The Power Wheels car was designed for a child to sit in it and
provide manual
steering. To allow for remote control instead of manual
control, we have constructed a servo-controlled 
cam that converts
the
rotational
motion into translational or linear motion. A servo is an
electromechanical device which uses feedback to provide precise starts
and stops for such functions as motors.
The
front wheels will be the ones to steer the rover left and right while the
back wheels move the rover forward and backwards. Power steering has been
implemented on the rover. There are two input pins: one to control the
direction (left and right) and the other to turn the rover on and off. A
potentiometer (a variable resister) allows
feedback of the
position
of the wheels to be sent back. Limit switches will prevent the wheels
from turning too far.
Back Wheels and Controls
The original Power Wheels motors will drive the back wheels
to go forward and backwards and draws a maximum
of 12 (during acceleration) and an average of 9
amps.
controlled by anyone with an internet connection (probably by going
to a webpage where an applet will be installed onto the browser). The
rover is a modified rear-wheel drive black Power Wheels Ford F150. It has
a maximum speed
of 3.5 miles per hour both forwards and backwards and has a 65 pound
carrying capacity. The remote user will issue commands that will be
received by our Linux notebook by wireless ethernet. The notebook will
then transmit the instructions via serial cable to the HC11
microprocessor inside the rover. The microprocessor then issues
instructions to the motor (for forward and backward motion) as well as the
servo to control the front wheels (for directional steering). A
Logitech webcam
mounted to the rover will stream live video back to the remote
user.
