The WiiKart, a wireless go kart

Whoops… Looks like we covered this already. My mistake.

In case the name didn’t tip you off, this fun little kart was inspired by MarioKart. The goal was to build a functional go kart that could be controlled via the Nintendo Wiimote. They did a pretty good job and kept it fairly simple too. They designed a frame that vaguely mimics the shape of the carts in the game. The steering is handled by a 4″ stroke linear actuator. This was initially hooked directly to the tie-rod, but they found it to be too slow. Their solution was to put a lever in between the two with a 1to 3 ratio. This made everything much snappier.

Though they were capable of implementing PWM on the motors in their hardware, they opted to stick with full on, full off because of the push-button nature of the controller. The connection and communication are handled with an Arduino and they don’t mention what bluetooth module they use.

You can see in the video below it is fairly responsive and has more than enough power to lug a passenger over some varied terrain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH04PnpoZP0

Comments

  1. hunternet93 says:
  2. Aaron says:

    Awesome! I can fall off the back and keep driving!

  3. deadlyfoez says:

    “They did a pretty good job and kept it fairly simple too”

    Using a wiimote is far from keeping it simple, it is adding latency and complexity and more points for possible failure. It’s a cool POC, but extremely unpractical.

  4. Colecago says:

    Actually its a WiiiKart, from the website:
    “We know! Wii doesn’t have three i’s in it, but we really don’t want to get sued by Nintendo. ”
    😀

  5. Isaac says:

    Good lord, what is wrong with the poor child at 0:36 in the video o.0

  6. truthspew says:

    More interesting is that it is an electric go-kart. Pretty cool!

  7. dext3r says:

    Hahah it would be hilarious if they were in the middle of a turn and the wiimote link failed. Infinite circle turning! hahaha

  8. Alan says:

    I’ve been considering using the wii driving remote for motorized wheelchairs for children’s hospitals.

    It might be a more fun way for the kids to get around…

  9. wretch says:

    Fly-by-wire(less). How long until Boeing and Airbus use this in their planes?

    • Rollyn01 says:

      So that’s why I have to turn off my phone… And here I thought fly-by-wire(less) was some magic mumbo jumbo to keep me from texting.

      But anywho, does it power slides like originals?

  10. gata says:

    GO TO:

    aidanscollegefund.com

    🙂

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