Electronic – arduino – Is Arduino suitable to be a Humanoid Robot controller

Consider using the Parallax Propeller and dedicated motor controllers such as the DMC-1. The Propeller has 8 32 bit cores which can run up to 8 processes simultaneously. You can program it using its native OO language SPIN, or for more performance, its own assembly language.

The DMC-1 is a low cost I2C dual motor controller which can drive loads of up to 2.6A at 15V continuously. It's very easy to control. You can find out about it here: http://web4robot.com

Even if you decide to use the Arduino, I would recommend using the DMC-1.

You probably want to step up to a larger battery pack than a 9V. You'll find that the 9V doesn't really supply the current that you need, and will run out very quickly. You can probably find a small rechargeable pack online or at a local hobby store that will do the trick.

As far as the motor, if the robot is suitably small, I would use a modified hobby servo. They come in many sizes/speeds/torques, and you will probably be able to find one that meets your specifications. You can also interface with them using the Servo library on the Arduino. You can either buy a servo pre-modified, or you can modify it yourself using the instructions found on Acroname, for example.

For finding these parts and more, I have compiled a list for our undergraduate projects, you can check it out here: Auburn SPaRC Suppliers. This is a list of common suppliers that we use for many different robotics pieces and parts.