Robot Controller

[jairojosy]

Hi, I am a 15-year old robot enthusiast from India. I am currently building a demi humanoid robot and I was in search of a microcontroller. I tried using Raspberry Pi but it was not enough for me. My next option was to use Nvidia Jetson Nano, but it was really expensive. It was around 335(approx.) in Amazon. For Indians like us, 300 dollars is highly expensive. Since I am a student and not having a job I am living under my parents and have no source of income. My parents cannot afford to buy this Jetson Nano. Recently, I found my old PC lying around. I was thinking if I could use that as the controller for my robot. If yes, could you please explain how can I do it?

[mklrobo]

   Hello!   

   welcome to the robot forum! 

   To address your question of using a PC for a robot, I would offer my projects
with doing the same thing. There was a company called Prairie Digital, that makes
PC boards that fit into the slots for a PC, giving an interface to the real world,
controlled through your program.
   i used Turbo C++; but you can use python, perl, or visual basic. I would recommend using
the programming language that the board manufacturer recommends. They usually give
code examples of how to use their board, online.

   You can also go to digikey, jameco, and the robot shop to get boards that attach to
the serial/USB port to control relays. You can get speed controllers and any range of
motor controllers.

   This is not free, so use whatever metric you have to decide where you want to go with the
robot.

   The robot investment should be a multitasker, so you can get the most out of the robot -
entertainment, enlightenment, and enjoyment.

 see you next time, same robot channel,  same robot time!

   excelsior!   

[artbyrobot1]

yes, a pc is actually what you SHOULD be using.  Once you can afford to upgrade, get a mini pc to replace your normal pc so that you can fit the pc inside the robot.  A mini pc means it has a smaller motherboard mini itx motherboard is ideal.  But for now, any pc will do fine for you.  Then, run usb cable from that main pc which is the main brains of your robot and plug the usb into a arduino nano from ebay for $5 and free shipping.  This arduino nano will interface directly to your sensors and motors.  You will need to use many many arduino nanos since you will need many many sensors and motors.

Edit: also, note that your main brains pc will be able to "talk to" your arduino nanos via the usb cable so that it can send them tasks and get info from them.