TI-85 CBL Protocol for Robotics???

To: CALC-TI@LISTS.PPP.TI.COM
Subject: TI-85 CBL Protocol for Robotics???
From: Terry King <tking@together.net>
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 00:24:54 EDT
Organization: Mountain ClockWorks
Reply-To: tking@together.net
Xref: paladin.american.edu bit.listserv.calc-ti:24590

Is anyone using programmable calculators like the TI-85
to control small robots?  These calculators have a
protocol that talks to the Texas Instruments
"Calculator Based Laboratory" which is a separate
microcomputer-based unit that supports various
analog sensors, a sonar ranger, and two TTL level
ports of 4 bits each.

My stepson, who has built a decent tethered robot, asked
"could I put my TI-85 on top of a small mobile robot
and program it to control the robot??"  Hmmm, I said...

The TI-85 costs about $99, and has 32K of RAM in addition
to the Calculator stuff in ROM.  It's protocol to the
"CBL" is pretty well known, and consists of sending
named variables, or lists of variables, or I believe
variable tables, back and forth to the CBL thingie.

I am getting more proficient with programming PIC micros
and I'm thinking that it would be cool if:

- We designed a small mobile platform with 3 or 4 model
  servos for drive motors and arm/forklift controls.

- We designed a PIC based interface board that handled the
  TI-85 protocol and ran the Pulse-Width signals to the
  servos. TI-85 variables for motor speed, and servo position.

- We designed various other sensors that interfaced thru
  the PIC and showed up as TI-85 variables.

- We wrote TI-85 calculator programs that controlled the
  robot and did stuff like collision avoidance, mapping etc.,
  or maybe interpreted LOGO commands.

The TI-85 has a Z-80 processor (I was surprised, too!) running at
6 Mhz, AND the ability to load and run Z-80 Assembler programs!
AND it has a nice keyboard AND a big LCD display.  This starts
to look better than a lot of breadboard boards, even the cool
SimmStick stuff, money VS function. And it has Floating Point and
Transcendental functions.

SOO... Anybody else have this fantasy yet?? Anyone working on it??
Anyone have it all working???(Then I will simmer down and do something
else!)..

Comments and Ideas and GotChas would be appreciated.  I would like
to keep this mainly on COMP.ROBOTICS.MISC I guess, if youse guys
from bit.listserv.ti-calc etc. Could drop in over there...

Regards,

Terry King
..In The Woods in Vermont
tking@together.net

Follow-Ups:

Re: TI-85 CBL Protocol for Robotics???

From: ToddEStan <toddestn@NOSPAM.VISI.COM>