Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. Guides

Weekend Workshop: Tear up your driveway with this Raspberry Pi-powered RC car

By

weekend workshop raspberry pi rc car
shano274/Instructables
Need something to keep you busy this weekend? Look no further. The Weekend Workshop is our weekly column where we showcase a badass DIY project that you can complete with minimal skills and expertise. We’ve dug through all the online tutorials on the web, and gone the extra mile to pinpoint projects that are equal parts easy, affordable, and fun. So put on your work pants, grab your tool belt, and head to the garage — it’s time to start building!

Though UAVs have stolen a considerable amount of the RC spotlight in recent years, there still exists a wide range of remote controlled vehicles which prove just as fun to play around with. Sure, it might not pack a gorgeous 4K camera, tout a suite of autonomous extras, or toe the line of FAA regulations, but a proper RC car has just as much electronically-powered allure as your tried and true drone.

Recommended Videos

Hobby websites certainly offer their fair share of these throwback RC autos but why buy one when you could build one? Lucky for you, not only did a clever DIYer named shano274 actually accomplish this, but they posted their comprehensive, step-by-step walkthrough to the popular project site Instructables. So anyone with a little soldering know-how, a few power tools, and a Raspberry Pi B, among a few other materials, can easily build their own RC car in a matter of hours.

Raspberry-Pi-RC-car_
shano274/Instructables
shano274/Instructables

To help give you a head start on the project, we pieced together an accurate tools and materials list from shano274’s walkthrough. As always, we can’t stress enough how important it is to practice incredible safety with a build of this nature. Soldering irons, laser cutters, and electric drills aren’t for amateurs. If you don’t know your way around these tools, ask for help. With that said, here’s everything you’ll need to get started:

Tools:

  • Laser cutter
  • Soldering iron
  • Screwdriver
  • Electric drill (with 5/32 drill bit)
  • Dremel 4200
  • Small wrench

Materials:

  • Soldering essentials (Solder, Flux, Soldering Pick, etc.)
  • MDF thinner than 1/2″
  • Extruded acrylic (.239 inches thick)
  • Breadboard
  • Raspberry Pi B
  • Assembled Pi Cobbler with breakout cable for Pi B
  • Arduino T010051 motors (2)
  • 9v battery
  • Raspberry Pi B charger (compatible portable phone charger)
  • Matrix robotic beams
  • Screws and nuts
  • Rubber bands
  • Edimax WiFi USB adapter
  • LEDs for headlights and/or under glow (optional)

After amassing all required tools and materials, it’s now time to get started on putting together your very own Raspberry Pi-powered RC car. Simply follow shano274’s full walkthrough and before the weekend is up, you’ll have your own DIY RC car that’s perfect for bugging your dogs and cats. Happy building!

The entire walkthrough for the Raspberry Pi RC car can be found here.

Topics
Rick Stella
Rick Stella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rick became enamored with technology the moment his parents got him an original NES for Christmas in 1991. And as they say…
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more
CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation
Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Read more
This AI cloned my voice using just three minutes of audio
acapela group voice cloning ad

There's a scene in Mission Impossible 3 that you might recall. In it, our hero Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) tackles the movie's villain, holds him at gunpoint, and forces him to read a bizarre series of sentences aloud.

"The pleasure of Busby's company is what I most enjoy," he reluctantly reads. "He put a tack on Miss Yancy's chair, and she called him a horrible boy. At the end of the month, he was flinging two kittens across the width of the room ..."

Read more