When I built my quadcopter, I know each brushless motor needed an ESC to connect to the flight controller.

However, I'm working on new project right now, this time a ground robot. The motors being used are gear motors. Do I need ESCs for these? I'll be using an Arduino Uno and the Motor shield as well; but I just want to make sure before I order everything if I need ESCs or not.

I'm fairly certain the Arduino should be capable of doing all that through some pulse width modulation (PWM).

Thanks guys!

Brushless motors are special in that respect, in that the controller must commutate the coils to drive the motor. Brushed motors are much easier to drive in that you just push current through it and it goes.

That is to say, you probably don't need anything more. I could be more certain if you can link to the motor you're looking at ("gear motor" isn't very specific).

Tari, sure, http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__26255__Geared_Motor_Offset_Shaft_2Pcs_Bag_.html is the link to the motors I will be using. (these aren't the exact specs as the one I'm using as they are included in my chassis kit, but these are a close). Sorry for not being more specific earlier.

If you're truly curious, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u4odXXN1JDwZEdV_L6p964rB_ipX53GBW5lCepkFh-o/edit#gid=0 is my Google spreadsheet of all my parts.

Thank you for all your help

Edit: Formatting

Edit 2: I guess I should describe the process of the robot a bit.

The robot will be navigating autonomously through a maze, taking pictures of characters ($@#!&, numbers and letters) on blue and red wall tiles, which will be controlled by a raspberry pi and pi camera. The picture will be decoded into a string value of the character, then saved to a flash drive.

The Arduino will control the movement of the robot, via ultrasonic sensors on all sides of the vehicle, to determine when to turn, slow down, or stop.

The gimbal is for the raspberry pi camera, so it can swivel to take a picture of the characters.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask!