I have a project that I've discussed with a friend.
He has a boat that he's been working on for a couple of years, and he's been talking about wanting to steer it remotely, from a couple of meters away so that he doesnt have to be stuck sitting behind the steering wheel when he's just floating about.
I've never used Arduino before but I feel like the modularity of it would make it the perfect match for this project.
We were thinking that we connect a mechanical cylinder which can go in and out to the steering wheel somehow, and then connect that to an arduino which is connected to a remote control through IR.
I tried googling but I haven't found any projects similar to this - does anyone have any tips or tricks or recommendation of parts to use?
Any good pointers or potential red flags?
I just thought about the infrared recievers and how they need a clear line of sight, this probably wont work since he might sit at the front of the boat or somewhere where he cannot point the transmitter straight at the reciever - what other remote connection possibilities are there that would fit this use case?
Thanks
IR is not a good idea because the receiver is quite directed. Let the boat make a little turn and it can't receive any commands. But there are RF transmitters usable with and Arduino.
I'm trying to find a good remote for it but I cant seem to find anything that looks like something I want. I want it to resemble a R/C car remote so you get a cool feeling when steering and not just have it as an app on your phone
Personally, I would look into the boat’s steering mechanism and see what could be added to control the rudder or propeller/outboard motor.
Electric linear actuators will not move without the electric current applied, would prevent any manual turning of the wheel, and would scare me with safety concerns to not want to be involved with it.
A stepper motor with gear reduction is more my preference. The output shaft could be connected to a rack-and-pinion system, a gear/pulley shaft, or a crank-and-connecting-rod. When the stepper motor has power, it can hold the steering wheel in position; when the electric power to the stepper motor is turned off, the steering wheel should turn manually nearly the same as before the modification.
I'm not sure an Arduino would add anything here, from what you have described so far. Can't you simply use RC model vehicle components? (Transmitter/receiver, servos etc)
