RC Controlled Car
5/16/20262 min read
Arduino, based on the ATmega328P, is an "easy to program & use" multi controller. It can be programmed using the Arduino IDE by connecting a cable to the board from any laptop with the IDE installed.
To make an RC Car using Arduino, the following parts are required:
Arduino Uno R3
BO Motors ( 2 or 4 according to the chassis)
Car Chassis & wheels
Jumper Wire
IR Receiver Module
IR Remote Control
Battery for Remote
Preferably Li Battery ( 2 each of 3.7 V) for powering Arduino
Motor Driver ( L298N) [ L293D should also work but 298N has a wider operating voltage and heat sink]
The car needs to be assembled with the motors connecting to the wheels and the Arduino neatly placed on the car body. The circuit diagram is shown in the image. Connect the Arduino with the motor driver such that pins 3 & 5 drive the left motor(s) and 6 & 9 ( drive the right motor(s) through the shield. Though these pins can be connected directly to the motors, Arduino does not generate sufficient current to power the motors to full speed, hence a motor driver or a shield is used. Pins 4 & 7 can be used to control LED indicators if required. The Motor driver basically acts as a H Bridge circuit - controlling the direction of the rotation is thus easy & quick and can be achieved by reversing the polarity of the respective output pins of the Arduino through code.
The input battery should be connected to the Motor Driver supply pins. The Motor driver generates a 5V supply which can be connected to the Vin Pin of the Arduino to power it on. And the power supply to the IR module can be fed using the Arduino 5v pin while the output of the IR receiver goes to Pin 2 of the Arduino. Beware of the ground connections from power supply to the Motor Driver and from the driver to Arduino. This completes the circuit. The next step is to upload the code to the board and test. The code shown should be uploaded to the Arduino through the IDE:
Changes based on the specific remote buttons and their respective back end button codes must be made to the Arduino program. The 'Serial.Println( rawdata)' statement displays the remote key's code and it must be checked using the IDE to determine the code values for all the buttons to be used for forward, stop, left, right and reverse directions. Once the change has been made, the RC car is ready to be tested. Minor adjustments for aligning the directions of rotation of the wheels should be made once the car is tested. Power supply variations and loose jumper wires can result in affecting the steadiness of the car. Also the IR sensor must be appropriately positioned to receive signals from the remote from all directions.
