RP6 - Features and Specifications


Processor

- Powerful Atmel ATMEGA32 8-Bit Microcontroller
- Speed 8 MIPS (=8 Million Instructions per Second) at 8MHz clock frequency
- Memory: 32KB Flash ROM, 2KB SRAM, 1KB EEPROM
- Freely programmable in C (using WinAVR / avr-gcc)!

- Flexible expansion system, based on the I2C-Bus
- Only two signals required (TWI -> "Two Wire Interface")
- Transfer speed up to 400kBit/s
- Master->Slave architecture
- Up to 127 Slaves may be connected to the bus simultaneously
- Very popular bus-system. The market provides a lot of standard ICs, sensors and other components, which may often be connected directly.

- The Mainboard provides 6 small expansion areas (and additionally 2 very tiny
areas on the small sensor PCB on the front) for your own sensor circuits, e.g. for implementing additional IR sensors to improve obstacle detection. Expansion areas may also be used for mounting purposes, e.g. for fixing mechanical objects.

- Symmetrical mounting possibilities for expansion modules at front and rear
- Theoretically you may stack any number of expansion modules, but the supply capability and the overall weight allows a maximum of about 6 to 8 modules (3 to 4 modules each at front and rear).
- The mainboard provides 22 free 3.2mm mounting holes and the chassis provides another 16, summing up to 38 mounting holes in total
- additionally the chassis provides ample space for individual drills.

- Experiment PCB already included in delivery (see scope of delivery photo)



Communications

- USB PC Interface for program uploads from PC to microcontroller
- Wired connection for maximum transfer speed. Program upload will usually run at 500kBaud, filling the total free memory space (30KB, 2KB are reserved for the Bootloader) within seconds.
- The interface may be used for programming all available expansion modules for the RP6 with AVR Microcontrollers.
- It may be used for communication between the robot and expansion modules. For example you can use this for debugging purposes by transferring measurement data, text messages and other data to the PC.
- The interface driver provides a virtual comport (VCP) for all popular operating systems including Windows 2K/XP/Vista and Linux. The VCP can be used in standard terminal programs and customized software.
- The RP6Loader Software for Windows and Linux allows comfortable program uploads.
It also contains a small terminal for communicating with the robot through
text messages.

- Infrared Communication-system (IRCOMM)
- Receives signals of standard universal infrared Remote Controls of TVs or Video
recoders. You may control your robot with a standard (RC5-) remote control! The protocol may be changed in software, but we provide only an implementation of the standard RC5-protocoll by default.
- May be used for communication with several robots (using direct line of sight or reflections from the ceiling and walls) or for transmitting telemetry data.

Caterpillar drive unit - FRONT	Caterpillar drive unit - REAR

Caterpillar drive unit - Chassis

- Powerful caterpillar drive unit in combination with a new gearing system for minimising noise
- Two powerful 7.2V DC-Motors
- Maximum speed ca. 25 cm/s . depending on charge state and quality of batteries, total weight and other conditions!
- Self-lubing, sintered bearings at all four 4mm wheel-axles
- Two rubber tracks
- Capable of traversing small obstacles (up to ca. 2 cm height) like carpet edges, thresholds or ramps of up to 30% steepness (with mounted bumper switches).
Removing the bumpers and restricting the number of modules to a maximum of 2
modules allows the robot to drive over ramps with up to 40% steepness.

-Two powerful MOSFET Motor-drivers (H-Bridges)
- Rotational velocity and direction can be controlled by the Microcontroller system.
- Two current sensors providing a measurement range up to ca. 1.8A for each
motor. This allows to quickly sense blocked or heavily loaded motors.

- Two high resolution encoders for speed- and motion-control
- Resolution 625 CPR ("Counts Per Revolution") which implies the system counts
625 segments of the codewheel per revolution of a wheel! (150x higher resolution
compared to the predecessor system CCRP5 with only ca. 4 CPR).
- Exact and fast speed measurement and control!
- High resolution of ca. 0.25mm per counted segment!

- Current sensing on both Track Drive motors for motor load measurement

Sensors - as Standard

- Anti-collision-system (ACS) which can detect obstacles with an integrated IR
receiver and two IR diodes aligned to left and right
- Detects obstacles in the middle, left or right of the robot's front.
- Sensitivity and transmitter power are adjustable, allowing reliable detection of badly reflecting objects.



- Two light sensors . e.g. for light intensity measurement and light source tracking

- Two bumper sensors for collision detection

- 6 Status LEDs . for sensor and program status displays
. Four LED Ports can also be used for other functions if necessary!

- Two free Analogue/Digital Converter (ADC) Channels for external sensor systems (Alternatively available as standard I/O Pins)

- Lots of expansion possibilities!

Power Supply

- Accurate 5V voltage regulation
. Maximum current supply: 1.5A
. Large copper-area for heat dissipation to the PCB
. Constant current should not get higher than 1A. More than this requires extra cooling! We recommend a maximum constant current value below 800mA.

- Replaceable 2.5A fuse

- Low standby current of less than 5mA (4mA typ. and ca. 17 up to 40mA in use,of course this depends on system load and activity (LEDs, Sensors etc.). These values only include electronic circuits and do not take motors and expansion modules into account!).

- Power supply with 6 NiMH Mignon accumulator batteries (not included!)
. E.g. Panasonic or Sanyo (NiMH, 1.2V, 2500mAh, HR-3U , Size AA HR6) or Energizer (NiMH, 1.2V, 2500mAh, NH15-AA)
. Operating time ca. 3 up to 6 hours depending on usage and quality/capacity of the batteries (if the engines are not being activated too much, the robot may be operated a lot longer. These operating time specifications are only for the robot system itself, without expansion modules).

- Connector for external battery chargers . the robot's main power switch toggles between "Charge/Off" and "Operate/On".
. This may be adapted by using a few solder pads on the PCB, allowing you to connect the robot with external power supplies or additional batteries.
. Any external chargers that are suitable of charging 6 NiMH Cells in series may be used. External chargers drastically vary in performance and additional options, providing charging times between 3 and 14h. You need a charger with round 5.5mm plug.