Communications options
MobileRobots offers a variety of options for wireless communications to the robots.
802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi Option for Robots with Onboard Computers
For indoor robots with the Versalogic Cobra onboard computer, the wireless ethernet option is a PC-104 card that connects the onboard computer with either an existing 802.11 (“wi-fi”) wireless ethernet infrastructure, or an access point provided by MobileRobots (link to #ap).
An externally mounted antenna is included on the robot. Drivers are pre-installed and configured (Linux or Windows) on the computer.
The wireless adapter applies to the following robots with an embedded computer:
Weatherized Wireless Ethernet Module
The weatherized wireless Ethernet module for Seekur and Seekur Jr is an environmentally hardened WiFi 802.11b/g appliance designed to work under extreme conditions.
This module connects the robot with an existing wireless infrastructure, and access point provided by MobileRobots, or can serve as an access point itself, so that laptops can connect directly to it.
Access Point
For applications without an accessible wireless infrastructure, an access point provided preconfigured by MobileRobots quickly allows robots to quickly be put to use. The enterprise-class access point, manufactured by Cisco, arrives ready to use with MobileRobots platforms, and supports a variety of authentication and security protocols.
Ethernet-Serial Bridge
For robots without an embedded computer, an Ethernet-Serial bridge allows the serial connection to the robot’s microcontroller serial data stream to be passed over a wireless Ethernet network. The bridge can connect to an existing wireless infrastructore or an access point provided by MobileRobots. A second serial port is available for communications with an additional device other than the robot.
The Ethernet-Serial Bridge is suitable for the following robots, if an embedded computer is not ordered: