So I started this project with an Arduino Uno because that seemed to be the right place to start.
However, I quickly learned that in order to read the encoders, I need digital pins with interrupt capability. The Uno has 2 of these. And I need 2 per motor. Or even better 3. So for more than one leg, the Uno was simply a no-go.
Fortunately, the Due is compatible (Except it uses 3.3V logic) has a load of digital pins and all of them have interrupt capability. 😀
Unfortunately, it seems that the Sloeber IDE I was using did not support the Due, so it was off to find a newer IDE.
And I am glad I did because PlatformIO for VS Code is clearly a better product. It even has support for unit testing!
So now I have my code running in the new IDE, and the Due drives the single motor I have installed.
Next step is to wire up a second motor and build a Zombie crawler. If that works, then I am off to buy the rest of the parts to make this thing real!