[NBLUG/talk] Programming a Biobot

Mitch Patenaude patenaude at gmail.com
Wed May 8 15:58:54 PDT 2013


Hi Greg,

You didn't really ask for this, but I'd approach the problem a little
differently.  Rather than the added complexity of an Arduino connected via
serial, I'd just use a gertboard (
http://www.newark.com/gertboard/gertboard/gertboard-fully-assembled/dp/46W9829#BVQAWidgetID)
which is effectively an Arduino plus a motor controller, some open
collector drivers and other IO gee-gaws (A/D and D/A converters, swtiches,
LEDs, etc.) which connects to the GPIO pins on the Pi.  There are other
interface boards for the Pi, but that's the best known.

Mostly you can program the ATMega chip on the gertboard the same way you
program an Arduino, with the IDE.  The manual for the gertboard mentions
several key differences between the a regular Arduino and the gertboard.
 The most important difference is that the Arduino runs at 16MHz using 5V
(well most arduino's do), whereas the gertboard only runs at 12MHz using
3.3V.  This means that you sensor/IO stuff needs to be adjusted slightly
for the lower voltage, and some timing code might need to be adjusted for
the lower clock rate, but that usually isn't as critical.

The major downside vs. an Arduino is that it doesn't conform to the same
physical form, so it can't be used with Arduino shields, however much of
what you might want to connect via a shield is already available either as
part of the Pi (audio out, ethernet, etc) or the gertboard (motor driver,
A/D converters, etc.)

  -- Mitch Patenaude



On Wed, May 8, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Greg Mueller <greg at sensa.io> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm new to the group, and relatively new to the North Bay. I'm working on
> a project in Sebastopol designing a robot that will generate biologically
> active nutrients for plant fertility. I've been working on a prototype with
> a Raspberry Pi as a command module connected through serial to an Arduino.
> I have sensors and a pump connected to the Arduino. I'd like to develop an
> architecture using Node. I imagine a server running on the command module
> as well as on an EC2 instance, yet I admit this may not be the best way.
>
> The goal is to be able to remotely monitor and control the unit through a
> series of sensors and actuators controlling inputs and fluid & air flow.
> The idea is this will empower us to install them in grow locations around
> the community, and help spawn progressive grow operations.
>
> Love to connect with developers that may be interested.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Greg Mueller
>
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