Joystick-Driven EV Mod
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2025 7:36 am
Hello all,
First time user/poster here - just got back from Burning Man (burningman.org) and I'm on a mission to build a (minimalist) art car. The idea would be to strip an EV (I'm leaning towards a Gen1 Nissan Leaf) down to chassis and build an artistic cab on top.
One thing that'd provide flexibility into the art piece would be the ability to joystick the car, rather than using existing pedals/steering wheel. For example this could potentially allow me to sit in a very high position (like 1.5m away from car floor) and be able to drive the car. For context, please note that MAXIMUM driving speed at BM is 5mph (~8kmh) so I'm assuming the following:
- no need for breaking as I imagine the VCU has some type of ramp up/down PID controller, and
- no need for granular speed control - a simple Slow/Fast/Faster signaling scheme should work
- two more special signals can also be sent using joystick + triggers: stop and reverse
With that in mind, and leaving the issue of how to steer for another post, is it feasible to interface with the VCU and send simple signals?
Bear in mind:
I have just enough expertise to program a simple hobby MCU like an Arduino (though I have friends who are professional hardware/software engineers who can help if needed), don't have much experience with cars nor building art... what I do have is access to a bit of funds, quality time spent with kids building stuff, 51 weeks to finish, and highly motivated.
Any discussion from general thoughts about my choice of chassis, the goal of driving-by-wire, and the approach of keeping the car intact and simply talking to the VCU would be much much appreciated - as well as any offer for collaboration/help to getting it done
Thank you in advance,
/RoboFred
If you are curious about Art Cars at Burning Man, you can see some photos here:
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b ... 1400&dpr=2
First time user/poster here - just got back from Burning Man (burningman.org) and I'm on a mission to build a (minimalist) art car. The idea would be to strip an EV (I'm leaning towards a Gen1 Nissan Leaf) down to chassis and build an artistic cab on top.
One thing that'd provide flexibility into the art piece would be the ability to joystick the car, rather than using existing pedals/steering wheel. For example this could potentially allow me to sit in a very high position (like 1.5m away from car floor) and be able to drive the car. For context, please note that MAXIMUM driving speed at BM is 5mph (~8kmh) so I'm assuming the following:
- no need for breaking as I imagine the VCU has some type of ramp up/down PID controller, and
- no need for granular speed control - a simple Slow/Fast/Faster signaling scheme should work
- two more special signals can also be sent using joystick + triggers: stop and reverse
With that in mind, and leaving the issue of how to steer for another post, is it feasible to interface with the VCU and send simple signals?
Bear in mind:
I have just enough expertise to program a simple hobby MCU like an Arduino (though I have friends who are professional hardware/software engineers who can help if needed), don't have much experience with cars nor building art... what I do have is access to a bit of funds, quality time spent with kids building stuff, 51 weeks to finish, and highly motivated.
Any discussion from general thoughts about my choice of chassis, the goal of driving-by-wire, and the approach of keeping the car intact and simply talking to the VCU would be much much appreciated - as well as any offer for collaboration/help to getting it done
Thank you in advance,
/RoboFred
If you are curious about Art Cars at Burning Man, you can see some photos here:
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=b ... 1400&dpr=2