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Techniques sense a back-emf voltage from a brushed permanent magnet motor. Such techniques can be used for a variety of purposes, such as to estimate the current that is being applied to the motor, to estimate the motor's velocity, position, torque, and the like. One aspect of the invention include

Techniques sense a back-emf voltage from a brushed permanent magnet motor. Such techniques can be used for a variety of purposes, such as to estimate the current that is being applied to the motor, to estimate the motor's velocity, position, torque, and the like. One aspect of the invention includes the deactivation of power applied to the motor, and the monitoring of the back-emf of the voltage while power is not applied.

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What is claimed is: 1. A method of ascertaining an operating condition of a brushed permanent magnet motor (brushed PMM) of a robot, the method comprising: applying power to the brushed PMM when motorized power is desired; deactivating the power applied to the brushed PMM; measuring a back-emf volt

What is claimed is: 1. A method of ascertaining an operating condition of a brushed permanent magnet motor (brushed PMM) of a robot, the method comprising: applying power to the brushed PMM when motorized power is desired; deactivating the power applied to the brushed PMM; measuring a back-emf voltage of the brushed PMM while power is deactivated, wherein measuring further comprises compensating for a DC offset in the measured back-emf voltage; and integrating the measured back-emf voltage over time to estimate a position of a motor shaft of the brushed PMM for feedback control of the robot. 2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein integrating comprises using a running sum. 3. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising deliberately waiting at least a predetermined time period after deactivating the power before measuring the back-emf voltage, wherein the predetermined time period is sufficient to permit transients from inductance from the brushed PMM to dissipate. 4. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising: subtracting the measured back-emf voltage from a drive voltage applied to the motor to estimate a voltage drop across the brushed PMM; and dividing the voltage drop by a stored resistance value for the brushed PMM to compute an estimate of an amount of current being driven through the brushed PMM when power is applied. 5. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising controlling a switching circuit coupled to two or more motors to share a measurement circuit among the two or more motors. 6. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising measuring the back-emf voltage from the brushed PMM using a differential analog-to-digital converter. 7. A method of ascertaining an operating condition of a brushed permanent magnet motor (brushed PMM), the method comprising: applying power to the brushed PMM when motorized power is desired; deactivating the power applied to the brushed PMM; measuring a back-emf voltage of the brushed PMM while power is deactivated; integrating the measured back-emf voltage over time to estimate a position of a motor shaft of the brushed PMM; and adaptively adjusting a scaling factor used to compute position with the measured back-emf voltage at least partially in response to a detection of an index marker to correct for drift. 8. The method as defined in claim 7, further comprising using the motor shaft position estimate for feedback control of a motorized device. 9. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein measuring the back-emf voltage further comprises compensating for a DC offset in the measured back-emf voltage. 10. The method as defined in claim 7, further comprising using the motor shaft position estimate for feedback control of a robot. 11. An apparatus for ascertaining an operating condition of a brushed permanent magnet motor (brushed PMM) of a robot, the apparatus comprising: a controller configured to permit power to be applied to the brushed PMM motor when motorized power is desired, the controller further configured to be able to deactivate the power applied to the brushed PMM; and a measurement circuit configured to measure a back-emf voltage emanating from the PMM when the PMM is powered off, the measurement circuit further configured to compensate for a DC offset in the measured back-emf voltage; wherein the controller is configured to integrate the measured back-emf voltage over time to estimate a position of a motor shaft of the brushed PMM for feedback control of the robot. 12. The apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to integrate by computing a running sum. 13. The apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to: subtract the measured back-emf voltage from a drive voltage applied to the motor to estimate a voltage drop across the brushed PMM; and divide the voltage drop by a stored value related to a resistance of the brushed PMM to compute an estimate of an amount of current being driven through the brushed PMM when power is applied. 14. The apparatus as defined in claim 11, further comprising a switching circuit, the switching circuit coupled to two or more motors and to the measurement circuit such that a single measurement circuit can measure the back-emf voltage of the two or more motors. 15. The apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the measurement circuit is configured to measure the back-emf voltage from the brushed PMM in a differential manner. 16. An apparatus for ascertaining an operating condition of a brushed permanent magnet motor (brushed PMM), the apparatus comprising: a controller configured to permit power to be applied to the brushed PMM motor when motorized power is desired, the controller further configured to be able to deactivate the power applied to the brushed PMM; a measurement circuit configured to measure a back-emf voltage emanating from the PMM when the PMM is powered off; and an index sensor, wherein the controller is configured to adaptively adjust a scaling factor used to compute position with the measured back-emf voltage at least partially in response to a detection of an index marker to correct drift wherein the controller is configured to integrate the measured back-emf voltage over time to estimate a position of a motor shaft of the brushed PMM. 17. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the apparatus comprises a motorized device. 18. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, further comprising an A/D converter, wherein the controller is further configured to compensate for a DC offset in the A/D converter's measurement of the back-emf voltage. 19. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the apparatus comprises a robot. 20. An apparatus for ascertaining an operating condition of a brushed permanent magnet motor (brushed PMM) of a robot, the apparatus comprising: means for applying power to the brushed PMM when motorized power is desired; means for deactivating the power applied to the brushed PMM; means for measuring a back-emf voltage of the brushed PMM while power is deactivated, wherein the measuring means further comprises means for compensating for a DC offset in the measured back-emf voltage; and means for integrating the measured back-emf voltage over time to estimate a position of a motor shaft of the brushed PMM for feedback control of the robot.