Browser Based Remote Control of Raspberry Pi enabled RC Car

Sammanfattning: There are a variety of network technologies with different uses. Technologies such as WiFi and Ethernet are often used in for example home networks. Technologies such as Starlink make it possible to access the internet with high bandwidth and low latency globally. There are also cellular networks where improvements have been made with both higher bandwidth and shorter latency in each generation. These improvements enables new applications. For example can 5G be used for tele-operated vehicles. The PicarL project at Karlstads Universitet (KAU) uses an Radio Controlled (RC) car with a video stream which communicate over Web-based Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) to be able to evaluate various network technologies for real-time applications. The main goal with this thesis project is to add functionality to the PicarL project at KAU to enable a Raspberry Pi to be able to control an RC car and to implement a safety system with an emergency brake to the RC car. This thesis project will also compare the use of various network technologies, including 5G, 4G, WiFi and Starlink when controlling the RC car. The control functionality was implemented by building a cable connecting the Raspberry Pi to the Electronic Speed Control (ESC) and steering servo on the RC car and software to generate this Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal to control these components. Support for steering wheel and pedals as an additional input method was also added to improve driving. The safety system consists of a Keep Alive (KA) timer to detect if the communication to the driver is lost and an ultrasonic distance sensor to detect obstacles. Most of these features were successfully implemented with some features, including the emergency brake, obstacle avoidance and keyboard control needing improvements. It was most often no problem driving the RC car with any network technology, although the video stream would occasionally freeze using most network technologies. It was also found that 5G and WiFi provided the shortest latency.