Wired Communication
Wired communication, also known as tethered communication is the easiest way to control a robot where the system is physically connected to a hand held controller or a computer through a cable or wire. Most battle robots are wired control as most of the control is in the handheld device including the power source. This makes the robot less complex with tighter control. The disadvantage of wired control is the length of control. The maximum length of control is equal to the maximum length of the wire.
Hardwired control
This is the simplest of all controls where switches in a handheld device or joystick lever movements are directly connected to motors and electronics which control the robot movement. For example if a handheld device has four switches, two switches move your robot front and back while the other two controls the direction of robot. These machines are not considered intelligent but many underwater robots use this control technique. There are also many toy remote cars which are controlled in this manner. Simple design, fewer components, physical control and little effort in construction make them ideal in many conditions.
Wired microcontroller
In this technique the robot is still physically connected to a controller with wires. However a microcontroller on board receives the signal from the controller and subsequently controls other peripherals connected to the robot. The controller can be a joystick, switches, keypad or even your computer. If you are using a computer, you can use a serial I/O connection, parallel I/O connection, USB and if you prefer using internet to control your robot, you can connect a router. There are different protocols for each of these controls, but most of them are easier to design and implement if you prefer a wired control.
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