Attaching PIR motion sensor to Pololu Maestro 24 channel

Support Servo controllers and servos
1

I need support for the following :

  1. I want to trigger 8 servo motors individually attached to Pololu Maestro 24 channel Microcontroller.

  2. How to trigger 8 servo motors simultaneously attached to Pololu Maestro 24 channel Microcontroller using sensors (PIR motions sensor, voice activation, and EMG sensors).
    Need a connection layout diagram for both.

2

Hello.

In general, you could set the Mode of any Maestro channel to Input and use that channel to monitor the output of something like a PIR sensor. However, most PIR sensors, like the ones we carry, have an open-collector output which means that in order to monitor the output you will also need to add a pull-up resistor. If you are not already familiar with what that is, you can learn more about it in this blog post.

Since you are using a Mini Maestro 24-channel, you can take advantage of one of its features and enable the use of internal pull-up resistors (which means you do not have to add your own external pull-up resistor). The feature allows internal pull-up resistors to be connected on channels 18, 19, and 20. So, if you are interested in using that feature, you could enable it and directly connect the output (i.e. the alarm pin) of your PIR sensor to one of those three pins.

You can set the Mode of a channel and enable internal pull-ups through the Maestro Control Center. You can learn more about specifically how to do those things in the “Channel Settings” section of the Maestro’s user’s guide, which you can find under the Resources tab of the Maestro’s product page. Also, when you connect your sensor, make sure that the sensor and the Maestro share a common ground (e.g. connect GND from the PIR sensor to GND on the Maestro).

After the sensor is connected, you can write a script that reads the state of the Maestro channel and sends position commands to your servo(s). For an example of how to code that kind of behavior, you can read through this thread.

As for adding voice activation and EMG sensors, how and/or if that will work with the Maestro depends on the type of interface(s) available from the particular hardware that you want to use. If you post links to the product pages for the sensors you are interested in, I can help you figure out if they will work with the Maestro.

-Jon

3

Thanks Jonathan, Let me try with your guidelines. Regards :slightly_smiling_face: