The six-channel Micro Maestro takes serial servo controllers to the next level by incorporating native USB and internal scripting control. Whether you want the best servo controller available (0.25μs resolution with built-in speed and acceleration control) or a general I/O controller (e.g. to interface with a sensor or ESC via your USB port), this tiny, versatile controller will deliver. The fully assembled version ships with header pins installed.

Overview

The Micro Maestro is the first of Pololu’s second-generation USB servo controllers. With three control methods—USB for direct connection to a PC computer, TTL serial for use with embedded systems, and internal scripting for self-contained, host controller-free applications—and channels that can be configured as servo outputs for use with radio control (RC) servos or electronic speed controls (ESCs), digital outputs, or analog inputs, the Pololu Micro Maestro is a highly versatile six-channel servo controller and general I/O board in a highly compact (0.85" × 1.20") package. The extremely accurate, high-resolution servo pulses have a jitter of less than 200 ns, making this servo controller well suited for high-precision animatronics, and built-in speed and acceleration control make it easy to achieve smooth, seamless movements without requiring the control source to constantly compute and stream intermediate position updates to the Micro Maestro.

This fully assembled version of the Micro Maestro ships with 0.1" male header pins soldered as shown in the product picture. A partial kit version is available with these header pins included but unsoldered, which allows the use of different gender connectors or wires to be soldered directly to the pads for more compact installations. A USB A to mini-B cable (not included) is required to connect this device to a computer.

Features

•     - Three control methods: USB, TTL (5V) serial, and internal scripting
•     - 0.25μs output pulse width resolution (corresponds to approximately 0.025° for a typical servo, which is beyond what the servo could resolve)
•     - Pulse rate configurable from 33 to 100 Hz
•     - Wide pulse range of 64 to 3280 μs when using all six servos with a pulse rate of 50 Hz
•     - Individual speed and acceleration control for each channel
•     - Channels can also be used as general-purpose digital outputs or analog inputs
•     - A simple scripting language lets you program the controller to perform complex actions even after its USB and serial connections are removed

•     - Free configuration and control application for Windows makes it easy to:

  •     - Configure and test your controller
  •     - Create, run, and save sequences of servo movements for animatronics and walking robots
  •     - Write, step through, and run scripts stored in the servo controller
•     - Virtual COM port makes it easy to create custom applications to send serial commands via USB to the controller

•     - TTL serial features:

  •     - Supports 300 – 250000 bps in fixed-baud mode
  •     - Supports 300 – 115200 bps in autodetect-baud mode
  •     - Simultaneously supports the Pololu protocol, which gives access to advanced functionality, and the simpler Scott Edwards MiniSSC II protocol (there is no need to configure the device for a particular protocol mode)
  •     - Can be daisy-chained with other Pololu servo and motor controllers using a single serial transmit line
•     - Board can be powered off of USB or a 5 – 16 V battery, and it makes the regulated 5V available to the user
•     - Compact size of 0.85" × 1.20" (2.16 × 3.05 cm) and light weight of 0.17 oz (4.8 g)
•     - Upgradable firmware
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Application Examples

•     - Serial servo controller for multi-servo projects (e.g. robot arms, animatronics) based on BASIC Stamp or Arduino platforms.
•     - PC-based servo control over USB port
•     - PC-based control of motors by interfacing with an ESC over USB

•     - PC interface for sensors and other electronics:

  •     - Read a gyro or accelerometer from a PC for novel user interfaces
  •     - Control a string of ShiftBrites from a PC for mood lighting
•     - General I/O expansion for microcontroller projects
• Programmable, self-contained Halloween or Christmas display controller that responds to sensors. The picture to the right and the video below show a self-contained hexapod robot that uses three micro servos and two digital distance sensors for autonomous walking.
• Self-contained servo tester
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Dimensions
    - Size:0.85" x 1.20"
    - Weight:4.8 g

General specifications
    - Baud:300 - 250000 bps1
    - Minimum operating voltage:5 V
    - Maximum operating voltage:16 V
    - Supply current:20 mA2
    - Partial kit?:N