Building your own vehicle is a fun and rewarding experience, and we have made a concerted effort to simplify the build as much as possible. We are in the process of creating a number of assembly videos, but what we wanted to provide here are three components: the order manifest, a wiring diagram to connect all the components, and finally a rendering of the one custom component, (the compute support platform), so that you can have it fabricated at the plastic shop of your choice. Let us begin with the order manifest
The following is the parts list required to build the MiniAutonomous platform. We will periodically update the manifest sheet to reflect parts availability, upgrades we make to the vehicle, etc. If you happen to find an item is no longer available, please reach out to us and we will try to find an alternative.
End of RealSense Product Line: As of 8/2021, Intel has decided to discontinue the RealSense product line, which is a real shame given that it was such a quality sensor for robotics applications. We have done a general survey of the image sensor landscape and have landed on the Raspberry Pi CM2. After viewing a demo by the illustrious Jim @ Jetson Hacks and experimenting for ourselves the ease with which the sensor can be incorporated into Python and the fact that it is available out-of-the-box on a Jetson platform has made it our sensor of choice. As an added bonus, it is very affordably priced and is actively used by the Raspberry Pi community.
Please note that you have a variety of options for some of the components. For instance, the platform has been built with the Jetson Nano 2GB version, which at the time of this writing costs half the price as the 4GB developer kit. In addition, any 4-channel transmitter/receiver combination can be used instead of the somewhat pricey Traxxas TQi version given here. (We'll hunt around for some alternatives shortly.) Slight changes might be required in the Arduino sketch that is uploaded to the Mega, but those should be minimal. Finally, in the domain of field monitors, there is a wide selection and price range so hunting around may be advisable.
| Item# | Part Name | Description | URL | Approximate Price ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Tamiya TT-02 chassis with ESC and motor kit | 1/10 scale Tamiya RC chassis which is the base vehicle. Note: we bought the Mustang version, but we don't actually use the car shell, so any of the TT-02 chassis versions will work. |
Link | 120.00 |
| 02 | Jetson Nano Developer Kit | Primary on-vehicle compute node. | Link Please check around: highly volatile pricing online! |
130.00 |
| 02 (alternate) | Jetson Nano 2GB Developer Kit | Primary on-vehicle compute node, but 2GB version. Works with all models we have tested, with slightly lower inference throughput. | Link Please check around: highly volatile pricing online! |
60.00 |
| 03 | Jetson Nano UPS | Battery power supply for Jetson Nano. TCIP power output for 5V supply. | Link | 37.00 |
| 04 | Raspberry Pi CM 2 | Raspberry Pi camera module v2-8 megapixel sensor | Link | 39.00 |
| 04 (alternate) | Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 | Webcam alternative to RealSense. Use this option if you do not think you will experiment with other sensor modalities. | Link | 80.00 |
| 05 | Raspberry Pi CM 2 Mount | Raspberry Pi CM2 mount to fix sensor to the vehicle | Link | 10.00 |
| 06 | Arduino Mega 2560 r3 | Microcontroller for actuation control | Link | 34.00 |
| 07 | Neewer Field Monitor | On-vehicle LCD with 1080p resolution | Link | 110.00 | 08 | Traxxas TX 4 Channel Transmitter | Traxxas transmitter to drive vehicle and switch states. | Link | 90.00 | 09 | Traxxas 6533 5 Channel Receiver | Traxxas TQi receiver with TSM capability | Link | 40.00 | 10 | ZOSKAY Servo | 25 KG steering servo. | Link | 20.00 | 11 | Zee 7.2V NiMH Battery | 3600 mAh battery pack for vehicle motor. | Link | 28.00 | 12 | Battery Charging Bag | DerBlue 2 pc battery charging pouch. Although designed for LiPO pack charging, we suggest using them when charging any RC battery pack. $10 is a small price to pay for peace of mind. | Link | 10.00 | 13 | Neewer NP-F550 Battery | 7.4V rechargeable battery pack for field monitor | Link | 42.00 | 14 | Skywolfeye 18650 Battery Pack | 3.7V rechargeable 18650 battery pack for Jetson Nano UPS, (comes with handy flashlight... not required unless trying things out at night! ;D) | Link | 24.00 | 15 | Hot Shoe Mount Adapter 1/4" | Threaded mini-ball adapter for camera and on-vehicle LCD | Link | 12.00 | 16 | ELEGOO 120pc Dupont Wire | Assorted pin-out wires to connect the arduino to the ESC and steering servo | Link | 7.00 | 17 | Servo Extension Kit | 30 pc servo extension kit to connect the ESC to the steering servo and receive signals from the Arduino | Link | 15.00 | 18 | Aluminum Standoff | 20 Pcs aluminum standoff/spacer that anchors compute platform to chassis. Only four are required per vehicle. | Link | 8.00 | 19 | M3 10mm screws | 8 M3 10mm screws are required to fasten the aluminum standoff to the vehicle. I suggest you buy an assortment of screws to fasten the UPS, Jetson Nano, and Arduino Mega to the platform. The kit linked here should be a good option. | Link | 17.00 | 20 | 4K short HDMI cable | 4K 1.5ft HDMI cable to connect Jetson Nano to Neewer field monitor | Link | 8.00 | 21 | Monoprice 1.5 USB 2.0 Cable | 1.5 ft UB 2.0 A male to B male cable to connect Jetson Nano to Arduino Mega | Link | 6.00 | 22 | Logitech K400 Keyboard | Wireless keyboard with integrating trackpad to interact with the car | Link | 20.00 | 23 | Battery Charger for Tamiya 7.2 NiMH | We use a somewhat expensive unit to charge our batteries on the vehicle since we have a number of other projects which require the higher capacity, (but unfortunately more volatile), LiPO packs. An alternative to the unit we currently use is this TeNergy unit, which is a decent quality brand, but please note that we do not use it ourselves. There are probably cheaper alternatives, but always be cautious when it comes to batteries and chargers. | Link | 58.00 | 24 | Polycarbonate compute platform | The compute stack, (Jetson Nano, Arduino Mega, camera, etc.), is coupled to the vehicle chassis with a custom fabricated plate. Please see the entry below for further details. | N/A | 40.00 | With Raspberry Pi CM2 + 2GB Jetson Nano, not including transmitter/receiver | Total | 687.00 | With Raspberry Pi CM2 + 4GB Jetson Nano, not including transmitter/receiver or NiMH battery charger | Total | 747.00 | With Traxxas TQi transmitter/receiver, TeNergy charger and keyboard | Total | +208.00 |
The polymer piece that forms the support for on-board compute and is itself bolted to the vehicle chassis is the only custom-build component of our hardware platform. Please download the PDF of the shop drawing and share it with the custom plastic fabrication shop of your choice. We use Tap Plastics: https://www.tapplastics.com/
Tap charges ~$40.00 for a polycarbonate plate, which is what we suggest given that the material tends to be more impact resistant than acrylic, which can potentially chip or shatter depending on the severity of impact. We do use acrylic on one of our vehicles, however, and it is much more scratch resistant than the polycarbonate and costs roughly half the price.
Some specs to help with the build description:
This is the wiring diagram for the vehicle. Actuation control stems from the Arduino Mega, which is the bridge between the Jetson Nano and on-vehicle receiver to the ESC and steering servo on the chassis. Please note that only the ESC-to-steering servo connection requires soldering: you will need to purchase a steering servo extension kit, (included in the order manifest), and splice the signal wire from two extension plugs, which is the white wire. Solder a male jumper wire to each of the spliced ends so that you can plug this directly into the Arduino. All other connections from the receiver to the Arduino require no soldering and a jumper wire from the kit will be able to connect the receiver to the Arduino. Please reach out to us if you have any questions.