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Ir Remote Controlled Car Using A Protoshield

Made by VideotronicMaker / 3D Printing / Environmental Sensing / Robotics / Sensors / Vehicles

About the project

Making a smart car kit smaller.

Project info

Difficulty: Moderate

Platforms: Arduino, Atmel, Autodesk, Ender, Elegoo

Estimated time: 2 hours

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA version 4.0 or later (CC BY-SA 4+)

Items used in this project

Hardware components

	3 mm LED: Red	x 1
	Single row female header 2 x 4 pin	x 1
	Tactile Switch, Top Actuated	x 1
	22 gauge solid core wire	x 1
	Resistor 1k ohm	x 1
	Electrolytic Capacitor, 10 µF	x 1
	Heatsink + Insulator/Mounting Kits for L7805	x 1
	Linear Regulator (7805)	x 1
	Texas Instruments Dual H-Bridge motor drivers L293D	x 1
	IR Receiver EK8460	x 1
	Smart Car Wheels	x 1
	DC Motor, 12 V	x 2
	ElectroCookie Proto Shield Kit Compatible with Arduino Uno R3	x 1
	Arduino UNO Wifi Rev.2	x 1

View all

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

	Soldering iron (generic)	x 1
	Aven 17010 Adjustable Circuit Board Holder ESD Safe	x 1
	Plier, Needle Nose	x 1
	Solder Flux, Soldering	x 1

Story

My prototype on a bread board.

My prototype on a bread board.

I started a project that was worth moving from a breadboard and onto a protoshield; an IR remote controlled car using an L293D H-bridge motor driver.

NOTE

The story I have written below is actually the script in the video below. The video also shows three other protoshield project ideas. Additionally, the video also shows the pinouts for the IR receiver I used in the final version. Please consider watching the video first. I think it might be a better experience. I put a lot of work into the production of this video. I hope it is useful.

PROTOSHIELD AND SMART CAR JOURNEY

Before I started this project I also purchased a smart car kit. It was very easy to assemble and I thought the car was too big so, I was disappointed with the experience.

However, to be fair, I think the point of those kits is to introduce us to its basic concepts and components and that leads to next steps. So, my next step was to make a slightly smaller version of this smart car. I replaced this l298N H-bridge motor driver

I replaced this L298N H-bridge.

I replaced this L298N H-bridge.

with one of these L293D H-bridge motor drivers...

L293D Dual H-bridge motor driver

L293D Dual H-bridge motor driver

Using a smaller H-bridge was when I realized that a protoshield was a big part of how I would simplify this project.

I thought about which protoshield to use? My Elegoo shield wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t going work for this because the female header pins were already soldered onto the board. My official Arduino Shield wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t an option because it cost $14 and I wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t willing to waste it on this project. I wanted something like the official Uno protoshield that came without the headers pre soldered but was laid out like the Elegoo Uno protoshield and was also inexpensive. I looked online and found these and they looked promising.

This is a pack of 9 Uno protoshields by ElectroCookie, that came without the header pins pre-soldered and provided three different layouts. The biggest attraction was the price; $15.00 That's around $1.50 per shield! Now I was ready to create my first protoshield.

SMART CAR UPGRADE

This was originally a project from Chapter 4 of Jeremy BlumÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s book, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Exploring ArduinoÃ¢â‚¬Â. The last project in this chapter covers building an autonomous car that follows light. It is a great chapter that introduces transistors, voltage regulators, dc motors, h-bridges, reading schematics and other great lessons. I built the project on a breadboard and re-created the layout and schematic using Fritzing.

This project was very rewarding and fun. I highly recommend BlumÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s book. The project was to make an actual working car using the breadboard, but Instead, I decided to take it off of the breadboard and use a protoshield. This was when I started looking for a protoshield and found the previously mentioned ElectroCookie shields.

It was my first time creating a circuit on a protoshield, so I chose one and gave it a shot. I couldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come up with a way to use software to plan the layout for the circuit because I wanted to use both sides, so I decided to just place the components on the shield, I visualized the layout and soldered as I thought best. I utilized the existing traces as much as possible. I 3d printed a chassis instead of purchasing another one. I put it all together and it worked. That's how I made this shield!

While all of this was fun, a car that follows light isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t.

IR REMOTE CONTROLLED CAR

Blum gives you enough to get you started but leaves you ready for more. I think that is a great way to teach. I wanted to do more. I turned again at the smart car kit for inspiration and realized I could sort of recreate it on this shield.

I decided upgrade this project and make an IR Remote controlled car. I made a new prototype on a breadboard. The first version used this IR receiver.

Keystudio IR receiver Ã¯Â»Â¿

Keystudio IR receiver ï»¿

Keystudio IR receiver ï»¿

It didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t seem right to solder this beautiful Keystudio IR receiver onto the shield. It was too nice. I decided to use a different one instead and I also added an led indicator for the IR receiver.

Simplified version of an IR receiver with additional LED indicator added.

Simplified version of an IR receiver with additional LED indicator added.

I thought about whether or not to start with a new shield and make an entirely different board, but it seemed like that would be a waste of components, shields, and money. I looked to the smart car kit again for inspiration. I noticed that the kit had all three versions assembled as one unit; IR remote, obstacle avoidance and ultrasonic sensor. All you have to do is upload the new sketch for whichever version you want.

STRATEGY AND INSPIRATION

I based my code heavily on the smart car kit. I changed the H-bridge component to an L293D and renamed a few things. I pasted the code at the bottom. I decided to add the IR receiver to the existing board and not waste any components or money.

PARTS

Here are the parts I used just in case the list at the top isn't clear:

1- Arduino Uno.
1- Protoshield of your choice.
32-Male header pins.
1- 7805 5V Voltage Regulator.
1- Heatsink for the regulator.
1- L293D Dual H-bridge motor driver.
2- 50V 10 micro farad electrolytic capacitors.
1- IR receiver.
1- Remote.
1- 9V battery and battery clip.
2- 4pin female headers.
Solid core hookup wires.
2- 3-6V Geared DC motors.
The nuts, bolts and wires that go with it all.
2- wheels and a 3d printed chassis.

LAYOUT

The IR Receiver here is not the one I used but will work as shown in the layout. Ã¯Â»Â¿

The IR Receiver here is not the one I used but will work as shown in the layout. ï»¿

The IR Receiver here is not the one I used but will work as shown in the layout. ï»¿

THE FINAL BUILD

This chassis is actually only the front half of the one I printed. I'd like to make a smaller chassis.

This chassis is actually only the front half of the one I printed. I'd like to make a smaller chassis.

The female headers I used for the motor outputs on the driver may need to be changed for a future build.

The female headers I used for the motor outputs on the driver may need to be changed for a future build.

ALTERNATE VERSION

I made a second version without the photoresistors for the possible coming updates.

I made a second version without the photoresistors for the possible coming updates.

I knew I wouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t ever use the light following version of this car but I had another idea. There are 10 available pins left. I could use the photoresistors to make automatic headlights that turn on when its dark. I could also add the night rider/chasing leds feature and activate it with the remote.

I think a "chasing leds" project comes with the Arduino IDE

I think a

I think a "chasing leds" project comes with the Arduino IDE

Maybe I could also add a horn by using a piezo buzzer and also activate that with the remote. I wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t do all of that now but this shield has potential.

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure others have made the same or more complex cars but I wanted to explore uses for protoshields.

This is a journey that I hope will continue on and will result in project and video update.

Schematics, diagrams and documents

Schematic

Code

IR Remote Controlled Car with L293D

A remote controlled 2 wheel car that uses an L293D H-bridge, 2 3V-6V DC geared motors, an IR receiver and a remote.

/* IR_remcon_car_L293D A remote controlled 2 wheel car that uses an L293D H-bridge, 2 3V-6V DC geared motors, an IR receiver and a remote. The circuit: * IR Receiver pin 7 * L293D H-bridge pins 10,9,4,5,2,3 Created 17 April 2022 By VideotronicMaker https://videotronicmaker.com/ based on the IR remote controlled car sketch by Hosyond for the Hosyond Smart Car Kit */ #include <IRremote.h> int RECV_PIN = 7; IRrecv irrecv(RECV_PIN); decode_results results; // use IRrecvDemo from IRremote library by Ken Shirriff to get your remote codes #define REM_FW 0x00FF629D // defining remote button forward #define REM_RV 0x00FFA857 // defining remote button reverse #define REM_LF 0x00FF22DD // defining remote button left #define REM_RT 0x00FFC23D // defining remote button right #define REM_STOP 0x00FF02FD // defining remote button stop const int LFT_EN=5; // Left Enable and Motor speed value from 0-255 on pin 5 const int RGT_EN=9; // Right Enable and Motor speed value from 0-255 on pin 9 const int LEFT_MC1F=12; // defining pin12 left reverse const int LEFT_MC2B=6; // defining pin6 left forward const int RIGHT_MC1F=2; // defining pin2 right reverse const int RIGHT_MC2B=3; // defining pin3 right forward byte LPWM_val = 225; // set speed of left motor using pwm (Set any value between 0-255) byte RPWM_val = 225; // set speed of right motor using pwm (Set any value between 0-255) void M_Control_IO_config(void) // Motor Control IO Function { pinMode(LEFT_MC1F,OUTPUT); // declare pin 4 to be an OUTPUT pinMode(LEFT_MC2B,OUTPUT); // declare pin 5 to be an OUTPUT pinMode(RIGHT_MC1F,OUTPUT); // declare pin 2 to be an OUTPUT pinMode(RIGHT_MC2B,OUTPUT); // declare pin 3 to be an OUTPUT pinMode(LFT_EN,OUTPUT); // declare pin 10 (PWM/speed value) to be an OUTPUT pinMode(RGT_EN,OUTPUT); // declare pin 19 (PWM/speed value) to be an OUTPUT } void Set_Speed(byte Left,byte Right) //Function to set the speed.byte refers to { //the integer value set above at LPWM_val and RPWN_val analogWrite(LFT_EN,Left); analogWrite(RGT_EN,Right); } void forward() // Function to move forward { digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC1F,LOW); digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC2B,HIGH); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC1F,LOW); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC2B,HIGH); } void turnRight() // Function to turn right { digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC1F,LOW); digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC2B,HIGH); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC1F,HIGH); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC2B,LOW); } void turnLeft() // Function to turn left { digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC1F,HIGH); digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC2B,LOW); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC1F,LOW); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC2B,HIGH); } void stopp() // Function to stop { digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC1F,HIGH); digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC2B,HIGH); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC1F,HIGH); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC2B,HIGH); } void reverse() // Function to go in reverse { digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC1F,HIGH); digitalWrite(RIGHT_MC2B,LOW); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC1F,HIGH); digitalWrite(LEFT_MC2B,LOW); } void IR_Control(void) { unsigned long Key; if(irrecv.decode(&results)) //check if serial port receives data { Key = results.value; switch(Key) { case REM_FW:forward(); //Up arrow button on remote break; case REM_RV:reverse(); //Down arrow button on remote break; case REM_LF:turnLeft(); //Left arrow button on remote break; case REM_RT:turnRight(); //Right arrow button on remote break; case REM_STOP:stopp(); //OK button on remote break; default: break; } irrecv.resume(); //recieve the next value } } void setup() { M_Control_IO_config(); // Set_Speed(LPWM_val,RPWM_val); irrecv.enableIRIn(); //Enable the receiver Serial.begin(9600); //Initialize the serial port, Bluetooth used as serial port, setting baud ratio at 9600 stopp(); } void loop() { IR_Control(); // Main code to run repeatedly }

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Credits

VideotronicMaker

Encouraging individuals to unleash their creative potential and master technology through accessible education and hands-on learning experiences. Combining expertise in Video Production, Web Design, Arduino, and Artificial Intelligence tutorials to inspire and guide learners at the beginner to intermediate level. Simplifying complex technical concepts and proving that proficiency can be attained without a formal computer science background.

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Ir Remote Controlled Car Using A Protoshield

About the project

Project info