V3 Kinetic

A minimalist Wi-Fi RC trike controller built around an ESP8266, with independent rear-wheel drive, servo steering, haptic feedback, and a transmission watchdog.🛞

Features

• Wi-Fi control through an ESP8266 access point
• Independent control of both rear motors
• Servo-based front steering
• Dual-wheel / synchronized-wheel mode
• WebSocket control on port 81
• Automatic stop if transmission is lost
• Built-in LED status feedback
• Mobile-friendly touch controls
• Haptic feedback through navigator.vibrate()

Setup

• Open the .ino file.
• Find the comment marking the webpage section.
• In the V3Kinetic.html, update servo_centre variable and servo slider logic according to arrangement.
• Paste the complete HTML controller code inside the PROGMEM webpage string at that location.
• Set the servo center to your actual mechanical center by updating servo_centre variable.
• Set the servo limits to the actual safe range of your servo by replacing 0–90 with your measured minimum and maximum values.
• Upload the .ino to the ESP8266.
• Power the V3 Kinetic trike.
• Connect your phone/computer to the Wi-Fi network: V3 Kinetic
• Password: AgiI-BAS0007(404)
• Open (on any browser): 192.168.4.1

The controller communicates with the ESP8266 using WebSockets on port 81.

FPV Setup

(optional)

• Using scrcpy, any mobile phone can be mounted on V3 Kinetic acting as an FPV cam.
• Open a terminal window in scrcpy folder on your PC.
• Connect your phone via USB to the adb.
• Ensure both the PC and phone are on the same wi-fi/hotspot network.
• Next, to switch to wifi connection, type adb tcpip 5555, where 5555 can be any free ip port.
• Now, enter the following command: adb connect {phoneip}:5555 where {phoneip} is the actual ip address of the phone in the network.
• Once adb is connected, following command can be used to access the camera sensor

scrcpy --video-source=camera --camera-id={cam} --camera-size={size} --camera-fps={fps} --camera-zoom={zoom} --no-audio --video-codec=h264

where:

• {cam} is the camera id → 0 for back cam and 1 for front cam
• {size} is the stream resolution like 1280x720 or 640x480 (using small sizes can help reduce latency on a weak connection)
• {fps} is the fps setting of the stream, like 15, 24, 30, etc.
• {zoom} refers to camera zoom, typically 1-4
• additionally, --camera-torch can be added to turn on the flashlight

Architecture

Phone mounted on V3 Kinetic → Wi-Fi → adb connection → scrcpy camera access → Live video stream on the PC screen

Architecture

Controller → Wi-Fi AP → WebSocket → ESP8266 → Servo + Motor Drivers

The controller sends the current actuator values, while the ESP8266 watchdog stops the motors and returns the servo to its safe position when communication is lost.

Hardware

Built around an ESP8266 NodeMCU, an L298N motor driver, two drive motors, and a servo-steered front wheel.

Controller

• Wheel 1: Controls the first rear motor.
• Wheel 2: Controls the second rear motor.
• Servo: Controls the front steering angle. Release it to automatically return to its center.
• Dual: Both rear wheels can be controlled independently.
• Sync: Synchronizes both rear wheels to the Wheel control, turning the two-wheel controls into a single drive control.
• Neutral: Cuts power from the motors and returns the servo to its center position.

sync mode

dual mode

AI Disclosure

Large Language Models (LLMs) including ChatGPT and Gemini were used as productivity assistants during the development of this project.

• Human Core: The entire physical circuitry, Arduino IDE firmware, HTML controller structure, custom CSS styling, and core debugging were architected and implemented by the developer.
• AI Assistance: LLMs were utilized strictly to help scaffold the JavaScript boilerplate and initial WebSocket connection structure, along with minor CSS boxing issues.
• Developer Oversight: Advanced JavaScript layers—including the real-time UI controls and haptic feedback logic—were custom-written by hand. No automated suggestions were accepted blindly; all code was manually reviewed, verified, and integrated by the developer.

Third-Party Software

This project uses scrcpy by Genymobile for Android device camera access.

scrcpy is used as an external, unmodified tool and is not included or modified in this repository.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0.