ttkoshi:
Hello all-So I've been playing around with my Arduino for a few months now, and I love the thing. However, I think I'm ready to move onto bigger things. I want to learn how to basically wire my netbook to a roomba and drive it, or basically use a computer to replace the arduino. I guess I'm looking to head into more professional applications (by no means am I slighting the Arduino, I love them, and own 3). What is my next step? I've tried googling it, but I can't find what my next step should be. What's the programming language, whats the UI, whats the board that I'll plug into my computer to interface with servos? Can I use it with LabView?
So many questions, any guidance would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting an education in the robotics industry, and would love to learn where I should focus, and where to start. Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Sorry to be mean (or rude), but... looking to other platforms before actually learning the "Arduino" is not the way to go.
The Arduino is really the ATmega328 (and the USB chip, of course), and if I ask you how to setup the ADC, or create a timed interrupt by using the registers inside the ATmega328, would you be able to?
So before moving on, if I were you, I'd learn C, get the AVR-GCC and start learning how to setup the internal peripherals on the ATmega328 to do what you need. Once that is covered, you'll probably feel like there is a bit more you can do, or at least in a different way than by using the Arduino IDE.
No UI is needed with AVR-GCC. And to interface the servos you can continue to use your Arduino, or create a board with a controller chip for servos. Maybe in a shield form. I don't think people use high power controllers to control servos either way... that is normally done by some other chip on the board.
Hope to have answered your question. It's not really where you should go... it's how deep you should learn stuff. And right now, your head is still above the water.