Using an Arduino as a robot controller (2010 and beyond?)

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by Leav

Where are the major differences that create the "thousands of dollars" difference between the Arduino and it's IFI (distant, distant) cousin?

A few things:
- The processor in the IFI controller is more powerful than the ATmega used on Arduinos, and slightly more expensive (~$20 versus ~$5 for the ATmega168 common on Arduinos).

- The IFI RC actually contains 2 microprocessors, one that is dedicated to generating PWMs, radio communication, and handling things like disabling the robot, while the other is user-programmable.

- The circuitry on the IFI RC is more complex than an Arduino. The RC is designed with things like ESD protection on the inputs, much better power regulation, etc. This stuff is what makes the RC much more robust (and resistant to electrical "oopses") than an Arduino.

- There are a bunch of different connectors on the RC. Connectors are expensive, adding to the BOM and assembly costs.

- The RC comes in a nice injection-molded case for protection.

- (Most importantly IMHO) The RC has a lot of custom software in it that someone had to write (to talk to the OI, disable robots safely, etc). Also, it had to be designed, heavily tested, and supported (taking customer calls and sending IFI reps to every event for the last 8 years). This creates a large up-front cost (to pay engineers to do this design and development) that has to be amortized across the number of RCs sold during its lifespan.

You can make the same comparisons between the new CRio and other PowerPC-based boards. The CRio is easily 10x more expensive than other PowerPC-based devices on the market, and that is probably in large part due to the level of testing, robustness, and low volume nature of the product.

Basically, the cost of these components is the price we pay for getting the kinds of features and support we've come to expect.