I2C Servo Upgrade and Tester

I2C control allows for simpler usage of multiple servos.

Jeremy Cook
3 years ago

Hobby servos are among the items that allow “normal” people to build rather impressive robots with a minimum of expense. Inexpensive and relatively easy to control, implementing a few on your robot is generally a great choice. However, each servo takes some processing power to control, and signal wires must be connected individually. At some point, these requirements may become prohibitive.

The I2C Smart Servo Board by Statorworks takes care of this complication, as an add-on board installed inside of the servo to provide I2C control. While this conversion requires some tinkering, when done, each device hooks up to the bus, simplifying control significantly when using a bunch of servos together.

Of course, you’ll want to make sure the device is working correctly before using it in your chosen application, and you'll need to know its address. To complete this setup, the I2C servo tester enables you to connect power, plus an I2C-modified servo, and vary its position using an input potentiometer. A second ramp potentiometer modifies the servos behavior when traveling from place to place and a series of DIP switches, along with a button, is used to set the servo’s I2C address.

It’s quite the clever scheme and something that makes you think, “why didn’t I think of that?” The tester also includes auxiliary pins, which lets you control normal servos with the device. This would certainly be a welcome feature in many situations.

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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