Overview

Everybody has dreams. One of my childhood dreams was to write an ECU for a real car. Since I was born, I am fond of cars and driving. My next project focuses on controlling electrical motors, combining with essential safety technologies and focusing on innovative features. Currently I'm working on Milestone 1 (see below) and designing the motor control circuit.

About the RC car

I received this tuned RC car from one of my acquaintances who is actually racing with RC cars (however he uses internal combustion engines). This car is built specifically for racing.

Main features:

  • 1800 Watt Brushless DC motor
    • 2700KV (rpm/V)
    • Max voltage: 22V
    • Max current: 80A
  • 4.23:1 fixed gear ratio
  • 4-wheel drive
  • Front and back differentials
  • Adjustable independent suspension
  • Adjustable aluminum springs
  • Steering servo

Milestones

I split the whole project into two parts. In the 1st milestone I'm focusing on the motor control, and in the 2nd milestone I'm implementing smart features such as object detection, object following and avoiding methods.

Milestone 1

  • Self-designed PCB from the ground, specifically designed to fit into the RC car
  • ARM microcontroller for maximum capacity
  • Motor control and control engineering
  • Regenerative braking
  • ABS (Anti-lock Braking System)
  • ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation)
  • ESP (Electronic Stability Program)
  • Remote control via smartphone

Milestone 2

  • Mount cameras & sensors to the RC car
  • Image processing with Raspberry Pi 2
  • Object detection
  • Automatic object avoidance
  • Object following from safe distance (e.g. another car)

Pictures