In my project I would like to combine 3 dynamixel servo motor (“MX-64 AR” or “XH540 W150 R”) with 4 SOLO ODRI modules. I would like to control them both from my RPi 5. I think that the dynamixel is controlled via ethernet and the SOLO motor via USB. But I cannot seem to find whether these two protocols are compatible or not. I want to know this, before I buy these motors.
Can anyone tell me if the RPi is capable of driving these 2 motors simultaneously? And if so, which protocols I should use to solve this problem?
I have searched the internet, but I could not understand the technical specifications of these protocols.
The solo motors are traditionally connected to a control computer via the masterboard in ethernet. If you have only 4 motors, you might be better with directly connecting the 2 udrivers to the Raspberry Pi GPIOs using SPI. You can take a look at this python proof of concept implementation: GitHub - thomasfla/odri-spi-rpi: Python code to access ODRI (Open Dynamic Robot Initiative) brushless drivers using directly SPI from a raspberry pi board.
This would allow you to not use the Ethernet port of the RPI5 if needed by the dynamixel. However, a quick look on the internet makes me think that those actuators uses TTL serial bus instead of Ethernet.