Fischertechnik Maker Kit Car
Off to the Race Track
© Lead Image © mechanik, 123RF.com
Build a remote control car with the Fischertechnik Maker Kit Car, MicroPython, and ESP32 microcontrollers.
Sometimes a project idea fails because of the hardware setup: Maybe the parts you chose do not match, a component you need is unavailable for weeks on end, or the design turns out to be so unstable that the whole thing unravels. Being aware of these problems, Fischertechnik offers a robust basis for building mobile robots in the form of their Maker models. You can choose which controller, which programming language, and which electronic components you want to use. You can currently get three models: a car, an omni-wheel vehicle, and a walkabout robot with four legs.
This article looks at the Maker Kit Car construction kit [1] and how to control the model remotely using MicroPython on two ESP32 microcontrollers.
The Maker Kit Car construction kit, which costs just south of EUR100, lets you build a car model from a total of 119 parts. You can find detailed online assembly instructions [2] that show each individual step as a small animation. If you are unsure about a build stage, you can view the model from all sides in the 3D view (Figure 1). There is only one fairly challenging build step: assembling the differential requires fiddling with small gearwheels that might fall off again.
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