Inside the box is a powerful 32 bit Motorola 68332 microprocessor with 512k RAM and 512k Flash ROM.

For a more detailed overview of the computer hardware visit the controller in-depth page.

This allows you to convert an analogue voltage to a real valued number that your software can use. There are seven channels on the board each with a resolution of 8 bits making a total of 256 possible values.

You can use this port to connect devices like light sensors in order to detect light levels.

This is the most sophisticated part of the controller and it is capable of generating complex output signals and sensing a variety of input signals. There are sixteen TPU channels and these will be used, in the first instance, to control motors. Each motor will require two TPU channels, one for forward and one for reverse.

These ports allow you to detect binary signals and to switch devices on or off. There are eight channels on each port although Port (?) Channel (?) and (?) are also connected to the two green and blue buttons on the controller. The types of devices that can be connected to these ports include tactile sensors for input and LED indicators as outputs.

The Start/Stop button is Green and can be used to start your program running and to end the program.

The Pause/Resume button is Blue and can be used to pause or suspend your program by pressing once, and to resume running the program by pressing it again.

These switches are used to control what voltage and power source is routed to which power pins on the various I/O ports.

Each bank of I/O port (except the A/D) can be switched between the normal 5v regulated supply or an auxiliary power source. This auxiliary source can then be switched between the raw battery voltage (normally about 9.6v) and an external power input socket.