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Bus communication in robot

Pal Liljeback26
Prodigy 20 points

I'm struggling with a project at work and would greatly appreciate some feedback or suggestions on the following problem.

We are developing a special type of modular robot as part of a research project. In this robot, we need a high bandwidth communication bus (at least 100 Mbit/sec) to run between serially connected modules of different types (between 10 and 20 modules). The modules are very small and will have a cylindrical shape with a diameter between 100 - 150 mm. The physical distance between the modules will be around 200 mm. No decision has been made yet regarding the type of processor board in each module.

I'm thinking that we could perhaps install a small single board computer or a microcontroller board with an Ethernet interface inside each module. Furthermore, we could have a small 100 Mbit/sec switch in each module, which might allow us to connect all modules to a common Ethernet bus running between the modules.

Does anyone know about compact commercial products from TI (or alternatively other suppliers) that would allow us to realize such a high speed communication bus? For instance small switches that would fit inside cylindrical modules with a diameter of 100 - 150 mm along with a processor card with Ethernet interface? There is no requirement that we should use Ethernet, so other means of communication can also be considered. The small size of the modules is the main challenge for us.

Thank you so much for any assistance on this issue!

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 31600 points

    I am not quite sure what to suggest here.  A little more information might be useful in determining how to help. 

    When you mention using small switches, are you referring to an analog (FET) switch or an Ethernet switch?  For the processor card with an Ethernet interface, is it your thinking that the processor would have an integrated Ethernet PHY or are you thinking of using a discrete Ethernet PHY?

    Patrick

  • 0 in reply to Patrick OFarrell
    Prodigy 20 points
    Hi Patrick! Thanks for your quick reply. Our only requirements concern the size of the electronics (which must fit inside the cylindrical modules) and the ability to communicate data at 100 Mbits/sec (or preferrably more) between a serial chain of modules (where each module is connected to the bus). We want to base the bus solution on commercially available components. My question is therefore if there exist commercially available components which will allow us to implement such a bus solution for our robot.

    One option could be to install a Raspberry PI board (which has an Ethernet interface) inside each module of our robot along with an Ethernet switch for interfacing the common bus running between all the modules. Would this solution work? If so, do you know about miniature switches that might be appropriate for our application?