Mini Maestro is a very compact versatile servo controller and general purpose I/O board. It supports three control methods: USB for direct connection to a computer, TTL serial for use with embedded systems, and internal scripting for standalone, host controller-free applications. Channels can be configured as digital outputs or analog inputs for use with radio controlled (RC) servos or electronic speed controls (ESCs). Highly accurate, high-resolution servo pulses have a jitter of less than 200 ns, making these servo controllers suitable for high-performance applications such as robotics and animatronics, and facilitating built-in speed and acceleration control for each channel. Achieve smooth, uninterrupted movements without requiring constant calculation of the control source and transfer of intermediate position updates to the Mini Maestro. Units can be daisy-chained with additional Pololu servo and motor controllers on a single serial line.
A free configuration and control program is available for Windows and Linux, enabling the device to be configured via USB and It makes it easy to test, create servo motion sequences for animatronics or walking robots, and write, walkthrough, and execute scripts stored in the servo controller. Mini Maestros' 8 KB internal script memory allows storage of approximately 3000 servo positions that can be played automatically without any computer or external microcontroller connected.
Since the Mini Maestro's channels can also be used as general-purpose digital outputs and analog inputs, they provide an easy way to read sensors and control peripherals directly from a PC via USB and It can be used with the command system to enable the creation of these channels.
Technical Specifications
Three control methods: USB, TTL (5 V ) serial and internal script
0.25μs output pulse width resolution (corresponding to about 0.025° for a typical servo, which is beyond what the servo can resolve)
Pulse 1 Hz to 333Hz adjustable between
Wide pulse range between 64 μs - 4080 μs
Individual speed and acceleration control for each channel
Channels can optionally be configured to go to a specific position or turn off on startup or error
Channels can also be used as general-purpose digital outputs or analog inputs
A simple scripting language allows you to program the controller to perform complex actions even after USB and serial connections are removed
Free configuration and control application for Windows makes it easy to:
Configure and test your controller
Create servo motion sequences for animatronics and walking robots, run and store
Write, step and run scripts stored in the servo controller
Two ways to write software to control Maestro from a computer:
Virtual COM port makes it easy to send serial commands from any development environment that supports serial communications< /div>
The Pololu USB Software Development Kit allows the use of more advanced native USB commands and includes sample code in C#, Visual Basic .NET and Visual C++.
The board can be powered by USB or a 5V to 16V battery, making the regulated 5V available to the user.
Compact size of 1.10"×1.80" (2.79×4.57cm) and 4.9g weight with heads
TTL serial specifications
300 bps to 200000 bps in fixed baud mode, 300 bps to 300 bps in auto-detect mode Support for 115200 bps
It also supports the Pololu protocol and the simpler Scott Edwards MiniSSC II protocol, providing access to advanced functions (no need to configure the device for a specific protocol mode)
A single serial transmission line can be chained with other Pololu servo and motor control units using
Can function as a general-purpose USB-TTL serial adapter for PC-controlled projects
Maestro Cards Comparison Chart
Application Examples and Videos
Multi-servos based on BASIC Stamp or Arduino platforms serial servo controller for projects (e.g. robot arms, animatronics)
PC-based servo control via USB port
PC-based motor control by interfacing with ESC via USB
PC interface for sensors and other electronic devices: Read a gyroscope or accelerometer from a computer for new user interfaces
General I/O expansion for microcontroller projects
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