Tiny Car Hacked for Stabilized RC Control

You’re probably familiar with the tiny “Coke can” RC cars that can be had for well under $20 including the transmitter. While amazingly…

Jeremy Cook
6 years ago

You’re probably familiar with the tiny “Coke can” RC cars that can be had for well under $20 including the transmitter. While amazingly small and quite fast for their size, the control setup that normally comes with them leaves much to be desired. Most would simply opt for a larger more capable car,but YouTuber “TheDIYGuy999” instead decided to upgrade his car to full proportional control with electronic stability via an onboard IMU.

To accomplish this, he first upgraded the power source from a super capacitor to a small LiPo cell. Impressively, he got this, along with a custom control board and radio receiver to fit inside. As shown in the video below at the 2:00 mark, the car’s body can even be reassembled using the original screws.

The results are amazing, and he shows it off in the video here cruising around without issue on slippery parquet flooring. He also demonstrates it with the stability system turned off, which results in the slipping and poor traction that drivers of these little cars are accustomed to!

More information on this build, as well as several other videos on the process can be found here. Code is available on GitHub.

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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