| Hobby
Servos are an integral part of just about any robotic or
animatronic application. There are literally hundreds of
uses for a high torque motor that can be rapidly (and
accurately) positioned within a 180° field of motion.
Unfortunately, hobby servos have
the side-effect of requiring precise timing signals (used to
position the motor) that can be difficult to produce.
The SV8/SV16 makes it easy to
control 8 or 16 hobby servo motors from a single controller.
All you have to do is provide a power supply for the
controller, usually around 8 to 15 volts DC. A power
supply for the servo motors (typically 5 volts) is also
required. Included
documentation shows you how to connect an RS-232 data
signal from your computer or Basic
Stamp II to the servo controller board.
The SV8/16 handles all the
motor timing issues for you. All you have to do is tell
the controller which motor you want to position (1 to 16), and
the position you want it to move to (0-254). The servo
then responds by swinging its axis to the position you
specified (with a persistent amount of torque I might
add)...nothing could be easier.
Up to 16 servo controllers can
be easily controlled using the RS-232 port of your
computer. Each servo controller is equipped with an optoisolator
used to electrically isolate the controller in the event of an
electrical problem.
Hobby servos are most commonly
used in remote control cars and airplanes and are commonly
available from companies such as Tower
Hobbies. The SV8/SV16 controller is
widely used in the movie industry for general-purpose
animatronic applications. It is also the perfect choice for
experimental robotics because of its ease of
integration. The SV8 is most widely used at our facility
for computer-controlled CCD camera positioning due to the
high-torque capabilities of servos. The
SV8/16 is equipped with 16 Futaba-J compatible servo
connectors for easy interface to most hobby
servos.
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