Sparky - DIY Web-Based Telepresence Robot

Step 13 MAKE CONTROLLER

A controller board is required to make a physical connection between the Mac and the servo motors. The board receives commands from the computer and turns them into electrical impulses that spin the motors. It can also take in signals from sensors (infrared, touch, light) and send that data back to the computer. There are many different controllers available. One of the most popular is probably Arduino, an inexpensive, open-source controller board that many people favor.

I received a MAKE board a few years ago when it was barely out of the prototype stage. Newer versions of the board are similar, but probably a little simpler to set up. I highly recommend visiting the MakingThings site for recent firmware and other updates to the board.

One nice thing about the MAKE controller is all of the conveniences built right into it, such as a huge number of analog and digital ports for input and output. Best of all for Sparky are the 4 plug-and-play servo slots. The VEX servos plug right in to slots 0 and 1, saving a lot of time and effort over creating the connections from scratch. The MAKE board also has a convenient toggle for servo power, which can come directly off the MAKE board at 5v, or an external power supply can be connected to boost the juice up to 9v. Sparkys VEX motors are burdened with more weight than they are rated for, so the added power helps spin the wheels (The motors seem to have an internal cut-off circuit that prevents them from burning out if too much power is applied). If you are using Arduino or some other controller board, look online to find the info needed to drive servos. It should be pretty easy to find.