July 31, 2008 ― Phidgets Inc. released the 1061 PhidgetAdvancedServo 8-Motor which allows users to control the position, velocity, and acceleration of up to 8 RC servo motors. The PWM to the servo is updated 50 times per seconds and has a resolution of 0.007 deg.
The 1061 replaces the 1001 PhidgetServo 4-Motor.The 1061 uses a switching regulator in order to efficiently provide power to the motors over the entire power supply voltage range. The regulator isolates the motors from normal fluctuations in voltage due, for example, to the charge level of a battery. The regulator also protects the motors from overvoltage and reverse voltage.The 1061 also measures the current being consumed from each servo motor.
This feature is useful to assert if the motor is attached and functioning (not consuming any current) or if it is stalled (consuming maximum current).
Product Specifications
- Pulse Code Period: Typical: 20ms - Maximum: 25ms
- Minimum Pulse Width: 83.3ns
- Maximum Pulse Width: 2.7307ms
- Output Impedance (control): 600 Ohms
- Position Resolution: 0.0078125 deg (15-bit)
- Lower Position Limit: -22.9921875 deg
- Upper Position Limit: 233 deg
- Velocity Resolution: 0.390625º/s (14-bit)
- Velocity Limit: 6400 deg/s
- Acceleration Resolution: 19.53125º/s2 (14-bit)
- Acceleration Limit: 320000 deg/s2
- Time Resolution: 83.3ns
- Minimum Power Supply Voltage: 6V
- Maximum Power Supply Voltage: 15V
- Maximum Motor Current Surge: 1.6A
- Motor Overcurrent Trigger (combined): 12A
- Operating Motor Voltage: 5.0V
- Device Current Consumption: 36mA maxSoftware EnvironmentUsers can program Phidgets using a simple yet powerful and well documented Application Programming Interfade (API) that is supported under Windows (2000, XP, Vista), Windows CE, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Users can write programs in Visual Basic, VB.NET, C#, C/C++, Flash/Flex, Java, Labview, Matlab, ActionScript 3.0, and Cocoa.
Phidgets also provides programming examples for all its products to help programmers write their own programs.
The API Libraries as well as the examples and the documentation are available at no charge online.
“We have had many requests from our customers for a servo motor controller that could drive larger Servo Motors than the ones that our current 1-Motor Controller and our now discontinued 4-Motor controller can handle,” says Chester Fitchett, CEO of Phidgets. “ As we were designing the new product, we decided to go past building a basic controller and add functionality that allows smoother operation of the servo motors,” added Fitchett.
“Unlike a lot of our competitor’s products that require their users to write some firmware code in order to use their sensor, we are completely Plug and Play,” says Bernard Rousseau, Director of Marketing.
“With Phidgets, you plug it in and start using it and when it comes to programming, the user, not us, decides which operating system and which computer language he wants to use,” added Rousseau.
Pricing and Availability
The 1061 PhidgetAdvancedServo 8-Motor is available now.
The suggested resale price is $90.00 Canadian.
About Phidgets
Phidgets, Inc. is a technology leader in the design and manufacture of low-cost control and sensing modules connected to personal computers through the USB port.
Phidgets products are ideally suited for fast prototyping.
The privately held company is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
