Smart Brushless DC Motor Controller Targets Robotics

An intelligent controller from Roboteq, the MBL1650, is capable of directly driving a hall-sensor equipped brushless dc motor up to 120 A at up to 50 V. Targeted for use in mobile robots, automated systems or any other high power brushless motor control application, the controller accepts commands from either analog pedal/joystick, standard R/C radio, USB, CAN or RS232 interface. Using the serial port, it can be used to design fully or semi-autonomous robots by connecting it to SBCs, wireless modems or WiFi adapters. Using CAN bus, up to 127 controllers can be networked on a single twisted pair network. The controller includes up to 4 analog, 6 digital and 5 pulse inputs, with two 1.5 A digital outputs for activating accessories. Operation can be optimized using configurable parameters such as acceleration/deceleration, amps limits and operating voltage range. The device is built into a 113 x 140 x 20 mm enclosure with a conduction bottom plate aiding heat dissipation for operation without a fan. The MBL1650 motor controller is available now for $335, complete with cable and PC-based configuration software.