Hi all...
I am reluctant to bring up this subject again in the earshot of so many devoted fans of EZ-Robot.... but I need a solution to an irritating problem
Before I stumbled on the awesomeness that is EZ-Robot I had purchased a number of Arduino resources for teaching students at my school. Trouble was they required quite a step up for students.... and many of them struggled to 'connect' with the passion I had for the little boards at the time.
Then I discovered the EZ-Robot. The hardware and software was so easy to use and support so absolutely amazing that I brought the kit and tons of extra stuff into the classroom just so I could share with them the endless possibilities. Now they are beginning to get hooked as well so I am looking at making it a part of my intermediate (middle school) and high school programme for 2013. Unfortunately it will take me some time to accumulate enough funds at my school to buy additional EZ-B boards for a whole class to use.... but this post is not a plea for a benefactor. LOL
Anyway here is my big idea: In the same way the EZ-B controls a servo or other dumb device, can a software interface be made to connect the EZ-B to the Arduino? The ARC software would control, read and/or write to the arduino. Kind of like how the C# section is implemented in scripts. This way some dumb, low priority processes could be palmed off to the Arduino from the ARC and then picked up via again perhaps via an interupt....
Eg. a touch sensor net that has 100's of sensors continously scanned by an arduino muitiplexor arrangement that returns a value to the ARC when it is touched using a kind of GPS co-ordinates or capacitance on a touch screen except the location is somewhere on the robots body.
Of course you would need to make it so the ARC software would only do so when an EZ-B was present otherwise every man and his Arduino would steel the software.
What do you guys think?
I'm not yet familiar with any Arduino product, but couldn't you already interface via ADC or I2C communications... thus treating the Arduino or other micro-controller as yet another "sensor"? Perhaps even simple switch type control via Digital ports, SendSerial and/or I2C?
I know it's not quite what you are looking for... but probably never hurts to ask
.
Yes I hear what you say Gunner.... I'm looking more for a built in link between the two that would be easy to control via the EZ-B.... the Master... I'm afraid I am not yet skilled enough to manage a SendSerial event between the two....
Perhaps I should make this a Christmas project - unless someone has already done this and wants to point me in the right direction.
I did however find this a little helpful in explaining it... I'm going to e-mail him and tell him to check out the EZ-B ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJX0BRUagCg
It seem you could hook them up through the serial port and talk back and forth.
Or, maybe through the X-Bee wireless setup.
I hear what you are saying. I have a few arduinos just gathering Dust right now. The EZB made them Obsolete.
@MovieMaker You could always consider selling those obsolete things to some poor soul
who wants to learn techniques on all sorts of controlers... even if they are harder to use then the EZ-B
Hehe, sorry I had to rename your thread
I do not see Arduino as an enemy. The Arduino platform is made for beginner electronics with flashing LED's and stuff. It's not really the same goal as EZ-Robot. We don't believe in programming microcontrollers and stuff. I want to provide all the User Controls and let you decide how to use them - rather than making your own from scratch.
So that said, EZ-Robot will not be adding any Arduino libraries. Even mentioning "Arduino Programming" confuses 90% of our customers
We're here to help people build robots - not program microcontrollers.
Ahhh DJ Sures, you're just as quick with the wit and wisdom as you are with the software updates.
Well said and well done.
And @MovieMaker & @Gunner I honestly never thought of on selling them.... but now that you mention it.... I could put the money into another EZ-B....
He he he
What, what? Arduino's need programming confused Just kidding,
I am in the 10% who want to design, build and program, both the motivationaly encouraging easy way and the growth enhancing challenging way... just not sure if it is the upper or lower 10%
I figured this was the way DJ would go... in a minor sense it is unfortunate, as while "they" do require a different mindset and skill-set, I see benefits with having lower cost, program embedded, controllers that can work with PC based controllers; I was also hoping for an EZ-Link
but I will happily experiment with my own link methodology.
And who knows what DJ has planned for new additions... I keep hearing, in various threads, about EZ-Bits and possible ARC embedded controllers and an Android app that will control EZ-B (not just remote link).
The future is EZ-Bright!...
DJ its too bad that you are not supportive of the Arduino interfacing or that you don't show any tutorials on how to make the two of them work together (at least from what I have found). THat being said, one of the things I am not clear on how to do in the EZ-B is to utilize analog and digital inputs from the board to make decisions. I see how to read the data by inserting a panel in the program, but to act on that I am a bit confused.