What Adurino do I need for Meccanoid?

[Darwin7]

I wasn't saying like the MeccaBrain working on the Adruino. Adruino is like another brain for it. I was wondering if the servo wires would hook up to the Adruino.

[DuaneDegn]

I was wondering if the servo wires would hook up to the Adruino.

Based on the photo volkova_ta posted, it looks like they hook up like normal servos.

Will female jumper wires fit into the Smart Servo ports in the MeccaBrain?

A lot of servo connectors have a tapered corner or two. You might have to shave a corner off the female connector to get it to fit in the MeccaBrain's sockets. This is just a guess based on other servo connectors I've used.

[goodinventor]

No. The MeccaBrain is Arduino-compatible and has a library for it. The only problem is that Meccano does not give instructions for those who want to custom program using the Arduino IDE. I however will use the MeccaBrain. I do not intend to replace it with Arduino for my project, rather, I would like to connect a non-Meccano sensor (Parallax PIR) to the MeccaBrain's port. Looking at the socket, I think that a female 3-pin jumper wire connector may work (although I cannot be certain). Can anyone help?

[DuaneDegn]

No.

What was the question?

I do not intend to replace it with Arduino for my project, rather, I would like to connect a non-Meccano sensor (Parallax PIR) to the MeccaBrain's port.

Based on the videos on this page, it doesn't look like it's possible to add extra sensors to the MeccaBrain.

The "programming" looks like it's limited to motion playback and and motion capture using a smartphone app.

I didn't see any features which would allow actions to take place based on sensor input (other than voice commands).

Looking at the socket, I think that a female 3-pin jumper wire connector may work (although I cannot be certain).

This video gives a good look at the connectors of the MeccaBrain.

The connectors look like "Futaba-J" connectors. The connectors have an orientation tab but the tab should only be a problem if your trying to connect them with male servo connector with the extra housing around the connector. If you're just using female 0.1" connectors, I don't think you'll have a problem.

[goodinventor]

Hmmm...it looks like the best option would be to use a 3-pin female to female jumper wire. To answer your comment about limitations for programming, there is an Arduino library for it. I also read the documentation they provide about the MeccaBrain and the smart modules. There is enough information that I can add a custom sensor to the MeccaBrain, provided that I have the proper connector to hook it up. The only problem would be that there are no functions dealing with the speech recognition or synthesis. Also, as of yet there is no documentation on how to interface with the speech recognition. The below link has both the library and the (limited) documentation.

http://www.meccano.com/meccanoid-opensource

[DuaneDegn]

Hmmm...it looks like the best option would be to use a 3-pin female to female jumper wire.

I agree. It looks like a 3-pin female jumper should work. You'll just want to make sure you have the polarity correct since your jumpers won't have the orientation tabs on them.

To answer your comment about limitations for programming, there is an Arduino library for it.

Yes there's an Arduino library for it. I don't see how this will help you connect sensors to the MeccaBrain.

I also read the documentation they provide about the MeccaBrain and the smart modules. There is enough information that I can add a custom sensor to the MeccaBrain, provided that I have the proper connector to hook it up.

I don't see any information about connecting custom sensors. The only "sensors" it has are the position sensors in the servos. The MeccaBrain doesn't appear to do more than playback recorded sounds and motions. There isn't a way for the MeccaBrain to take actions based on any sort of sensor input.

[goodinventor]

I meant detailed information about signals for connecting to sensors. I can use it for my custom add-on.

[Darwin7]

Wait, but aren't there some sensors you can buy that are compatible with Adruino? You should be able to have a senor that can be used to make Meccanoid move. By the way, does Adruino need a power source and will the rechargeable battery wire plug into Adruino?

[goodinventor]

You are somewhat confused. I am not trying to use an Arduino board to connect the Meccanoid sensors and motors. Rather, I am trying to connect a non-Meccanoid sensor to the Meccanoid controller.

[DuaneDegn]

Wait, but aren't there some sensors you can buy that are compatible with Adruino?

There are LOTS of sensors which are compatible with the Arduino.

You should be able to have a senor that can be used to make Meccanoid move.

It depends how the sensor is connected. I don't think there's a way to use a sensor with the MeccaBrain in a way to trigger actions on the robot.

By the way, does Adruino need a power source

Yes, the Arduino needs a power source.

will the rechargeable battery wire plug into Adruino?

It doesn't look like the battery can directly connect to the Arduino. You'd need some sort of adapter.

Please check your spelling of Arduino. (At least you've been consistent (lately).  )

[Darwin7]

Adruino, Arduino. OK got it. XD
I was thinking like the sensor would connect to the input and as a output I could program it to move. Like if it detects something with a ultrasonic, it'll raise it's hands or something like that.

[DuaneDegn]

I was thinking like the sensor would connect to the input and as a output I could program it to move. Like if it detects something with a ultrasonic, it'll raise it's hands or something like that.

You can do that with an Arduino but not with the MeccaBrain.

As I've mentioned a couple of times, the MeccaBrain appears to only play back recorded moves or move with response from the motion capture app. It doesn't look like it can be programmed to take action based on sensor input (other than voice commands).

[goodinventor]

Well, if there is an Arduino library for the MeccaBrain, then there is very good reason to believe that the MeccaBrain is Arduino compatible. Which means that I can write to and read from I/O pins in the MeccaBrain. It's not an elegant solution, but I can get low-level functionality that way.

[DuaneDegn]

Well, if there is an Arduino library for the MeccaBrain,

The Arduino library is so you can use Meccanoid servos and LEDs with with an Arduino. You can't load your own program onto the MeccaBrain.

You can't really "program" the MeccaBrain. You can only record movements and sound.

[F4HFM]

Hello everybody.
I suppose there a several way to use Arduino on Meccanoid:

-(1) Using Arduino in place of MeccaBrain: Arduino<->Smartmodule, in this case the link is serial, using the library provided by Meccano. In this case, you can use a smartmodule (servo or led) from Meccano, and to drive it with an Arduino board. You do not use your MeccaBrain.

-(2) Using a non-Meccano servo (standard servo) and Arduino: Arduino<->Servo. Use standard library, but no link with Meccano on anay side. I suppose it's not the goal

-(3) Using a non-Meccano servo to connect it to MeccaBrain. The Arduino is used to "translate" the link:

MeccaBrain <-- Meccano protocol -> Arduino <- standard serial or anything else -> Standard servo

In the last case, the Arduino has to "speak Meccano" to the MeccaBrain, and is connected to the servo as usual (using standard library). The main work to be done is to program the Arduino as an interface, so it has to receive the MeccaBrain frames (serial), and to answer to it (reading the protocol, it's still serial, but looks like Manchester Protocol: 1 or 0 s coded by the "High" time, the bit time is constant. For the received frame, it looks like standard serial: 1 is High level, 0 is Low level.
As conclusion, the Meccano library has to be "reversed", as the library is for case (1). in case (3) you have to receive Meccabrain frames and to send "servo" frames, it's just the opposite direction as the library. But I think it's not so hard to program.

But at the end, even if your Arduino is "concidered" as a smartmodule by the MeccaBrain (and it's what I want to do!), we still not have any way to program the MeccaBrain! When Meccano advertises on "open source", it's a trick: they do not yet give any way to program MeccaBrain! I hope they will produce a "programming tool" once a day. But I'm waiting for it!

Well, I hope to have been clear enough.
By the way, sorry for my "frenchglish"