I am thinking of creating a robot but I'm not sure what's best to use as a control

[chris11246]

I am currently studying computer engineering and have worked with software and hardware, but I haven't really designed anything myself. What I want to do is make a simple wheeled robot with a camera to practice my image processing.

What would be a good cheap way to control it.

 

[stephen87]

check these link, might help:

Robot construction tutorial: **broken link removed**
understanding PID control: **broken link removed**
a line following robot with automatic lifter: **broken link removed**

 

[chris11246]

I was thinking more along the lines of microcontroller vs PLC vs FPGA. The physical control not coding and I already have an idea of what sensors Ill use.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I was thinking more along the lines of microcontroller vs PLC vs FPGA. The physical control not coding and I already have an idea of what sensors Ill use.

The only option there really suited to the job is the microcontroller, PLC's and FPGA's are for entirely different applications.

 

[cr0sh]

I was thinking more along the lines of microcontroller vs PLC vs FPGA. The physical control not coding and I already have an idea of what sensors Ill use.

Do you have a preference on what kind of microcontroller you use? What is your experience level with microcontrollers and/or coding in general?

The likely simplest option is going to be an Arduino (or a PIC of some sort; you'll spend less on the processor, but you'll have to hunt down and pay for a programmer and possibly the compiler as well), unless you plan to do the image processing on-board (the microcontrollers typically used in the Arduino line aren't powerful enough, nor do they have enough RAM - with that said, you can do rudimentary image processing with one, with a bit of work - just don't expect OpenCV quality).

If you are planning on doing image processing on-board, then go for an ARM or one of the more advanced PIC devices that have the horsepower and RAM needed for that kind of thing.

Either option will need coding, of course - choice of languages there, but most people use C/C++ or assembler (or a combo); you can also use BASIC if that's your thing.

 

[FreeRideSkier]

I would recommend using a small embedded PC like the FIT PC or even a cheap netbook. This way you could use FlowStone my new favourite graphical programming tool to do everything, control the motors, and image processing using a webcam.

I used the Robot Electronics wheels and controller which just connects to a com port etc.

Let me know if you need any further help, if you choose this route?

 

[djsfantasi]

Check out Lynxmotion. They have a line of microcontrollers customized for Robotics control, as well as software resources. Additionally, their microcontrollers can be controlled via FlowStone apps. Sorry for the plug, but there are several sources for robotic microcontrollers. One other is Sparkfun...

 

[BrownOut]

I was thinking more along the lines of microcontroller vs PLC vs FPGA. The physical control not coding and I already have an idea of what sensors Ill use.

An FPGA can concievably be used, with a soft processor core. I imagine it would be prohibitively expensive, however. If you need more I/O than you can get from your processor, then you might use a CPLD or some sort of inexpensive programmable logic device. Cypress has a system on a programmable chip solution, but I think it too is rather expensive.

 

[warning]

I`m really beginner, but if I understood well your robot would be a simple, if the image processing part is the more important then I would choose FPGA but it is only my opinion.
Check out this too:Digilent Inc. - Digital Design Engineer's Source