I have been googling for a day or so now trying to find a good starting point for a project that I came up with. I'm finding a lot of getting started guides, but they are all focused on one particular kind of controller and that's what I'm trying to decide on.
I know what I need to do, but don't know what controllers will be up to the task. Below is everything I need to do:
1. control 2 servo motors
2. read servo motor positions and make decisions based on it
3. produce output on 1 LCD screen for a settings menu and live status during operation.
4. control switch output. (I need it to take the place of a human pushing a button)
5. take input from 4 momentary buttons
6. save settings to non-volatile memory
I'm making a product that will rotate a platform from a start point to an end point in 2 axis using set increments and pausing at each stop to trigger a switch. Kind of an electronic sprinkler head if you will.
A friend who dabbles in robotics mentioned PIC controllers, but also Arduino stuff. His comment was that PIC is way cheaper than a BASIC stamp, but a $50 brain for this device isn't a deal breaker. Obviously if I can do it for $2 then I'll want to, but I don't want to make things harder just to save a few dollars. I want to do it right and do it easilly.
If this first one works well, then I'll be making a bunch of them and I'd like to not sink myself with more work then I need.
Thanks in advance!
I know what I need to do, but don't know what controllers will be up to the task. Below is everything I need to do:
1. control 2 servo motors
2. read servo motor positions and make decisions based on it
3. produce output on 1 LCD screen for a settings menu and live status during operation.
4. control switch output. (I need it to take the place of a human pushing a button)
5. take input from 4 momentary buttons
6. save settings to non-volatile memory
I'm making a product that will rotate a platform from a start point to an end point in 2 axis using set increments and pausing at each stop to trigger a switch. Kind of an electronic sprinkler head if you will.
A friend who dabbles in robotics mentioned PIC controllers, but also Arduino stuff. His comment was that PIC is way cheaper than a BASIC stamp, but a $50 brain for this device isn't a deal breaker. Obviously if I can do it for $2 then I'll want to, but I don't want to make things harder just to save a few dollars. I want to do it right and do it easilly.
If this first one works well, then I'll be making a bunch of them and I'd like to not sink myself with more work then I need.
Thanks in advance!