single board computers Products include BASIC-Tiger professional software Zorin Microcontroller Products 202649 16 33 4th Ave West Seattle, WA 9 811 9 USA (206) 28 2-6 0 61 (206) 28 2-9 579 info@ZORINco.com http://zorinco.com/ (2 81) 33 4-4 3 41 (2 81) 75 4-4 462 alw@al-williams.com http://www.al-williams.com Home page of author Al... RabbitCore Ethernet-based microcontroller Photo Ryan Fardo, Z-World 204040 Reynolds Electronics 202009 310 1 Eastridge Ln Canon City, CO 812 12 USA ( 719 ) 26 9-3 469 ( 719 ) 27 6-2 853 support@rentron.com http://www.rentron.com/ Rentron offers kits and ready-made products for the electronics enthusiast and robotmeister, including PicBasic and PicBasic Pro compilers, Basic Stamp, Microchip PICmicro, Intel 80 51 microcontrollers,... 204072 13 7-0 70, #707 ilkwang Bldg 16 5 6-2 , Seocho-Dong Seocho-Gu Seoul South Korea +82 2-5 9 7-8 224 +82 2-5 9 7-9 4 41 info@roboblock.co.kr http://www.roboblock.com/ Manufacturer of the OOPic and OOPic2 microcontrollers that offer multitasking and built-in “objects” that simplify programming Many of the objects are directly suitable for robotics Sold by distributors SEE ALSO: http://www.oopic2.com/ http://www.robotprojects.com/... company’s line of DSP-based microcontrollers As noted on their Web site: “The DSP803-Mini is the perfect board for robotic applications Small in size, offering many features NMIN-0803 Mini Features: Memory 32K x 16 , program Flash 512 x 16 , program RAM 2K x 16 , data RAM 4K x 16 , data Flash 2K x 16 , boot Flash, 10 I/O(s), 8-channel 12 -bit A/D 6 PWMs, one quadrature decoder, two timers, two external interrupts,... non-Java systems (such as JStamp), high-speed 8051s x Sage Telecommunications Pty Ltd 202253 Circuit schematic and PCB layout for a 68HC 812 A4based microcontroller board x V Robotics Building Blocks 203982 V 2023 41 TECEL 2508 Spruce SE Albuquerque, NM 8 710 6 USA 202 519 358 microcontrollers-hardware (505) 23 9-8 483 (505) 24 3-7 514 tecel@tecel.com http://www.tecel.com/ Microcontroller boards using 80C2 51, ... 9 212 1 USA 202669 370 motor control (858) 45 0 -1 024 (858) 45 0-9 244 http://www.effecteng.com/ Produces animatronics products for stage and special effects Products include animatronics (e.g., Halloween), mechanical effects, and unusual props x V E-Lab Digital Engineering, Inc 202490 Carefree Industrial Park 16 00 N 2 91 Hwy Ste 330 P.O Box 520436 Independence, MO 6405 2-0 436 USA ( 816 ) 25 7-9 954 ( 816 ) 25 7-9 945 . City, UT 8 411 1 USA  (8 01) 53 4 -1 017  (8 01) 53 4 -1 019  info@systronix.com  http://www.systronix.com/ Embedded control hardware, software, enclosures, components, etc. Java and non-Java systems. how-to pages using the OOPic microcontroller.  AWC/Al Williams 2023 61 310 Ivy Glen Ct. League City, TX 7757 3-5 953 USA  (2 81) 33 4-4 3 41  (2 81) 75 4-4 462  alw@al-williams.com  http://www.al-williams.com Home. kit. x V Roboblock System Co., Ltd. 204072 13 7-0 70, #707 ilkwang Bldg. 16 5 6-2 , Seocho-Dong Seocho-Gu Seoul South Korea  +82 2-5 9 7-8 224  +82 2-5 9 7-9 4 41  info@roboblock.co.kr  http://www.roboblock.com/ Sells