Question Regarding MicroProcessors

Robotics and electronics discussion Software and microcontrollers
1

Hello,

I have a question regarding the Microprocessor that may come with one of the following Cell-Phones:

  1. Nokia Model: 6120, Type: NSC-3NX.
  2. Nokia Model: 3390b, Type: NPB-1RB.

My question, or questions might be the following:

  1. What kind of processor (Z-80, 8085, etc., …) do these phones have? Does anyone know? If not, where could I find out?
  2. Given that we are in a Robotics Forum, is it Possible to Strip-Down these phones, and use their Processor as a Micro-Controller for a Robotics Project?
  3. Now, I’m pretty sure that in order to “Play” with those Chips, if Possible (Given that they were not “Hard-Wired” to work ONLY with the Cell-Phones they came with), I will need to have some Knowledge of their Respective Architecture’s Assembly Language, right?

Thanks, if I can get that doubt out of the way, I’ll be pretty much happier with my plans.

2

To effectively re-use a mobile phones internals as a robots processor is, I think, a pretty neat reuse of tech. I had a similar idea myself, but it seems to me the easier route would be to program the robot in Java, making using of the existing Java engine on the phone. There is an optional Java package that is supported on some phones (most consistently on Motorola and later Sony models) called ‘CommConnection’ which allows you to access the bottom connector on the phone as a RS232 serial port. It’s not always entirely straightforward and you may need to buy a special data cable in order to break out the bottom connector (trying to solder it directly can be very challenging - I’ve tried and just about failed). Anyway, by successfully connecting the phone with a suitably written JavaME application, you may lever the power of the phones processor (most likely ARM based) and utilise screen and buttons for digital inputs etc. not to mention Bluetooth connection to PC with a bit of JSR82 coding.

So in summary, good idea, possible, does have caveats… I’d personally go the Java/CommConnection route but would be very interested to hear if you’ve made progress with another method… good luck!