This shield is designed be used with the TB6612FNG Dual DC Motor Controller Breakout from sparkfun. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9457 Connect a battery directly to the Battery Header (J13) and solder the TB6612FNG Breakout to the bottom of the board (check the silk screen for pin map). If desired add D1 and connect a Solar panel to the Solar Panel header (J14). You can power the shield/motors directly from the sun (from a 6W or greater solar panel). Connect motors to the motor channels M1 and M2 (J17 & J16 respectively). I used the Multi Chassis Tank kit from sparkfun for this project: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12091 You can use any kit you like, just remember that the TB6612FNG is rated for 1.2A nominal current. If you do use a solar panel, be sure to use rechargeable batteries and not primary cells and install the diode d1. Arduino code that is compatible with this shield can be found here: http://bildr.org/2012/04/tb6612fng-arduino/