How to make a Remote Control Car
Using littleBits
About littleBits
LittleBits is a platform of easy-to-use electronic building blocks that empower you to invent
anything, from your own remote controlled car to a smart home device. The Bits snap
together with magnets. No soldering, no wiring, and no programming is needed.
Here is an example to show you how it works:
Use the magnets on the module to snap all the parts together
Use green module to output the result you need
Use purple module to control the circuit
Use orange module to expand the circuit
Now let’s get to the fun part. A remote control car have two pieces: a remote control and a
car. The remote control will need 7 parts in total. The car will need 27 parts in total to build
both the front axle and the back axle. The car can only move forward but it can turn around.
We will use littleBits to make the remote control and the car. The whole process will take
about 10 minutes to finish. Let’s first start with the easy part: the remote control.
Building The Remote Control
Modules needed:
Battery with cable *1 : Slide dimmers *3:
Power *1: Wireless transmitter *1:
Mounting board *1:
Step 1: Connect all three slide dimmers to the three outlets on the wireless transmitter.
Step 2: Connect the power to either one of the slide dimmer.
Step 3: Connect the cable to the power and snap the cable on the battery.
Step 4: Mount the whole unit to the mounting board.
Now you have a functional remote control, which looks like this:
Now, let’s move on to the making of the car. Don’t worry, it is only a little more difficult than
the remote control.
Building The Car
Modules needed:
Battery with cable *1: Power *1:
Branch *1: Wireless receiver *1:
Fork *1: Wires *3:
Slide switches *3: DC motors *4:
Bar graphs *2: Mounting boards *2:
Lego Parts needed:
Black sticks (about 5 cm long) *4: Grey wheel (about 3 cm in radius) *4:
Front axle:
Step 1: Connect one bar graph on the right outlet of the wireless receiver. Connect the other
bar graph to the left outlet of the wireless receiver.
Step 2: Connect a wire to the left bar graph.
Step 3: Connect a DC motor to the wire and place the DC motor face left.
Step 4: Connect a slide switch to the bar graph on the right.
Step 5: Connect another DC motor to the slide switch on the right. The DC motor will face
right. Connect a slide switch to this DC motor.
Step 6: Push a black Lego stick through the middle of the grey wheel and push the black
Lego stick into the white connector on the right DC motor. Do the same thing for the left DC
motor.
If you are doing everything right, you will get a circuit like this:
Step 7: Mount the whole circuit on two mounting boards. Two DC motors should be on both
mounting boards.
Step 7: Mount a branch in the middle of two DC motors, and also on both mounting boards
so that two mounting boards would stay together better.
Back axle:
Step 1: Connect a DC motor to the right outlet of the fork and place it face right.
Step 2: Connect a wire to the left outlet of the fork.
Step 3: Connect a slide switch to the wire.
Step 4: Connect another DC motor to the slide switch and place it face left.
Step 5: Push a black Lego stick through the middle of the grey wheel and push the black
Lego stick into the white connector on the right DC motor. Do the same thing for the left DC
motor.
Step 6: Connect a wire to the input of the fork.
If you are doing everything right, you will see a circuit look like this:
Step 7: Connect the wire, the one on the input of the fork, to the middle of the wireless
receiver on the front axle.
Step 8: Mount the back axle on the mounting board.
Final Step: Connect a power and battery to the wireless receiver.
Now you have your own littleBits remote control car.
How to play with the remote control car
Step 1: Turn on all the power, both on the car and on the remote control. Turn on all the slide
switches on the car.
Step 2: Use the slide dimmer on the remote control to maneuver your car. The slide dimmers
on both left and right sides can be used to turn the car left or right by controlling the power
input. The idea is that is one side of the wheel the going faster than the other side, the car
would turn.
Step 3: The slide dimmer in the middle is used to control the back axle. The car can run with
only front axle, but if you need a little more power, you can slide the dimmer to engage the
back axle.
