Two new motor driver shields for Arduino

We are excited to announce the addition of two new motor drivers to our selection of Arduino shields: the Pololu DRV8835 Dual Motor Driver Shield for Arduino and the Pololu A4990 Dual Motor Driver Shield for Arduino. These miniature shields are low-cost, basic dual motor drivers for your Arduino or Arduino-compatible board. When connected to an Arduino, each provides two channels of bidirectional PWM motor control suitable for driving small brushed DC motors. The boards include various handy features like reverse protection, multiple power and motor connection options, and the ability to customize some of the pin mappings. Our open-source libraries provide a convenient way to get started controlling these motors with an Arduino.

Selecting a motor driver shield

Pololu DRV8835 Dual Motor Driver Shield for Arduino, top and bottom sides.

Pololu A4990 Dual Motor Driver Shield for Arduino, top and bottom sides.

The main practical difference between the shields is their input voltage range, so most people should probably select a shield based on their desired power supply. Here are some details:

Our DRV8835 shield, based on the DRV8835 motor driver from Texas Instruments, has an input voltage range of 2 V to 11 V and can deliver a continuous 1.2 A (1.5 A peak) on each channel. It is suitable, for example, for battery-powered robots similar to the 3pi or Zumo. As a bonus feature of our shield, you can parallel the motor outputs to get a single channel with twice the current capability.

Our A4990 shield uses the Allegro A4990 and is specifically intended for higher-voltage applications, such as projects powered by a 12 V or 24 V battery. It has an input voltage range of 6 V to 32 V and can deliver a continuous 0.65 A (0.9 A peak) per channel. The A4990 can detect and signal a variety of errors like over-temperature and short-circuit, allowing more sophisticated control and monitoring.

We also carry higher-power shields based on the MC33926 and VNH5019.

Basic breakout boards available

For applications where an Arduino shield does not make sense, we also offer basic breakout boards for the DRV8835 and A4990 that provide access to all of the features of these great chips.

Congratulations to our summer interns!

If you carefully inspect the back of the boards, you will notice “TKern” and “izzyg” etched in copper. These inscriptions commemorate the internships of Ted Kern and Ismael “Izzy” Gomez, Las Vegas natives who were indoctrinated in Pololu design philosophies this summer while creating these new products. We wish Ted and Izzy good luck as they head/return to college at CMU and MIT!

Related products

	Pololu DRV8835 Dual Motor Driver Shield for Arduino
	Pololu A4990 Dual Motor Driver Shield for Arduino
	A4990 Dual Motor Driver Carrier
	DRV8835 Dual Motor Driver Carrier