The Idea

I want to create a GPS Way-point driven remote controlled car.

Not too long ago I woke up one morning and thought of attempting this project. I knew that it was possible to interface an Arduino micro-controller with readily available GPS modules. I also knew that it would certainly be possible to interface the Arduino with an RC car.

The plan would be to use a basic feedback loop to control the direction of the car. At it's heart the logic of the microcontroller would be:

1) Where am I?

2) Where was I 1-2 second ago?

3) Where do I want to go?

4) According to where I am, and where I was - how does my course need to be adjusted?

5) Adjust steering, move forward, jump to step 1.

This is fairly simple logic, and I think it should be possible. There are a list of unknowns that could ruin this project:

-Accuracy of the GPS unit: some are accurate to 5m or ~16 feet! That's likely going to send the car into some curbs.

-The RC-Car platform: not wanting to spend much money means a cheap RC Car! This means steering will likely be terrible, no suspension, small wheels, minimal clearance, etc. etc.

-Others I haven't encountered yet.

So basically, I am going to try and tackle this project in just under two weeks.

As of today - I have a list of parts ordered, and have begun some initial work. I tore apart the RC Car, and begun planning other components of the project.

Posts to come will include:

-Parts list / detailed plan-of-attack

-Construction of an H-Bridge to control the RC Car's drive.

-Retrofitting of a servo to control the steering (rather than a primitive DC motor configuration)

-Interfacing of GPS unit

-Writing a drive algorithm

Finally - it might be worth mentioning that this is my first blog. Additionally I am a Computer Engineering student, so please be friendly regarding grammar, etc.

Here are some photos of the car / arduino. Hopefully I get better at including in-line images in future posts!