Build a Remote Control Tank with a Raspberry Pi and an Xbox Controller

Build a Remote Control Tank

This vitaminized tank with a Raspberry Pi is made with parts made with a 3D printer and can be controlled remotely through an Xbox controller. And best of all, it is a project that you will be able to carry out on your own without having to invest a lot of money. In case you dare to do something like this this vacation.

Build your Panzer tank with a Raspberry Pi

When you are young, any toy has the potential to offer hours and hours of fun, but it must be recognized that some have special potential. For example, remote-controlled vehicles have always offered that extra amount of fun that you like so much. At least, until its battery runs out and you have to wait for it to recharge to continue playing.

As you grow up, things change, but any device with a remote control that you can control as you please is still just as fun or even more. So, if to all this you add the possibility of being able to build it yourself, then better than better. And to avoid falling into the typical car, how about making a panzer tank with a Raspberry Pi.

Well, that’s what Mellow Fire did, a user we have already talked about on occasion because he is responsible for other interesting projects such as an automatic soap dispenser. Although seeing that Amazon launched its own dispenser with support for Alexa, it either updates it or even lost some appeal.

Returning to the project that interests us, the Panzer tank built by Mellow Fire has different interesting points. The first of them is that anyone could make it because the components are easy to get. Basically you only need a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a couple of motors, a battery and some other element that allows you to move everything later.

Of course, best of all, the tank structure itself can be printed using a 3D printer. So all you have to do is download the design by Tim Clark and get to work.

Once you have it, you just have to connect each component and make use of the software that is also available to any user interested in this project with a Raspberry Pi. One that, in addition, has as an extra the possibility of being controlled through the use of a console control . Thanks to the Xbox gamepad you can handle it as you please around the house or wherever you want to use it. Of course, be careful where you put it because it is still a toy and has its limitations.

Everything you need to make your Raspberry Pi tank

Interested in building your own tank with a Raspberry Pi? Well, as we told you before, here you have everything you need to carry out this project:

  • Raspberry Pi Zero W
  • Motor Driver L298N Mini
  • 3V-6V Gear Motors
  • Buck Converter
  • Tank moddel  (3D print ready design in Thinverse)

Once you have the components, on the FireMarshMallow GitHub page you can find all the necessary software to run the tank, control it remotely and also to be able to add a camera with which to even capture what the tank would “see”.

Without a doubt, a fun project for one and also for the little ones in the house. Because remotely controlling any vehicle is always fun. In addition, it can serve as a basis for other future projects.