Leap Controlled RC Car

Project Overview

The goal of this project is to create an RC car that is controlled by a Leap Motion pad through hand gestures. The Leap Motion will be connected to a computer and will communicate with an Arduino on the RC car. This communication will most likely occur via a bluetooth dongle. The RC car will be purchased from a kit online and customized as needed.

Objectives

The primary objectives of this project involve the construction of an RC car, exploring the capabilities of programming with Arduino, and controlling the RC car via a Leap Motion pad. The RC car is the foundation of our project so finding a suitable kit which can be modified to incorporate an Arduino is the first objective. Building a circuit to connect the Arduino to the RC car will allow us to begin writing code to control the RC car. The final and most difficult objective involves understanding how the Leap Motion pad outputs information, transforming a hand motion into a bluetooth signal, and sending that information to control the RC car. If bluetooth proves to be too difficult of an option, we may pursue simpler ideas with time permitting. If we finish our project early, we will work on a mobile app to control the RC car.

Challenges

Challenges we might encounter include learning how to program in Arduino, taking data in from the Leap Motion pad, communicating wirelessly between a computer and the Arduino, and programming the Leap Motion pad. With minimal experience coding, extra time will need to be devoted to understanding the most accessible language and its functionality.

Budget

• RC car $15
• Arduino (supplied by class)
• Batteries $6
• Leap Motion $49
• Bluetooth dongle $15
• Bluetooth shield $10 or Bluetooth to Serial Slave
• 4-channel relay switch $10
• Reserve for miscellaneous parts $30

Total: $135

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