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+