Alpha V1 Customizable Robotics Remote Control

Building a remote-controlled robot is a challenging task. Depending on what your goals are, you need to source the correct motors, dev board(s), and mechanical components, then put everything together and program it. Oh, and you’ll also need some sort of human-machine interface, e.g. remote control. While you can get away with Bluetooth on your smartphone, re-purposing a stock controller, or slapping together something custom, there’s a very good chance that this part of your design will be comparatively lacking. If only there was something that looked great and could be modified to exactly your needs…

Such is the goal of the Alpha V1 open source remote controller. Aside from looking really good in its black and yellow shell, it also boasts a solid list of features. First, the front and back covers are made out of laser-cut acrylic, so not only can easily cut new custom plates as needed, but they can also be drilled to accommodate new joysticks/switches/buttons as needed.

Libraries for the device have been developed so that customization is easy to accomplish without coding, but as an open source project, you can dig deeper if you so choose.

Radio wise, the Alpha V1’s transceiver is capable of two-way digital communication, and can transmit on an impressive 18 channels at 100Hz. If that somehow restricts your design, it can be set up for 36 channels at 50 Hz as well, or even a staggering 72 channels at 25 Hz. Currently, the design has gone through quite a bit of development, and seems like it will be an excellent option once it’s ready. You can sign up to be notified once it’s crowdfunding via this page.