Raspberry Pi Car Tutorial

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Prepare the following materials:

1) Raspberry Pi

The one I used is Raspberry Pi 3 model B, purchased for about 300 on Taobao.

Some notes on purchasing Raspberry Pi:

1) When purchasing, ask the seller whether it comes with a charger and charging cable, most do not come with them.

Why buy an extra power line and charger? Because this can adjust the voltage to 5V and current to 2.5A, better protecting the Raspberry Pi.

2) You can purchase a protective case for the Raspberry Pi as needed, prices range from a few to twenty or thirty, generally, the case comes with a cooling fan, so you don’t need to buy a heat sink.

2) Car Parts

Search for “smart car” directly on Taobao, purchase a set that includes acrylic plates, motors, screws, etc.

Friendly reminder: Ask the seller for the wires to connect the motors!

3) Dupont Wires

Dupont wires come in male and female, just buy female-to-female and female-to-male, but if you want to achieve more functions, you can buy female-to-female, male-to-male, and male-to-female.

4) Battery Box

Purchase a battery box that can hold four AA batteries.

5) L298N Motor Driver Module

This module is a very important module that drives the car to move!

6) TF Card/SD Card

Used for storing data, please ask the seller if it can be used in Raspberry Pi, memory size should be greater than or equal to 16GB.

What to do first after getting the materials?

1) About Raspberry Pi

Check if the Raspberry Pi can work properly.

Most Raspberry Pi purchased on Taobao have a shipping insurance, please check if your Raspberry Pi can work properly in time.

So how to check?

You need to install the system on the Raspberry Pi first, with a graphical interface. This brings up another question: many people see online that you must buy a monitor and keyboard for Raspberry Pi?

Actually, it is not necessary. If you search on Baidu, there are many tutorials on installing Raspberry Pi, but that is too cumbersome. I recommend finding a seller who can help you with remote installation for free when purchasing Raspberry Pi, which saves you the tedious work of installing Raspberry Pi. Of course, if you want to explore how to install it yourself, you can do that too.

After the seller helps you install it, please open the Raspberry Pi interface to see if you can go online normally, etc.

2) About Car Parts

Check if the car parts are damaged, whether the car accessories are complete, mainly including: 4 motor drives, 2 acrylic plates, 4 wheels, several screws, motor wires. (Actual situation depends on the list you purchased at that time)

3) Do the infrared modules and ultrasonic modules recommended by the seller need to be purchased?

If you want to achieve the tracking function and automatic obstacle avoidance function for the car in the future, I suggest you buy it; otherwise, you don’t need to buy it.

A brief introduction to the materials

1) Raspberry Pi

A functional diagram of the 40 pins of Raspberry Pi.

2) L298N Module Pin Diagram

Why understand the pins of the module?

Because each pin has its own function. For example:

GND: Ground;

5V, 12V: Pins used to connect power.

Doing these preparatory works can better ensure that our car runs!