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help with Robot, PLC or PIC.?

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Enas Taha

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Hey All :)

Plz i wanna know what's the best way to use for robots programming .. PLC or PIC ?

& what's the difference between them?

btw i wanna make a robot acts like human being ..

thanxx :)
 
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I thike PIC is better. But just for a basic robot.
 
Hey All :)

Plz i wanna know what's the best way to use for robots programming .. PLC or PIC ?

& what's the difference between them?

1) PIC - a microcontroller family manufactured by Microchip - https://www.microchip.com/
2) PLC - Programmable Logic Controller - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_logic_controller

Microcontrollers (in general) are like small, self-contained computers; they typically use a "Harvard Architecture" to segment data memory from program memory (but not always). They are manufactured by different companies; Microchip being one of the largest (there's also Atmel - who makes microcontrollers used in the Arduino platform - note that they DO NOT make Arduinos - well, at least not in the past; they are supposed to be releasing some 32-bit designs later this year or next). Microcontrollers tend to be very inexpensive on a per-unit basis. Coding is done offline, generally in BASIC, C/C++, or assembler (for the chip family); the code is "compiled" to a binary, and the binary is loaded onto the chip. Some have flash memory that can be re-programmed multiple times, other are "one-time" programmable devices (check the datasheets and other specs before buying, of course).

PLCs generally are more like standard computers, but geared for use in an industrial environment (and all the standards entailed therein); they tend to be more expensive (much more expensive) than a microcontroller (indeed, if you can purchased them at all as a consumer - generally they are only available to consumers as seconds or surplus). They come in a variety of formats, from things not much bigger than a paperback book, to rack-sized units. Most are fairly small, DIN-rail or similar hung devices. They can be programmed in a variety of languages just like microcontrollers, though in the past, ladder-logic was a popular method (due to their being a replacement for ladder-logic based relay systems in the past and the fact that a ton of technicians had learned this method of industrial device control - at least, based on my reading - I have no experience with them). Oh - another option is the PC/104 standard (basically really small PC form factor for embedded applications).

btw i wanna make a robot acts like human being ..

First off - I would forget the PLC route, unless that is your only option (like, you somebody giving them away), or you need this robot to work in an industrial environment. Since you state you want a robot the "acts like human being", that suggests to me you're either a researcher or a hobbyist (most likely the latter). If so, then microcontrollers would be your best bet to start out with; but they are only going to get you part way to your goal. Learn how to use them to build and control simpler robots (line followers, etc), and use that knowledge to ultimately build to your goal.

Ultimately, though, you are going to end up using either a very high-end microcontroller (something 32 bit and with gobs of memory) - or using a PC motherboard and peripherals that interfaces with microcontrollers (a distributed control approach); the PC or other high-end machine would be used to handled the higher-order control and sensing needed by such a robot as you are envisioning. For artificial intelligence/machine learning/computer vision/etc - in other words the kinds of tasks and such needed for a "human like" machine - that needs a lot of horsepower, somewhere (not necessarily on-board, mind you - the robot's "brain" can be anywhere, provided you have great enough bandwidth between it and the "body"). That means going beyond simple microcontrollers (it might even mean going beyond a simple PC!).

Good luck - hope this helps! :)
 
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