Controller for digital servos (HSR-8498)?

Hi everyone,
I used the Pololu Micro serial servo controller for my first robotics project - http://www.aaqilkhan.blogspot.com which involved hitecs analog servos.

I am starting my second robotics project which will involve 4-limb quadrupedal motion and visual navigation powered by onboard intel pentium processor. For servos, I will be using hitec’s HSR-8498 digital servos.

  1. Which servo controller is best suited for these servos?

Thanks everyone.

Very nice work, especially the GUI of your control program!

Although it’s their special digital robot servo, the HSR-8498 operates on the same pulse-width control system as any other hobby servo. You can use the same Pololu micro serial servo controller you used before to control it, or any other Hitec servo, analog or digital.

The only reason you might want to use a different servo controller is to take advantage of the Hitec HMI protocol available on the HSR-8498. Basically it lets you manually position the servo and read back the position into your software, to “teach” positions to your robot. I haven’t used this feature myself, but I remember being disappointed by the low accuracy of the feedback when Hitec first publicized it.

If you’re interested in using this protocol you’ll need to pick up an HMI servo controller. I know Hitec makes at least one for the Robonova, but there may be other brands available as well. Hitec has been over-overhauling their various websites, so they’ve been really screwy lately, and you might need to do some digging!

Good luck!

-Adam