Tele-Presence - Radio Control Car
Created November 2000
I got this idea one day (possibly from seeing one too many episodes of Robot Wars) to create a Tele-Presence vehicle. I decided to attach a video camera and transmitter to a remote controlled car. This is what I ended up with . . .
Note: You can click on any image on this page to view a larger
version of that image.
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This is no ordinary remote-controlled car. It did come from the factory with knobby tires, a fast motor, and digital-proportional steering . . . |
. . . but I added some things of my own. That black square object on the rear spoiler is actually a tiny color video camera. |
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And that curious black box strapped underneath in the back contains a video transmitter and battery pack. |
This is what it all looks like from the front. |
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The video image from the car can be displayed on a portable TV receiver, which I have attached to the car's remote controller. (It is easier to operate with these two connected.) |
This is a sample of what you can see on the portable TV screen. You can see everything in front of the car, as well as which way the front wheels are turned. |
You can drive the car around with the
remote control, and see what the car sees on the viewscreen - it is almost
like you are sitting in the driver's seat!
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Here are some views from the perspective
of the on-board camera, as displayed on a full-size television screen.
I am driving the car around my living room - while sitting in the back bedroom!
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Note the rather confused-looking cat peering out from underneath the dining room table. Little Elroy is not quite sure what to think about this new "creature." (Sorry about the reflection of the table lamp in the television screen.) |
I designed and built the camera/transmitter as a standalone unit, so I could later migrate it to other vehicles.
Only video is transmitted - not audio, so unfortunately you can't
hear anything. There are technical as well as legal issues involved with this.