RC Knight Rider KITT Car With Touchscreen Lua Script (EdgeTX) Control

Radio control Knight Rider KITT 1/10 scale car with a touchscreen interface for sound playback control. The car uses a touchscreen on a Jumper T18 to control sound playback. The touchscreen allows you to select Knight Rider music, KITT quotes or to control KITT's headlights. Brake lights also trigger when the throttle is below 50%. The signals to control the Arduino are sent via FrSky S.Port which is sent from the Lua script on the Jumper.

• Tamiya TT-02 car kit (you can get any TT-02 kit, you won't be using the body or rims)
• Resin or PLA for body print
• KITT 3D model files
• 2x Arduino Nano Every
• 2ft WS2811 LED strip
• 2" speaker
• DFPlayer mini
• Magnetic RC car mounts
• 1/16" clear plastic sheet
• Hookup wire
• Velcro
• Steering servo
• 2s Lipo battery
• Jumper T18 (or other EdgeTX transmitter with touchscreen)
• FrSky X8R receiver
• Aluminum Tamiya rims

There are free 3D model files on Thingiverse but I chose to purchase this file on Etsy. It was split nicely and it was already sized to fit a TT-02 Tamiya body. I wanted this car to be 1/10 scale so that worked nicely. I ended up resin printing the body so I needed to split it into 3 parts. I can't provide the exact files I used because the original was purchased. However, it was only $15.17 or you can use a free one on Thingiverse. I glued the three parts together, filled with Bondo, sanded and primed. I resin printed but you could PLA print and do it all as one piece. My resin printer is not big enough to print it as one or two pieces.

The body mounts on top of a Tamiya TT-02 and is designed to fit it. There are many TT-02 kits. You can order any one. You are not going to be using the included body or the included rims. The assembly is straight from the instructions. I have attached the wheel cover model I printed to mount on the rims. I printed these in resin but you could also use PLA.

I wanted to be able to control playback via my Jumper T18. I modified EdgeTX LibGUI widget to look like a Knight Rider KITT interface. On the right side is a scrollable list of 16 sounds that can selected for playback. You scroll through the list and select the sound you want to play. There are also three hot buttons for Headlights, Turbo Boost and Scanner. The code is available on my site here. I used a Jumper T18 but any EdgeTX transmitter with a touchscreen should work.

The software works by sending numbers via FrSky S.Port to the car. The X8R receiver sends the signal via S.Port to the Arduino. The Arduino reads the transmitted number and uses it to determine what sound file to play.

The front scanner is controlled by an Arduino Nano Every connected to 10 LEDs. This LEDs are mounted in the front scanner slot of the hood. Sound playback is controlled by another Arduino Nano Every mounted on the body. This Nano Every is connected to a DFPlayer mini and a speaker for playback. I'm using an FrSky XR8 receiver to get the signals to the Arduino.

The two Arduino boards are powered from the RC receiver of the TT-02. I used a 5 pin connector to send power from the TT-02 to the car body. This allows the body to be easily connected and disconnected.

The front and rear lights use WS2811 strips. Both use a 9 LED strip. They are glued into the front and rear of the car body. I ran the wires along the sides of the body and hot glued them in place to keep things neat.

I used Krylon Gloss Black for the pain. The windows can be 3D printed with the purchased files. However, I opted to cut acrylic to size and glue the windows in.

The body is mounted on the TT-02 using magnetic mounts. You can order these online from Amazon or a RC hobby shop. I used these. The rear lights sit behind a 1/4 clear piece that you can either 3D print from the parts or cut to shape from a flat piece of plastic. I painted the rear lights black with four clear spots for the lights to shine through. The wheels are aluminum Tamiya rims I purchased here.