Autonomous 1/28 micro car from scratch

Description

Here is my ongoing project

Here is my roadMap :

1 - Make my own ESC --> Done
2 - Integrate my ESC on a Uno board --> Done
3 - Test the car as a regular RC Car --> Done
4 - 1st stage of autonomy : line follower --> Done
5 - Add a Raspberry with a custom stereo Camera --> Ongoing

I have a lot of pictures and video but I need time to organize everything. So I will update soon.

All my hardware is made in house.

Details

My goal is to make rc car autonomous races

Videos of the project development :

Part 1 : Developping my own ESC.

It's based on an Atmega328P (same as Arduino UNO) and has the following characteristics :

- Works with BLDC motor with or without hall sensors
- Throttle setpoint or motor speed setpoint (rpm)
- Variable timing advance commutation
- Brakes and reverse

Part 2 : Integration of the ESC on a regular UNO board

This board will have the following characteristics :

- 1 Atmega328P for the Uno Board (Top Face) --> It will send the instruction to the Servo and ESC , will communicate with several sensors and a Raspberry Pi

- 1 Atmega328P for controling the motor (throttle, brake) (bottom Face)

- 1 2.4Ghz telemetry module (CC2500 + PA / LNA) (bottom Face)

Top Face:

Bottom Face:

Radio controller for debugging :

Project Logs

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Line Follower development
Prototyx • 02/26/2024 at 13:57 • 0 comments

Some news ... I am currently making some tuning to go faster with the line follower. A video will come soon. I hope so ...
Building and Testing
Prototyx • 02/04/2024 at 08:34 • 0 comments

Building and testing the car.

I made a radiocontroler in order to check if everything is OK.

Radiocontroler is based on an STM32F103 module + a CC2500 Rx/Tx module.

Car is working great but I have to test it on a less siplery surface, the motor is very powerfull and I have wheelspin at 30% of throttle.
Making a radio controller for debugging
Prototyx • 01/16/2024 at 11:04 • 0 comments

In order to test the basic functions of the car, I will make a radio controller.
I made a quick design of the controller with previous submodules that I have done in the past :
- STM32F103 board module
- RF TX/RX CC2500 with PA + LNA board module
- Step Up + battery charger + ON/OFF button board module
- Screen
- Majority of through holes components
- Assembled with my hands (no machine)
Here is a view of the RF controller :
Integration of the ESC on an UNO board
Prototyx • 01/10/2024 at 08:44 • 0 comments

Integration of the ESC and a telemetry module on an UNO board :

This board will have the following characteristics :

- 1 Atmega328P for the Uno Board (Top Face) --> It will send the instruction to the Servo and ESC , will communicate with several sensors and a Raspberry Pi

- 1 Atmega328P for controling the motor (throttle, brake) (bottom Face)

- 1 2.4Ghz telemetry module (CC2500 + PA / LNA) that I made in a previous project (bottom Face)

Top Face :

Bottom Face :

View all 4 project logs

Discussions

josiphjonshsve wrote 04/06/2024 at 15:10

Creating an autonomous 1/28 micro car from scratch involves a comprehensive process that combines elements of mechanical engineering, electronics, software development, and robotics. You may also get idea from

Sindh

Are you sure? yes | no

mh-nexus wrote 01/10/2024 at 15:36

Very professional project. Are you planning to mass produce it, given the reels and pick and place machine you have?

What is the pick and place machine you use (I assume it's in your own workshop)? Also the 3d rendering in the 2nd picture doesn't look like a typical KiCad rendering, how did you make it?

Are you sure? yes | no

Prototyx wrote 01/10/2024 at 20:00

Hello, thanks for your comment !

For now it's just a personal project for fun, but if there is a real interest why not to try to make a small batch when the project will be mature enough. Wait and see.

Concerning the pick and place machine I don't want to make any promotion for the company that sold the machine but if you tip "pick and place machine with malware" you will find it...

For nice rendering I use blender

Are you sure? yes | no

mh-nexus wrote 01/10/2024 at 20:12

Thanks for the info on the pick and place machine.

I had a look at your board a little bit in more close up and tried to figure out what you used to receive the three BLDC plugs. What plugs are they?

I tried to find them online but it remains unclear, but during the research I saw 3 prong plugs with a 90 degree angle. They are similar to what you use as a right angle plug from AMASS for the DC power supply.

So I searched a while to find if they have a 3 prong version of it, and I found this (just a seller that has a catalog that allows to search for properties)

https://www.tme.eu/en/katalog/power-connectors_34/?params=2:1260;1322:1436472;2555:1436380;412:1443409

Maybe it's more robust, than directly surface mounting female receptacles?

Are you sure? yes | no

Prototyx wrote 01/11/2024 at 07:36

I use basic banana plugs from Amass.

Yes, the 3 prong plugs with a 90 degree angle could be a potential solution and for sure more easy to solder, it's a bit tricky to have a clean solder when you solder the banana plugs directly on the PCB. But the downside is that you have to make 3 holes in the PCB and it limits the components that you can place under the connector.

Are you sure? yes | no

Autonomous 1/28 micro car from scratch

Description

Details

Project Logs

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Line Follower development

Building and Testing

Making a radio controller for debugging

Integration of the ESC on an UNO board

Discussions

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Autonomous 1/28 micro car from scratch

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