“We have all seen cool videos of expensive cars like those from tesla and google driving by itself over public roads. While they are very impressive they are out of reach for most makers and DIY’ers. That is why I decided to make my own fully autonomous vehicle which uses some of the same advanced Ai and computer vision technologies that tesla, google and other companies use for their autonomous driving but for a fraction of the price!
In this project I am going to show you how you can turn any electric vehicle into a fully autonomous vehicle capable of driving by itself over real public roads! This works by using some advanced Ai detection and Ai learning technologies to make an Ai model predict steering and throttle responses according to the image coming from a camera. To see it work for real and a short introduction on the system, watch the video above.
Supplies needed:
1x vehicle with electric drive train. I use an electric kids ATV.
1x powerful desktop pc/laptop with Nvidia graphics. I use a GTX1080 with an Intel i7 Cpu.
1x mains power (gas) generator if you are using a pc. A laptop can run from its internal battery.
1x Xbox Kinect
1x wifi router for telemetry
1x Arduino Nano with USB cable
1x H bridge driver BTS7960
1x windshield wiper motor from a car
1x large sprocket (around 40 teeth)
1x small sprocket (around 13 teeth)
1x chain
2x safety buttons
1x large 10k potentiometer with metal shaft
Steel tubes to build a frame
A couple meters of wires.
Old ethernet cables work nicely
Some wood
Welding machine and angle grinder
Basic tools”