Should I use an arduino or a picaxe microcontroler to make robots? Also if i buy an arduino(UNO) would i need to have the shields(protoshield, motor shield,etc.)? I understand I would need a bread board for prototyping.
Actually…
Now that I think about it, Picaxe was actually a great processor to learn on. Basic was simple to learn and it had all the power I needed at the time.
Yeah, I say picaxe --and everyone still agrees with me.
The UNO would be just fine
An Uno would be a good place to start. Some breadboard space would be handy as well. If you are just getting started, you could go with some kinda “starter pack” (SparkFun has some good ones) that would have your Uno, a breadboard, LED’s, resistors and other doo-dad’s to get you started. From there, you just need to add a motor driver shield of some kind to run your drive motors (on your eventual robot).
You may also want to take a look at Ro Bot X’s “Builder’s Shield”. It has your motor driver, some breadboard space and a bunch of other stuff you will need for your bot --A great shield.
A better question to you is,
do you have programming experience? If so, what language(s) have you programmed in? I don’t believe there is a “best” controller. There are many good controllers and getting done what you are attempting to do is more important that choosing the perfect controller for the job.
FALSE! ALL FALSE! What you
FALSE! ALL FALSE! What you need is an ez-bot controller: http://www.ez-robot.com
Ok, ok, I held back but…
My Propeller can wipe the walls with all of your uC’s combined. And produce video-out whilst doing it.
I have spoken
Hmmm… but, can it stand up
Hmmm… but, can it stand up to a Ras-Pi + 32-bit Teensy 3.0 (arduino compatible) dynamic duo combination ?