A time has come for my robot to get some more permanent computer than my laptop balanced on top of it. I have selected a mini itx board that can be powered directly from battery and some components that go with it including a wifi card and now I'm thinking about the antenna I will need.
Constraints I have identified so far:
- The robot's body is a closed aluminium box, so I think this rules out keeping the antenna inside.
- The robot is intended to work outdoors, so it needs to be waterproof.
- Vibrations might be an issue.
And the questions:
- What parameters should I watch when selecting an antenna?
- Is it ok to use indoor stick antenna and seal the mounting point with hot glue?
- Does it change anything if the antenna will be sticking out of largish sheet of alluminium?
- The robot will also have GPS, is it possible that the two will interact badly under some circumstances?