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Best Way To Put a Monitor On a Robot?

Posted by timothy on from the window-to-the-soul dept.

I'm part of my schools IGVC team, and we're upgrading our bot's computer to an onboard mini-itx. Most of the access to the box is gonna be through ssh, but I want a terminal I can just mount on the bot for convenience. Bidding on a psOne LCD already, but what are some good options if that doesn't pan out? I want to keep it as cheap as possible and small (in the 5-7 inch range). I haven't found any good guides to modding a digital photo frame or portable DVD player, but I'm probably just not looking in the right places.

5 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Easy answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Duct tape.

  2. For terminal use, I'd recommend monochrome by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe a 4x20 or a small graphic display with 8 bit interface. A lot easier to program (minimal graphics driver needed) and a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a color panel.

    I had good luck at www.crystalfontz.com, but Digikey and Mouser have stuff as well.

    We have used the TFT panels here at work, and they require a lot to get them up and running. Even if your mini-itx has a built in panel controller, the graphics driver is a not inconsiderable programming job (unless you are fortunate enough to have one included with your OS). You might well decide that the time spent trying to get a graphics display working would be better spent on bot functionality.

  3. Bigger question here. by purpleque · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The bigger question here is:

    What is the best kind of monitor to get and where is the best place to get it from.

  4. Why not a laptop? by pclminion · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why not ditch the Mini-ITX and use a laptop instead? This is the brain, as well as being a full-fledged console with flip-up display and full integrated keyboard.

  5. Re:Small VGA LCDs by Speare · · Score: 2, Insightful

    At that price, you can get a whole old Nokia 770 Internet Tablet that still runs well, at 800x480. Seeing as how nicely python runs on it (though a bit slow on ARM) and many other standard Linux tools too, it could be the whole brains of the beast.

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