Pololu Blog (Page 70)

Welcome to the Pololu Blog, where we provide updates about what we and our customers are doing and thinking about. This blog used to be Pololu president Jan Malášek’s Engage Your Brain blog; you can view just those posts here.

Popular tags: community projects new products raspberry pi arduino more…

Free Elektor magazine October 2013

Posted by Paul on 15 October 2013
Tags: new products

Get a FREE copy of Elektor magazine’s October issue with your order while supplies last. This offer is only available for orders shipped to USA or Canada. To get your free issue, enter the coupon code ELEKTOR1013 into your shopping cart. The magazine will add 6 ounces to the package weight when calculating your shipping options.

For other issues and more information, see our Free Elektor Magazine Offers page.

New product: RC Switch with Medium Low-Side MOSFET

Posted by Paul on 11 October 2013
Tags: new products

Last week we announced the Pololu RC Switch with Relay, the first product in our overhaul of the RC Switch family. Today we released the second new RC Switch product, the Pololu RC Switch with Medium Low-Side MOSFET. This board converts hobby radio control pulses to digital on/off signals and has an integrated medium, low-side MOSFET that allows it to drive moderate loads (up to around 15 A), such as lighting or small actuators.

This product replaces item #1211 and includes valuable new features such as a safe-start mode and user-configurable input direction and threshold.

For more information about the Pololu RC Switch with Medium Low-Side MOSFET, see the product page.

Related posts:

Zumo Robot with Pololu Plug-in Modules

Posted by Jamee on 8 October 2013

Forum user Erich created a custom Zumo Robot Chassis PCB to use with our Zumo chassis kit. The board is designed to accept a large number of plug-in modules, such as a DRV8835 dual motor driver carrier, encoders, and voltage regulators. Sensors that can be mounted on the robot include a Zumo reflectance sensor array, some distance sensors, and an ultrasonic sensor, and it also supports several wireless communication modules. Instead of an Arduino, it uses a Freescale FRDM-KL25Z as the microcontroller board.

You can follow his robot’s progression by visiting these forum posts:

March 2013: Zumo Robot with FRDM-KL25Z Board

September 2013: Zumo Robot with Pololu Plug-in Modules

October 2013: Zumo Robot with Pololu Plug-in Modules, assembled.

New product: Pololu RC Switch with Relay

Posted by Paul on 4 October 2013
Tags: new products

We are overhauling our RC Switch family of products, starting with a new and long-awaited addition, the Pololu RC Switch with Relay. This RC relay board makes it easy to control large loads within radio control (RC) systems. Here is an example setup with a typical RC receiver controlling the switch:

The Pololu RC Switch with Relay has advanced features not present in earlier RC switch products, including a safe-start mode and configurable input direction and threshold.

In addition to the assembled version shown above, a partial kit is available for specialized applications such as custom connectors or alternative relays:

Pololu RC Switch with Relay (Partial Kit).

For more information about the Pololu RC Switch, see the product page.

Related posts:

Highlights from the LVBots September 2013 mini-sumo competition

Posted by Paul on 3 October 2013
Tags: lvbots

LVBots held a mini-sumo competition at Pololu on September 19. With a total of 19 robots participating, we got to see a lot of different strategies, from passive to aggressive to deliberately misleading. Sensing technology was of key importance, with robots using everything from sonar and optical rangefinders to accelerometers. See the range of designs for yourself in this video compilation from the contest:

Do you live in Las Vegas, or are you passing through? Stop by this evening to see the robots in person! You can find out more about LVBots or sign up on our Meetup page.

Featured link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biiSHoyjBzY

Speech synthesis with the Orangutan SV-328

Posted by Kevin on 2 October 2013

Forum user Jim Remington has been working on getting the Talkie speech synthesis library to run on an Orangutan robot controller. The Talkie library, written by Peter Knight for the Arduino, has its roots in a Texas Instruments speech synthesis system that dates from the 1970s and was used in the Speak & Spell educational toy.

When we read about what Jim was doing on the Pololu Forum, we wanted to try it ourselves. We modified Jim’s Orangutan LV-168 code to work on the Orangutan SV-328, and we discovered that the Orangutan’s motor driver could be used as an improvised audio amplifier. This video demonstrates the result:

(Yes, those numbers are a little implausible, but they’re a good way to show off Jim’s number-to-speech routine.)

Our version of Jim’s demo, converted to an Atmel Studio 6 project for the Orangutan SV-328, can be found in this post. To read more about Jim’s work and download his code, see his forum topic.

New product: Arduino Robot

Posted by Paul on 1 October 2013

We now carry the Arduino Robot, the first official Arduino on wheels, which includes a pair of ATmega32U4-based platforms that control two motors, sensors, and more. From the Arduino blog post about it:

Designed in cooperation with Complubot, 4-time world champions in the Robocup Junior robotics soccer, the Arduino Robot promises endless hours of experimentation and play. It is a self-contained platform that allows you to build interactive machines to explore the world around you.

You can use straight out of the box, modify its software, or add your own hardware on top of it. You can learn as you go: the Arduino Robot is perfect for both the novice as well as those looking for their next challenge.

For more information about the Arduino Robot, see the product page.

New product: CP2104 USB-to-Serial Adapter Carrier

Posted by Kevin on 1 October 2013
Tags: new products

We’ve just released a new USB-to-serial adapter based on the Silicon Labs CP2104 USB-to-UART bridge. This tiny, inexpensive board makes it easy to connect a logic-level serial device to a PC, offering access to all of the data, control, and GPIO pins on the CP2104 while measuring only 0.6″ × 0.95″, including its Micro-USB connector. The adapter’s versatile pinout allows it to be used in a number of different ways, including on a breadboard or as a six-pin FTDI cable replacement.

And in case you don’t have a compatible cable lying around, we now also carry Micro-USB cables in two varieties: a standard cable that works with high-speed USB devices, and a thinner version that is lighter and more flexible but limited to low- and full-speed USB.


Qtechknow wins Educator's Choice award at Maker Faire

Posted by Ryan on 25 September 2013

We saw a tweet from Atmel that Qtechknow’s Fuzzbot—a robot based on a Zumo that helps clean floors by dragging a dust cloth around while avoiding obstacles—won the New York 2013 World Maker Faire Educator’s Choice award. Qtechknow was recently featured in a Popular Science article.

Related post: Fuzzbot

Just in time for Halloween: Orange breadboards

Posted by Ben on 24 September 2013
Tags: new products

Our 170-point solderless breadboards, which we already offer in black, red, green, blue, and white, are now available in orange. Add some color to your next electronics project!

For more information, see the product page. For other options, you can take a look at our full selection of solderless breadboards.

New Products

ACS724 Current Sensor Carrier 0A to 5A
3pi+ 2040 Robot - Standard Edition (30:1 MP Motors), Assembled
Motoron M2T550 Dual I²C Motor Controller
6V, 2.5A Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S13V25F6
DRV8434 Stepper Motor Driver Carrier (Header Pins Soldered)
7.5V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S8V9F7
7.5V, 2.5A Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S13V25F7
3pi+ 2040 Control Board
3pi+ 2040 Robot Kit with 15:1 HPCB Motors (Hyper Edition Kit)
15V, 2.7A Step-Down Voltage Regulator D30V30F15
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