Motor Controller Interfaces

The days of doing everything via analog interfaces are long behind us. Especially in robotics, there are several methods now that allow you to control and operate your robot without needing to rely on comparatively archaic modes of interfacing.

Indeed, depending on the specifics of your project and what you’re most comfortable with, you have a handful of options available to you. A good quality dual motor controller will offer you a wide enough selection which guarantees that, regardless of your limitations or preferences, you’ll have access to your motor controller and how it functions.

USB

Today’s world will likely see you using a USB motor controller for sake of convenience. Many software suites assume the use of USB because of the inherent compatibility it offers. The software can directly interface with your motor controller through a USB connection and apply all of its unique features without painstaking coding or the sweat of tinkering with analog controls.

A USB motor controller does highlight the importance of understanding theory and finding a way to test application. Keep in mind that a USB motor controller could allow you to "skip" many parts of the robot construction process because a corresponding software can do a lot of the work for you once you’ve hooked everything up. It can be easy to not learn how your hardware functions when you’re not required to. Vigilance is necessary, and proactive learning will help you handle the inevitable troubleshooting when something doesn’t go quite as planned.

More importantly, using a USB motor controller might be the best choice for any use that requires observation or connection to a computer. It saves a lot of time and effort.

Analog

This is the most rudimentary form of interfacing with your dual motor controller. It gets the job done but it doesn’t possess many of the features available with other interfacing modes. Using analog controls will provide you an essential crash course in understanding how your motor controller is put together and exactly how it functions. This is significantly less of a "plug and play" approach; you’ll need to learn, and you’ll need to understand what you’ve learned.

An analog interface would be ideal for a robot that doesn’t need to move very much, or can run on a closed loop.

Radio Control (R/C)

You may best know of the R/C control interface through the commercialized product: R/C cars! Often confused as standing for "remote-controlled" cars, it actually stands for "radio-controlled" cars. Using a transmitter and receiver, you can control your dual motor controller from an independent device. Signals from your control device, most often a joystick of some kind, are converted by the receiver inside the robot into commands that tell the robot what to do.

Any robot which can move independently that doesn’t use Bluetooth but still needs to be controlled while in use would benefit from an R/C control interface.

Other Control Interfaces

The above are the three most common interfaces but there are more. Use and availability can be quite niche with these; for example, an RS-232 port will have limited use for a standard robot design. A CAN bus is an advanced function meant for advanced operations, and will likely not be useful for a run-of-the-mill consumer project.

Don’t be discouraged by that! It is possible that as you advance in skill level these niche interface modes will become more relevant. More creative designs and more advanced objectives may bring to you a new need for a different method of control. As always, check which interface modes are supported by your motor controller before committing.

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