Monthly Archives: June 2017

Car Heads Up Display Using LED Strip

13 Replies

This is the next step in my mission to make my car function 7 years newer and feel like a jet cockpit.

(click here if the above video isn’t loading)

I wanted a HUD, Heads Up Display to my car. The main purpose is to let me keep my eyes on the road and still be aware of my speed without looking down, hence “heads up”. This idea has been used in fighter jets for decades now.

I do not like any of the other ones on the market today, they all try to do “too much”. I wanted something more simple and elegant.

My design is a simple RGB capable individually controllable LED strip that reflect off my windshield.

I used the “DotStar” from Adafruit Industries, which uses APA102 LEDs. The brain is a Teensy 3.2, which is connected to my car’s CAN bus via a OBD-II connector (the diagnostic port that you can read the engine computer from).

It is programmed to have three different modes: voltmeter, tachometer, and speedometer. The mode switching is “context aware”: When the car is moving, the mode changes to speedometer. If I rev the engine Continue reading →

DetCord – 1 lb Antweight Combat Robot

Leave a reply


My 2018 competitor, with a titanium horizontal blade from FingerTech Robotics. I felt like rebuilding a drum spinner twice is too boring so gotta change up the weapon choice every year.

I was the winner of that fight because of the driving I did after my blade broke off. My radio is a FrSky Taranis Q X7 and it has adjustable curves for everything, so I actually had better driving control, better than most other competitors.

The steel shaft of the motor is the problem, apparently a hollow steel shaft isn’t hard enough to handle the impacts. The next video shows the second time the motor shaft broke. I did actually stick a #4-40 steel bolt into the hollow part, it may have made the problem worse, this time instead of just the shaft snapping, the entire plate holding the bearing shattered.

RoboGames 2018

Just dumping media here


Major Components:

  • Banebots T40 wheels and hubs (possibly replaced by custom molded wheels soon)
  • Pololu micro metal gearbox motors (Sanyo style), 6V HPCB, 75:1 gear ratio
  • Fingertech tinyESCs for drive
  • EMAX 30A brushless BLheli_S Bullet ESC
  • EMAX RS2205-S brushless motor with steel shaft
  • Fingertech titanium weapon blade, 6 inch long, 3/16 inch thick
  • FrSky XMR receiver
  • Delrin/Acetal top and bottom plates, laser cut
  • 3D printed body using NylonX (chopped carbon fiber infused nylon)
  • Battery is 2S1P LiPo 20C about 800mAH (advertised as 1000mAH but I don’t trust them)