I made a robot project with an Ackermann steering mechanism (same as normal everyday cars, not a differential drive as most robot car kits have). The type of RC car I used can be seen here:
Unfortunately it drives too fast and the steering angle/curve is too flat. Does anyone have a suggestion for a kit that has Ackermann steering, and also has enough power (and the matching frame) to mount things like a Raspberry Pi and a battery?
In summary, I’d like a robot car kit, that has:
Ackermann steering like everyday cars
Control of speed
Steering angle should not be too shallow
Can carry some load (such as a Raspberry Pi and a battery pack / power bank)
Edit: This would be an option: https://www.robotshop.com/en/picar-s-raspberry-pi-3-2b-smart-car-kit.html
But it doesn’t seem to have any free space for adding a power bank for the Pi. I wonder how the two AA batteries are supposed to power the pi and the motors at the same time. Or does it provide power through another way?
It also lacks encoders for the rear wheels, so it’s not guaranteed they drive straight.
A car that drives both rear wheels over an axle would work as well.
I ended up getting a JetRacer kit, which includes all from a camera to a jetson nano board (similar form factor to a raspberry pi, but can process neural nets faster).
One thing that is missing is encoders on the wheels/motors.
The software that accompanies it requires a bit of trail and error to get working, but otherwise it’s fine.
Be aware that Jetson Nano is also available in a 2GB version, in my experience that’s not enough memory to do much, especially when you are dealing with images and neural nets. 4GB is the minimum, really.
Be sure to check out NVIDIA’s site about JetRacer/JetBot as well. There might be other options to build (with 3d printers) or buy kits from other vendors.
