PC -> Servo Communications issues

Robotis makes unique servo actuators specifically designed for building articulated robots. Their actuators range from AX12 ($40 12kg-cm plastic gear) to EX-106 ($500 120kg-cm titanium gear and magnetic encoder..). They all share one thing in common – the Dynamixel bus protocol.

In order to effectively create closed loop control between the PC and the robot, there are many timing considerations.

We debated quite a while about how to best create a situation whereby the PC is able to receive sensor data and send control data from/to the servos at maximum cycles/sec.

The following is stitched up (see hugin.sourceforge.net) picture of the brainstorm board taken as 4 pictures by an iPhone