Laptop Control System

[programCurtis]

I hoping to build my own robots this summer. I'm very limited on funds so I was wondering if I could use a Dell Inspiron 1150 as the controller. What would I have to do to make this work if it is even feasible.

[EHaskins]

This is possible, but you would need still need a few major items:

An IO board. See below for more.
Speed controllers, relays, etc. Victors and Jaguars work well from any device which can drive hobby servos.
Code to control all this. This is largely dependant on the IO device you use.
Any hardware, motors, etc.


I've used the following for IO boards.

Phidgets(http://phidgets.com). Easy to interface with, but you would probably need 2-3 boards to build an interesting robot. $100+
Arduino(http://www.arduino.cc). Inexpensive, with lots of IO options, but not designed to be an IO board. Lots of custom code would be needed. $30+