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Inspiration
Inspiration
When my dad was a kid, he used to watch a show called Knight Rider. In particular, he loved watching the show's artificial intelligence car, KITT, in action. When he showed me the show's intro one day, I was immediately hooked by the car's iconic light sequence, look, and music. I wanted to recreate one, and my dad's birthday was right around the corner. Time to get to work!
Design and Hardware
Design and Hardware
3D Printed Chasis
3D Printed Chasis
The majority of the 3D model for the iconic KITT chassis actually came from a video game model, but I had to adapt it to be printable on my 3D printer and at the right size. I was able to split the chassis into four printable sections with CAD software, and then I sliced the model for printing with Cura's 3D printer software. I glued the four printed sections with epoxy.
Car Base
Car Base
The base of the car, where the electronics sit and attach to the chassis, is made from thin plywood. After creating a rough shape with my band saw, I used a Dremel tool for fine detail and getting it to fit the components. Plywood was ideal because unlike aluminum or other composites, it is softer and more forgiving for shaping.
Arduino Electronics
Arduino Electronics
I designed the KITT car so that it could very efficiently fit all the required electronics, including motors, LEDs, an Arduino Nano, a Bluetooth module, breadboard and wires. The large breadboard and mess of jumper wires were used because this was created with experimentation in mind. In the future, I plan on soldering a PCB board for more efficient and permanent connections.
Steering Mechanism and Wheels
Steering Mechanism and Wheels
When designing the car, I had to decide how it would turn. The simple solution was programming the rear motors to individually spin slower or faster, but I wanted a more realistic solution. My solution was a combination of computer modelling and 3D printing.
I designed the steering mechanism to work with a 9g servo. I designed custom wheels as well. Not only did the custom wheels fit the motor mount perfectly, but it allowed for a closer representation of the real deal.
Programming
Programming
The programming was done through Arduino's interface, which is based on C++. I borrowed some basic code for connecting a smart phone to the bluetooth module. I then had to figure out an efficient way for the Arduino micro controller to handle multiple inputs at the same time. By utilizing a millis() function, I was able to control motors, steering, and lights all at once.
The programming was done through Arduino's interface, which is based on C++. I borrowed some basic code for connecting a smart phone to the bluetooth module. I then had to figure out an efficient way for the Arduino micro controller to handle multiple inputs at the same time. By utilizing a millis() function, I was able to control motors, steering, and lights all at once.
Final Product
Final Product
Dad loved it!
Dad loved it!
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