Designing the Remote Control:
The first step to making a remote control of your own design is deciding what types of inputs and outputs/feedback you want your remote control to have. You should also consider what form factor you want your remote to have, because this may affect what types of inputs and outputs you can fit in it.. You could make it like the stand-up RC car controllers, with their steering knobs and triggers; you could make it larger and give it two joysticks and a couple of flip switches, like those RC plane remotes, or you could make it to your heart’s content and give it a built-in speaker for voice feedback and force-sensitive touch control (that's not a bad idea...)—the possibilities are only limited by your imagination...and the size of the battery you want to carry along with you (I'm not kidding).
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For my remote, I eventually decided that I wanted something I could carry in the palms of my hands, like the Gameboy Advance I used to play with as a child; something with a variety of input types, because I wanted to be able to use it for different applications; and something with immersive feedback capabilities so that I could know what was going on without the use of my computer.
Considering all this, I decided to give it a 2.2” LCD TFT color display from Adafruit Industries, because it was well-documented, well-priced, and known for its Arduino compatibility (most of Adafruit’s selection is!); four push-buttons in typical game-controller configuration; two potentiometers with custom 3D-printed caps for precise, but comfortable rotary input; and an off-the-shelf joystick with analog horizontal and vertical output (it was also supposed to let you click the joystick and use it as a button, but that function never actually worked as advertised).
After figuring out what I wanted, I did some conceptual sketches. This "design phase" is particularly important depending on how you plan to manufacture the actual enclosure (case, body etc.) of the remote. In my case, I planned to laser-cut the entire enclosure from transparent acrylic. This, however, is somewhat of a luxury if you're a student (like myself). Luckily, my school happens to have one that I can use (if I had one of my own I would be using it all the time), but don't worry if you don't have access to one, because not only are there other materials you can make your enclosures from, but there are other means of getting your parts laser-cut or 3D-printed for you! For example, Ponoko is one online service that can ship you your custom-made parts, but if that's too expensive or not your style, you should consider another building material, like Sugru, or consider cutting out your parts with an X-Acto knife. If you do use an X-Acto knife to cut out your parts, you probably won't be able to have them fit together without adhesives, but it still functions just as well (the design I laser-cut fits together without tape or adhesives).
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If you do have access to a laser-cutter or 3D-printer (or on online service that can provide you with those tools), you'll have to design those parts using computer-aided design (CAD) software (like Inventor). The benefit of this type of software is that, in addition to being able to make parts precisely and with all sorts of features, you can also make the parts in an assembly and see how they all come together (we'll go over this later). Before you can do this in a computer, though, you should plan it all out on paper.
To plan your design out, you need to start by getting all the dimensions of the parts you want to use. Often this can be done by looking up the dimensions or original spec sheets for the parts online, but occasionally you may have to measure them yourself in the case that a specific dimension is not available or if you want to double or triple-check something. In the case that you do want or have to measure something yourself, I recommend the use of a caliper—they’re great for making precise measurements quickly and conveniently so, if you don’t have one, I highly recommend picking one up from your local hardware store or online.
Once you have the dimensions of all your parts, you need to figure out the layout of your remote. This includes not only the position of all the parts, but their orientation as well. At this stage, you don’t need to figure out exactly how the parts will be spaced out. Instead, it’s more critical that you figure out a design that will fit your needs and wants. In doing so, though, you still need to consider how the enclosure will come together, including where each part will go and what will keep them together (its a bit like a puzzle, but its fun!). You will also need to consider how you want to mount all the parts—you don’t need to figure out all the details now (like the diameter those holes need to be if you’re using nuts and bolts) but you should decide whether you want your parts to snap or press into place (most of mine do) or if you’re okay with hot-gluing them to each other or using some other adhesive or fastener.
While thinking about how to put the enclosure together, you should also be thinking about how to take it apart. This will depend on why you’re building the remote in the first place, but you need to think about the components inside the remote that you may want access to later on, and what type of access it is you want: are you okay with taking apart part of your remote just to reprogram it? What will you do if some wires disconnect or you need to replace a bad part? For my remote, I made it so that the back of the remote left the Arduino's top face completely exposed—this may be bad in the long run protection-wise, but the access it gave me to the ports was critical to my improvement of the remote and will allow for other capabilities to be added later on without the need for taking the whole thing apart (although I still do that occasionally just for the fun of it) (and yes, you most certainly can design a removable panel that gives you both access AND protection—I just didn’t get around to it).
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Lastly, but not least importantly, you need to think about wiring. Yes. Wiring. In larger remotes, you don’t really need to, but in smaller remotes like mine, where there’s not a lot of leeway between the Arduino and the components, you need to think about how everything will fit or if you need to have access holes here and there (I sure did), or you might find later that its extremely difficult to put together. EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. Everything in my version fits (albeit just barely) and I don’t want to discourage you from pushing the boundaries of enclosure-design, but take it from me: it’s much better to account for things before you’ve built them than afterwards (unless, of course, you’re open to building them again).
Cyrus Tabrizi
but, is the on-switch maybe a little overdressed?