Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks

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13

13. How to Make RC

Cars Play Laser Tag

I used to work at a consulting firm that specialized in toy design. I was the

chief engineer and produced 20 to 30 complete prototype (read: hacked)

toys per year. One of my favorite projects was hacking radio-controlled

(RC) cars.

Radio-controlled cars and trucks are ideal toys for hacking. They’re cheap,

easily disassembled, and provide a lot of hacking opportunities. For

example, you can create a small, autonomous robot; a robot that chases

the family cat; a light-following vehicle; or a radio-controlled (RC) car that

responds to commands sent from your TV’s IR remote control.

In this hack, I’ll show you how to hack an RC car to make it play laser tag.

Instead of simply racing, the cars can shoot at one another, inflicting and

sustaining damage with every hit. To build this hack, you will equip two

off-the-shelf RC cars with a microprocessor, a radio link, an IR transmitter,

and an IR receiver.

Most radio-controlled vehicles receive power via a DC drive motor that

propels the vehicle forward and backward, and another DC motor that

turns the steering mechanism to the right and left. Higher-end models use

a flammable liquid fuel and move much faster than the all-electric models.

In this hack, you need to use the electric-only models.

Cost

Time

Difficulty

$50–100

a weekend

difficult

Credits ...