Make an Arduino remote controlled car

Description

You made an LED to blink, played with sensors, got some motors to spin. You know your way around the Arduino IDE and have a good grasp of what the Arduino is all about

Now what?

How about you turbo-boost your Arduino skills by building your own remote controlled car?

This course will take you step-by-step and show you how you can take a typical off-the-shelf (boring) RC car and convert it into an Arduino-powered super-fun lab on wheels.

I call it Ardu-auto.

With Ardu-auto, learning electronics has never been more fun. Every step of the way, you will learn practical facts and skills that will help you elsewhere in your making career. Based on an of-the-shelf cheap RC car, you will use Arduinos, components, software and prototyping techniques to build your own custom creation.

Here’s what you will learn:

How to use proximity sensors to detect obstacles
How to allow for two Arduinos to communicate with each other using RF24 type modules
How to control DC motors
How to use a Wii Nunchuck
How to write a communications protocol
How to modify and adapt off-the-shelf raw materials for your project
How to integrate components into a complete system

This course is designed for people already familiar with the Arduino. If you are new to the Arduino, I strongly recommend that you first look at my other courses (Arduino Step by Step and Beginning Arduino) before attempting this project!

Introduction
Introduction

Components
Components – Everything you will need
Using the Wii Nunchuck
Motors and motor drivers
Sensors: detecting obstacles
Radio communications with the RF24L01+ module
Microcontroller considerations
Battery considerations

Prototyping
The controller (transmitter)
The car (receiver)
Testing the prototype

Final assembly – Hardware
Getting a cheap remote controlled car
Preparing for the final assembly – What you will need
Remove the electronics from the RC car
Wiring the motors
Adding the distance sensor
Routing the top side wires
Assembly recap
Wiring the motor controller
Connecting the Arduino, sensor, RF24 and motor controller
Connecting power to the Arduino
Tidying up the wires
Attaching the top cover
Setting up the Wii controller

Final assembly – sketch
Final sketch for the Car
Final Sketch for the Remote Controller

Play
Play to find things to improve

Conclusion
What else can you do with Arduauto?
Your ideas!