Building a Wi-Fi Controlled RC Car with RoboLink

Introduction

Building a remote-controlled car is one of the most rewarding entry points into robotics. With RoboLink and an ESP32, you can create a wireless RC car that you control from your phone with a customizable joystick interface.

In this guide, we'll walk through the entire process from hardware assembly to your first drive.

What You'll Need

• ESP32 development board
• L298N motor driver module
• 4 DC motors with wheels
• Robot car chassis kit
• 7.4V LiPo battery
• Jumper wires
• Micro-USB cable

Wiring the Motor Driver

Connect the L298N motor driver to your ESP32 as follows:

Uploading the Arduino Code

First, install the RoboLink WiFi library from the Downloads page. Then upload this sketch:

#include <RoboLinkWiFi.h>

RoboLinkWiFi robolink;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  robolink.begin("RoboLink_Car", 4210);
  
  // Motor pins
  pinMode(25, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(26, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(27, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(14, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  robolink.update();
  
  int steerX = robolink.getValue("steerX");
  int steerY = robolink.getValue("steerY");
  int speed = robolink.getValue("speed");
  
  // Apply motor logic based on joystick values
  driveMotors(steerX, steerY, speed);
}

Connecting with RoboLink

1. Power on your ESP32
2. Open RoboLink on your phone
3. Tap the connection icon and select Wi-Fi / UDP
4. Enter port 4210 and tap Connect
5. Load the RC Car preset layout

Customizing Your Controller

The default RC Car layout includes a joystick, speed slider, and buttons for horn, lights, brake, and reverse. You can customize any of these:

• Long-press any widget to edit its properties
• Tap Edit to enter layout editor mode
• Add new widgets from the Add Control panel

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional Wi-Fi controlled RC car! From here, you can add features like camera streaming for FPV driving, LED lights, or even autonomous driving capabilities.

Check out our other tutorials for more advanced projects, and share your builds with the community.