Using processors for robotics
I have an old Pentium pro processor that I would like to do something with,
so I wanted to know if there was some way to use it for a robot.
I know that processors alone don't have any way to access memory and I/O,
but is there a way you could hook every thing together so that is behaved
like a micro controller?
Lord Vader
P.S. Yes, I know a 200Mhz processor for a hobby robot would be overkill, but I want to do it for educational purposes.
so I wanted to know if there was some way to use it for a robot.
I know that processors alone don't have any way to access memory and I/O,
but is there a way you could hook every thing together so that is behaved
like a micro controller?
Lord Vader
P.S. Yes, I know a 200Mhz processor for a hobby robot would be overkill, but I want to do it for educational purposes.
Comments
That said, various companies have built small PCs for use as embedded controllers. These included the support chips and a small bit of memory. You could run Linux in serial terminal mode with a megabyte or two of memory and a Compact Flash card for a system disk. Usually the support chips included some support for a parallel port and a serial port, so you wouldn't need other I/O. Again, I don't recommend this as compared to using something like the GumStix embedded processors which are already designed for this kind of use, run Linux, and are pretty cheap.
Post Edited (Mike Green) : 11/14/2006 9:25:28 PM GMT
you're suffering from the 'I have a hammer, everything looks like a nail' syndrome.
That is, you found a tool, and now want to find a task for it.
That is bad engineering. Always study the task, then decide on which tool fits best.
The Pentium Pro would make an excellent front shield ofr a Sumobot, but not much else.
1. These things suck power as if it's going out of fashion tomorrow.
2. They don't have any dedicated I/O pins...
3. They don't have any onboard RAM or ROM, and providing it externally is a big pain.
4. Programming them is a beal ***** unless you have access to high-level anguages, which usually means needing a full OS around it.
but... There's no such thing as 'overkill' in Robotics... only 'spare capacity'...
If you want that class of power, you should probably look at some sort of SingleBoard computer(SBC), complete with OS and programming tools, and those aren't cheap.
The only real alternative is to go for a Propeller.
Sure, it doesn't have the addres space of a P Pro, but it should be just as fast...
(Not in MIPS, but it doesn't have any 'overhead' in task switching, and instead of an abysmal Interrupt, it can dedicate a COG to deal with events)
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I guess I really am suffering from 'I have a hammer, everything looks like a nail',
I should probably try to get out of that habit.
Anyways, I know this is off subject, but since the whole P pro thing seems dead...,
does anyone know of a good source of information on Zilog Z8 encores?
I received a free dev kit but it really doesn't have any manuals or other information.
Also, what does every one think of the Z8? or any of the Zilog stuff? I think I am going to start using
them along with the basic stamp.
Thanks,
Lord Vader
There's loads of manuals in their support section.
The old Z80 was the mainstay of the CP/M generation, and also powered a whole lot of home computers back in the 80s. It's relatively easy to program, but with the horsepower do actually do something, too.
(It has 138 discrete instructions, and over 700 combinations of them, including relative jumps, LoaDs with offsets, 16Bit arithmetic and counters, Memory block commands and all kinds of goodies)
This processor, and Zilog itself, was the result of the desgn team over at Intel splitting in two over which direction to go with the successor to the i8080. Intel made the i8085, which is basically a 8080 with a built-in UART, while the team who ditched Intel formed Zilog, then recreated the processor with more than double the registers, non-multiplexed address and databusses(the 8085 needed to multiplex the lower byte of the address bus with the databus to get enough free pins for the UART), incredibly fast interrupt handling and the theoretical ability to handle up to 128 (!) different units sending Interrupts to it...
The Dogs Cahunas of 8bit computing!
Their 16bit Z8000 was rumoured to have been a contender when IBM made their first PC, but lost out because Intel created the 8088 bastard (16bit core, 8bit databus. narrower databus meant slower computers, but also cheaper designs... ) It also didn't suffer from the 64KB segments that has plagued the PCs since then...
(It had such design innovations as registers that could be grouped together for 64bit arithmetics... cool... )
The Z8... A MCU based loosely on the Z8, but upgraded, revamped, and whatever.
It's fast... Faster than Propeller COGs at the same clock-speed, I reckon.(A COG is probably twice as fast as a Z80 at the same clock-speed) They also support a lot more memory.
I wouldn't mind playing with that kit, myself.
(No chance I could persuade you to sell it to me? cheaply? Pretty Please?
Yeah, it's all good stuff, and definitely something that could be used in robotics.
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Don't visit my new website...
There were three of us total (all of us in high school) and not only did they hand us
a pay check before we left, but also a Z8 dev kit.
The dev kits are only $40, not too bad compared to others.
Thanks for all the help and advice,
Lord Vader
http://www.futurlec.com/ComputerBoards.shtml
Randy
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