Expanding The Options For A First Year Student Design Experience An Improved Microcontroller For Mobile Robotics

In order to meet the rising demands of both education and logistical feasibility when using robotics as a design tool, a research group at The Ohio State University is design and testing a new micro controller for use in mobile robotics. The motivation for this microcontroller design came out of a need to give better support and flexibility to the students when building their robots. To accommodate multiple situations, the microcontroller system is comprised of one core controller attached to function specific modules via an inter integrated circuit (I 2 C) bus. The core consists of a microprocessor connected to memory and the serial, I 2 C, and USB communication interfaces along with a LCD output screen. Motor control, digital and analog input and output, additional memory and other application-specific modules are connected to the core controller to expand its functionality. The software user interface is designed with the same modular approach. A robust integrated development environment provides editing, version tracking, and testing capabilities such as breakpoints and memory management. Testing of the prototype will take place during the 2003-2004 academic year with the finished controllers available beginning in the 2004-2005 academic year. This paper describes the program requirements, research, design, and testing of this controller, as well as the motivations for the project and its diverse team structure.