Introduction: Autonomous Car
I completed this project as a requirement for my robotics course and I had a good time working through it. I learned about how to integrate an Arduino Uno and ultrasonic sensor to an old RC car. I really enjoyed working on this project and hope you do too!
There are a couple of things I need to work out (e.g. the car sometimes doesn't properly read in the sensor value and causes the car to move back and forth without real cause) - you'll see what I mean when you watch the attached video. But if you're looking for a starting point, please feel free to use this set of steps. I think it'll be beneficial :)
Step 1: Gather the Materials
To make your own autonomous car you will need the following materials:
- RC powered toy car with built in motors
- Arduino Uno - https://www.arduino.cc/en/main/arduinoBoardUno
- Adafruit Motor Shield - https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-motor-shield-...
- Ultrasonic Sensor - http://howtomechatronics.com/tutorials/arduino/ul...
- 9V batteries x 2
Step 2: Wire the Arduino and Motorshield With Ultrasonic Sensor
1. Stack the Motorshield on top of the Arduino Uno
2. The circuit:
· VCC connection of the sensor attached to +5V
· GND connection of the sensor attached to ground
· TRIG connection of the sensor attached to digital pin 2
· ECHO connection of the sensor attached to digital pin 4
Step 3: Wire the RC Car Motors to the Motorshield
- Take the two wires connected on the front motor and connect them to either M1 or M2
- Unscrew the top of the selected motor input
- Insert the wires in each of the two slots and screw back down to ensure they stay
- Take the two wires connected on the back motor and connect them to either M3 or M4
- Unscrewthe top of the selected motor input
- Insert the wires in each of the two slots and screw back down to ensure they stay
Step 4: Add Code to the Arduino
You will need to include two libraries to the top of the page:
- Wire
- Adafruit Motorshield
To install, go to Sketch > Include Library > Manage Libraries
- Type in "Wire" into the Filter your search...
- Click on the first one and select Install
- Type in "Adafruit Motor Shield" into the Filter your search...
- Click on the first one if you're using version 1 or the second one if you're using version 2
Go back into Sketch > Include Library and scroll down to find:
- Wire - click it to include it into the code
- Adafruit Motor Shield... - click it to include into the code
Viola! You've successfully installed the libraries and included the in your autonomous car code!
*The file attached is all the code required to run the car*
Attachments
Step 5: Video of Autonomous Car in Action
Step 6: Related Links
The following are links that inspired me to do this project:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Powered-Au...
https://www.instructables.com/id/give-your-rc-car-b...
https://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-RC-car-for-...
http://makezine.com/projects/build-android-powered...
http://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/how-make-a...