This is a pretty interesting product.
I am currently using an OOPic board that communicates sensor data via bluetooth to a PC that distributes the information to different brain modules on a LAN. The modules are all being written in VB.NET 2005, so a direct interface to the sensors that is also in .NET has an obvious appeal.
However, there are a few things that appear to be missing at this time, which is understandable in a new product. I will be primarily using an array of SRF08 sensors, and posted a thread in the sensor forum (the first one other than the welcome thread...woohoo) about the shortcomings there.
The other thing I noted is that there is no obvious way to hook up touch sensors. The current OOPic board I am using has SimmStick slots, which allow me to connect 8 touch sensors/stick over an I2C interface. I suspect that I could get around that with the SRC by using an external SimmStick board, but I haven't looked into it yet.
That leaves just a question about performance: My current connection is at 9600 baud, which is lower than the SRC uses, but I control the serial output off the board, byte by byte, and have a pretty direct control over how and when sensors are read. This is all done with some pretty tight code, though there is a lag between when a move command is sent, and when the wheels start turning, and a few other things. Is there any data on a comparison of response or processing speed for the SRC versus OOPic?
I really like the concept, but I am concerned that actual performance will be slower. Might have to just get one and try it out, but I'd sure like more info before I try.
Shaggy,
First of all, am I correct in assuming that the acronym SRC means 'Serializer Robot Controller'? :)
Per your touch sensors, are they simply on/off switches? The Serializer has up to 10 lines that can be used for diginal I/O. If you use the I2C port, then it takes two of those I/O lines, and each additional servo uses an I/O line. Assuming you do utilize the I2C port, then you would have 8 digital I/O ports for your touch sensors.
So, you're hooking 8 touch sensors to a simm stick, then connecting that via I2C to the OOPic-R? You can do the same thing w/ the Serializer. The last firmware release provided a generic I2C interface to allow customers to communicate w/ any I2C device. It's just a matter of sitting down and figuring out the proper i2c command sequence. *NOTE* We haven't added the generic I2C interface to the .NET lib or Serializer Services yet, but we will do so in a few weeks. Why have we not already added it? Well, we're getting ready for a big show at Maker Faire, and we've been spending time porting our Serializer Services to work under the Compact Framework, as well as getting the demo up and working. :)
I don't have any direct comparison of speeds between the Serializer and the OOPic, but I can tell you that the Serializer hauls butt! We have never had a customer complain about the response times. :) The cool thing about the Serializer is that you don't have the overhead of the OOPic OS taking up processing cycles, so it's a lot faster. Plus, you can bump the baud rate up to 115200 and communicate all day long, which makes the responsiveness even better. I assume you're communicating w/ the OOPic via SCP?
A good speed comparison would be very useful. I'll put something together once we return from Maker Faire.
I think you would be rather impressed with the performance of the Serializer.