Self-Driving Upcycled Cybertruck

by typing10 in Circuits > Robots

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Self-Driving Upcycled Cybertruck

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Ever since the first Cybertrucks have started showing up around town, I've wanted to make one myself. Like it or not, the Cybertruck is instantly recognizable. It also lends itself to eaisily being created from simple materials. There are plenty of tutorials for making paper and cardboard Cybertrucks, but none of them were all that interesting. Starting from scratch, I decided to make a RC and self-driving cardboard Cybertruck. This is a relatively easy project, but produces a very clean and impressive result.

Supplies

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For this project, you will need:

  1. 4 motors
  2. 2 motor drivers (or 1 that can drive 2 motors)
  3. 1 joystick (optional, only if you prefer a joystick over other control format)
  4. 1 microcontroller / Arduino
  5. 1 battery (anything that can power the motors)

You will also need:

  1. Cardboard (I upcycled the entire body of the truck from a single Amazon box)
  2. Jumper cables (or some other way to make electrical connections)
  3. IR reciever and remote (the remote can be a TV remote if you want)
  4. Hot glue / super glue
  5. Ultrasonic distance sensor

Cut the Body Pieces

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Start by cutting out the body pieces for the truck. You can make it any size you want (by tracing or printing off side views of the truck), but here are the dimensions I used as a guide. From right to left - 21.4x5.7 in, 14.75x5.7 in; the two non-rectangular pieces have side lengths 3 in, 7.1 in, 9.5 in, and 3 in. Again, it's better to print or trace these pieces if possible, but the dimensions are here as a guide.

You will also need to cut holes for the wheels, as can be seen in the second image, as well as a hole for the truck bed. These don't need to be exact, but the two profile pieces should have wheel holes in roughly the same place.

Assembling the Truck

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Now that you have the majority of the pieces cut out, let's glue them all together. Fold the piece with the truck bed hole in it over the two side pieces and glue them together. Cutting halfway through the cardboard on the outside of the fold makes this process much easier. Make sure to only do this when you have the pieces on the truck! This way, you will always cut in the right place.

The second step is to glue the bottom plate in. There are no dimensions for this, as you will have to cut it specifically to your truck. Basically, it should fit in snugly on each end, leaving room for the wheels on the sides. I had to use another piece in the middle to reinforce it; if you do end up doing this, make sure the wheel holes are still unobstructed.

Attach Motors

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Now it's time to add the motors. You will need to cut out some wheels that are slightly smaller than the wheel holes, then glue them onto the end of the motor shaft. Glue the motors on the bottom of the truck and make sure they are all secure. The wires will need to be inside the truck for the next step; I poked some holes through the bottom and fed them through there. You can also slip them through the gap between the base of the truck and the sides, but make sure to secure them! They will get caught on the wheels if you don't.

Once you've added the motors, also glue the distance sensor to the front of the car to be wired up in the next step.

Wiring

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Before starting this section of the Instructable, just note that the image above is not supposed to be used as a wiring guide. It is simply there to show you that yes, these projects get messy. The wiring is actually pretty simple, so long as you follow these instructions:

  1. Right-hand motors ground to motor driver ground1
  2. Right-hand motors power to motor driver power1
  3. Left-hand motors ground to motor driver ground2
  4. Left-hand motors power to motor driver power2
  5. Motor driver control pins (x4) to Arduino pins 7, 6, 5, and 4
  6. Motor driver power OUT to Arduino Vin
  7. Motor driver ground to Arduino ground and battery ground
  8. Motor driver power IN to battery power
  9. IR receiver power and ground to Arduino power and ground
  10. IR receiver signal to Arduino pin 3
  11. Distance sensor power to Arduino power
  12. Distance sensor ground to Arduino ground
  13. Distance sensor trigger and echo to Arduino pins 1 and 2 (respectively)

With everything (hopefully!) wired correctly, let's finish out the project with some programming!

Coding

Using Arduino IDE, upload the following code to the truck. Note that you may have to change the IR remote values based on your own remote's button values.

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <IRremote.hpp>



void forward() {
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
digitalWrite(6, HIGH);
digitalWrite(7, LOW);
Serial.println("f");
}
void backward() {
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
digitalWrite(6, LOW);
digitalWrite(7, HIGH);
Serial.println("b");
}
void turn(bool isRight) {
if (isRight) {
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
digitalWrite(6, LOW);
digitalWrite(7, HIGH);
Serial.println("r");
} else {
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
digitalWrite(6, HIGH);
digitalWrite(7, LOW);
Serial.println("l");
}
}
void stop() {
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
digitalWrite(6, LOW);
digitalWrite(7, LOW);
Serial.println("s");
}

void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
pinMode(6, OUTPUT);
pinMode(7, OUTPUT);
pinMode(2, INPUT); //IR reciever pin

Serial.begin(9600);

IrReceiver.begin(3);
}
int timerToStop = 0; //make sure we actually stop
bool isSelfDriving = false;
void loop() {
timerToStop++;
if (IrReceiver.decode()) {
timerToStop = 0;
IrReceiver.resume();
}
if (timerToStop > 40) {
stop();
} else {
if (IrReceiver.decodedIRData.command == 0x2) {
isSelfDriving = true;
} if (IrReceiver.decodedIRData.command == 0xE) { //up
forward();
isSelfDriving = false;
} else if (IrReceiver.decodedIRData.command == 0x6) { //down
isSelfDriving = false;
backward();
} else if (IrReceiver.decodedIRData.command == 0xB) { //right
isSelfDriving = false;
turn(true);
} else if (IrReceiver.decodedIRData.command == 0x9) { //left
isSelfDriving = false;
turn(false);
} else if (isSelfDriving == false) {
stop();
}
}
if (isSelfDriving) {
forward();
if (readDistance() < 0.3) {
turn(false);
delay(1000);
}
}
}
float readDistance() {
long duration;
float distance;


pinMode(1, OUTPUT);

pinMode(2, INPUT);

digitalWrite(1, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(1, LOW);

duration = pulseIn(2, HIGH);

distance = duration * 0.0343 / 2;

return constrain(distance / 400.0, 0.0, 1.0);
}

Watch It Drive!

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Now that your self-driving Cybertruck is done, have some fun with it! There are many, many ways this project could be improved, and I hope to revisit it in the future. If you're interested in adding to your own Cybertruck, here are a few ideas:

  1. More distance sensors for smarter self-driving
  2. FPV camera (using ESP32cam or off-the-shelf camera)
  3. [Upcycled] Off-road tires
  4. LED light bar, brake lights, turn signals, etc.

Let me know if you added something new and fun to your truck; it's always great to see what people come up with! Until then, have a great rest of your day!

Downloads

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