Internet controlled RC car.

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xvetox123

Broken In
So I've been reading digit for the past 2 years and am very happy that i purchased it accidently at a small bookstore when I was waiting for a bus. I just created this account to thank Digit for making me a technical guru:oops: but also for letting you all know what I've made recently thanks to Digit.

I was recently selected to enter a Science fair in my area, and instantly mi mind went around to thinking of all the geeky stuff I could do, but since most of them weren't within my time constraints I thought making a RC Car controlled through the internet would be a good idea. Although I didn't know what I was getting myself into at that time I'm happy I decided to make it.

Now after 16 hours of research, a couple of minutes of coding in C, around 5 hours of soldering(I suck at it:razz:), and 3 burns later I present to you my Internet Controlled RC Car.

It is controlled over the internet and has a IP camera mounted to the front of it so you can receive live video. The main use this would have in the real world would be Home Surveillance but I can think of many more.

And without further ado here are some Pictures for you:
That actually rhymed :)

*a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/301906_286611088017961_100000072178257_1172095_1833833549_n.jpg

Messy...I know.

*a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/300805_286611104684626_100000072178257_1172097_307752731_n.jpg
Tidied up but still not totally wireless. (still needed batteries for the router and camera)

*a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/309781_286611244684612_100000072178257_1172103_57598801_n.jpg
The camera works! (but it isnt mounted the right way yet.)

*a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/316797_286611358017934_100000072178257_1172109_668779639_n.jpg

Ant the finished Product. (Without the housing on top of it so you can see the insides.)
sorry I dont have a better image. Was the best I could take at that time with my Phone.

Ill get better images as soon as I can.
Now to get into the details.

I used an Arduino Micro controller(Which acts as a web server for our purpose) with an Ethernet Shield to connect to the internet. Coding was done in C. The way I connected the Arduino to the internet is by using two routers one connected to the internet with a normal phone line and another router mounted on the RC Car. The two routers would be linked with WDS (Wireless Distribution System) Which lets us share internet connectivity wirelessly.
Then I used a web page to send request to the Arduino web server. The Arduino Web server processed the information and directs the two motors on the car to do the necessary work which enables our car to move.
The output from the camera is received and displayed on the same web page.

That was a story on how Digit helped me(A lot) to think up of something ive never heard of before and make it come to reality.

Since the taking of these photos I've added Headlights for driving in the dark, a gas leak detector, light detector (to know if some light has been switched on) and of course a loud Horn to honk at random people around my house :p

If this is in the wrong section please move it as I couldn't find a forum better suited than Community Discussions to post this in.


There are no tutorials on the internet as far as I have seen, so I've had to basically do this on just what I've learnt as there are no predefined steps to follow. I am willing to make such a tutorial if anyone is interested.
Im not saying that no one had done this before but Im just saying that this hasnt been documented much.


Other useless information:
I'm 13 years old and I study std 8 in India.
I have learnt coding in C and am currently learning Java.
I run my own website on FPS Games called FPSRevenge.com
I made this with no past experience in Micro controllers or electronics. I did have some experience in wireless networking though.

You might be wondering how Digit helped you make this. The reason I am thankful to Digit is that if I had not read Digit I would never have even thought of doing something which required any soldering, programming, or even a screwdriver, So thanks a lot Digit.


Well, let me know what you think about this ICRC car I've made, and sorry for this having been so long.
 
Sarath

Sarath

iDota
Thats cool. I wish I could do something like that. I think instead I will just befriend you now ;)

Great job.
 
sygeek

sygeek

Technomancer
Great work there. Probably not much of a practical use, but it's a great project to start out.

I'd recommend you try creating it wireless, you may want to use a xbee shield for this.

xvetox123 said:
Since the taking of these photos I've added Headlights for driving in the dark, a gas leak detector, light detector (to know if some light has been switched on) and of course a loud Horn to honk at random people around my hous
Click to expand...
But again, really commendable work you did there. I'm forwarding this thread to digit editor, your work is worth getting featured in Digit, at least for your age.
 
OP
X

xvetox123

Broken In
Thank a lot everyone. And sygeek that would mean a lot to me :) Thanks.

Ans the reason I did not use a xbee is that even if I did use it only the Arduino would be connected to the internet, I would still need the router to connect the IP camera to the internet as the router is connected to both the IP Camera and the Arduino.

Thanks again.
 
OP
X

xvetox123

Broken In
I did have a bit of stupid problems along the way :)
these are the most annoying ones
they were mostly because my fingers lack any sort of dexterity when soldering :p

When I had everything set and going and just had to solder 4 wires from the RC car's control board to the Arduino I successfully did 3 of them for the forward, backward and left turning of the wheels but the wire to turn to the right would just not solder properly, I mean it would stick but would just not turn the wheels when I passed the signal through it, finally found out that the wire was soldered to something which it should not have been connected to but I thought it should have been :p
Then there was the time when I just couldn't get the WDS working with both the routers but it got over pretty quickly.

Just thought I would let the would know about the little problems I faced along the way :)
 
Lucky_star

Lucky_star

Still Shining!
Wow! awesome work at your age. Post some videos too. Keep improving and adding new functionalities to it. I remember creating a plane for the school exhibition which could fire a rocket at a target while flying in a path . :D
 
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