[email protected] wrote: > What about a functional cluster of PI systems on the robot? Tied together > with an ethernet switch? Use something like MPI for distributed processing > across multiple PI devices, and use each PI as a specialized I/O module.
I would think your I/O needs exceed your processing needs. And you've previously established that the Pi is poor for I/O. Seems the more natural solution is to blend technologies, using Arduino or something similar, as function-specific controllers, which are then coordinated by a Pi, that provides a UI, and perhaps also handles a more processing intensive task, like video processing for vision. Would the communication between the Pi and the Arduino's tax the Pi's USB bus? > Right now, I use an Intel Atom CPU to do everything and it is loaded with > all the cameras and controls. Ah...multiple cameras? Perhaps a Pi per camera. > Given the cost of a DC ATX power supply... I've ran across some of these lately. They seem to be increasingly popular with builders of mini-ITX systems that want to power their system with a cheap 12 V "brick-on-a-rope" external power supply. For example, here's an 80 W DC-to-DC converter selling for $20: http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Box-picoPSU-80-Output-Input-Supply/dp/B005TWE5E6/ Often paired with a $11 12 V @ 6 A supply made for LCD displays. -Tom _______________________________________________ Hardwarehacking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
