Making a Remote Control Car – Your Very First Robotics Project!

A Car is the perfect starting project for any beginner looking to get into robotics, electronics, or just looking for a fun hobby.

Components

What you need:

2 Microcontrollers (preferably an Arduino Mega and Arduino Nano)
4 Motors
2 L293D motor controllers (each pair of motors needs one)
Remote Control (see Making a Remote Control)
A breadboard
Multiple batteries / battery holders
Joystick(s)
Ultrasonic/ Infrared Sensors (optional)
Jumper wires
Cardboard and tape

General Steps to follow when making your first remote control

Purchase your components
1. I recommend using eBay and AliExpress as they are the most affordable
Use Autodesk TinkerCAD to test code and components
1. Not all components are available on TinkerCAD, so some lessons can only be learnt in practice
Use jumper wires to carefully wire up each of the motors and the motor drivers. Use your PC’s power supply to power the Arduino
1. Follow your test circuits on TinkerCAD very carefully.
2. Google the PinOut of the L293D motor drivers as it is very useful.Use the image when wiring the motors
Write the code for the arduino.
1. Use ChatGPT to build the bulk of the code (see below)
Once you ensure that the motors are working, create the cardboard chassis and attach the motors to it using duct tape
1. Use masking tape until you feel comfortable with where the components are.
Add a joystick to control the project, add sensors, add any other components which you would like to add.
Implement remote control using the following tutorial: Making a Remote Control
Once the project is completely working, implement the dual power supply
1. A dual power supply can be difficult to implement. Watch the following video before starting How to Power an Arduino Project (Lesson #19) Or follow this tutorial Power any Arduino Project
2. Use a 9V battery for the microcontroller and either another 9V battery for the motors, or a 4*AA battery holder.
3. Wire up your power sources according to the diagram
4. Make sure that the grounds of the two power rails of the breadboard are connected
5. Connect very few components to the 5V out from the Arduino, try and connect all of the components to the 6V from your other power source.
Now you can start developing your projects with cameras, custom components and more!
1. See below for ideas of what to add

Guidelines/ Tips to making your first car

Make sure you have the right motors
1. The best motors for a project like this are the standard Arduino Motors (as seen in the photo above). Other motors are either overkill or too weak, and there are practically no other motors available to buy with jumper wires and wheels built-in.
2. I have searched so many websites for better wheels, ones with better grip, or even better aesthetics. Rest assured, there are none.
Use a microcontroller with many GPIO pins
1. Projects like these use many jumper wires, and using a standard Arduino Uno will become cumbersome and not fun at all.
2. Having many GPIO pins available allows you to add many components and grow the complexity of the project incredibly.
3. Boards with many pins such as the Arduino Mega also tend to have better performance with multiple power sources.
Use a Bluetooth and not Radio when making the Remote Controller
1. I found that when making the remote controller, it was easier to implement Bluetooth using two HC-05 chips over using radio technology with 2 NRF24L01 chips.
2. Using a chip like a ESP32 may even allow you to use your phone to directly control the car, as those chips have Bluetooth built-in
3. Bluetooth also has a greater range and a more reliable and faster connection
4. For a guide how to make the Remote Controller, see Making a Remote Control
Use ChatGPT to develop most of the code
1. Although it may feel like cheating, it most certainly is not. Using ChatGPT to develop your code is the fastest way to learn how to code the Arduino.
2. Using ChatGPT teaches you how to write the C++ code for the Arduino, as well as speeding up the workflow as ChatGPT can write code a lot faster than you can
3. ChatGPT can also give you ideas of where to take your project in the future, how compatible certain components are together, and what the best practices are when making projects
Make sure you use 2 power sources
1. Using 2 power sources not only teaches you more about electronics, it is also more practically useful.
2. Motors consume lots of power, so controlling them using a separate power supply to the rest of the electronics ensures that they work at their optimal voltage, as well as ensuring that the project lasts longer before needing to change the batteries.
3. I recommend using a 9V battery for the Arduino and 4 AA batteries for the motors. Make sure that the grounds of the 2 power supplies are connected (this is crucial).
4. Make sure you research the optimal voltage for your motors before buying a power supply for them.

How to develop your project

Make sure you have the right motors
1. The best motors for a project like this are the standard Arduino Motors (as seen in the photo above). Other motors are either overkill or too weak, and there are practically no other motors available to buy with jumper wires and wheels built-in.
2. I have searched so many websites for better wheels, ones with better grip, or even better aesthetics. Rest assured, there are none.
Use a microcontroller with many GPIO pins
1. Projects like these use many jumper wires, and using a standard Arduino Uno will become cumbersome and not fun at all.
2. Having many GPIO pins available allows you to add many components and grow the complexity of the project incredibly.
3. Boards with many pins such as the Arduino Mega also tend to have better performance with multiple power sources.
Use a Bluetooth and not Radio when making the Remote Controller
1. I found that when making the remote controller, it was easier to implement Bluetooth using two HC-05 chips over using radio technology with 2 NRF24L01 chips.
2. Using a chip like a ESP32 may even allow you to use your phone to directly control the car, as those chips have Bluetooth built-in
3. Bluetooth also has a greater range and a more reliable and faster connection
4. For a guide how to make the Remote Controller, see Making a Remote Control
Use ChatGPT to develop most of the code
1. Although it may feel like cheating, it most certainly is not. Using ChatGPT to develop your code is the fastest way to learn how to code the Arduino.
2. Using ChatGPT teaches you how to write the C++ code for the Arduino, as well as speeding up the workflow as ChatGPT can write code a lot faster than you can
3. ChatGPT can also give you ideas of where to take your project in the future, how compatible certain components are together, and what the best practices are when making projects
Make sure you use 2 power sources
1. Using 2 power sources not only teaches you more about electronics, it is also more practically useful.
2. Motors consume lots of power, so controlling them using a separate power supply to the rest of the electronics ensures that they work at their optimal voltage, as well as ensuring that the project lasts longer before needing to change the batteries.
3. I recommend using a 9V battery for the Arduino and 4 AA batteries for the motors. Make sure that the grounds of the 2 power supplies are connected (this is crucial).
4. Make sure you research the optimal voltage for your motors before buying a power supply for them.