This project is very straight forward in terms of its construction so an intermediate robot builder can easily handle this. It will only consume a couple of hours to build this Wi-Fi spybot using a network camera, a wireless router, and a basic RC car as shown in the photo below and the video of the complete robot driving. Along with these main components are the Barracuda Wi-Fi robot controller, Ethernet cables, 5V regulator for camera, 7.2V RC batteries, and other needed tools.

Hacking the RC car from Radio Shack or from other sources is the first step to start building the Wi-Fi robot or spybot. A roll cage has been built on top after gutting. From the picture below, the 3 RC batteries are seen mounted in the gutted truck. The main motor will be powered by the two red batteries as well as the Barracuda Wi-Fi controller. The steering servo, 5V regulator for the camera, and Linksys router will be powered by the blue 7.2V battery.

The 3 batteries make the robot Wi-Fi spybot more reliable with longer time of operation, although having 3 batteries is not really required. It would be fine to run it straight from two packs since the Linksys router can handle 40V along with the 5V regulator. The only problem will be the power for the steering servo which would require additional 5V regulator to run the camera and servo.

To install the steering servo, a standard RC servo will then be retro fitted after gutting out the steering box as shown below. True proportional steering is preferred although others would use the steering mechanism that comes with the RC car.

On the next image, the Barracuda Wi-Fi controller was installed which will be used to control the robot. It starts by extending the leads coming from the motor by soldering an extra wire. Connected to the terminal block is the yellow lead from the motor. The Barracuda Wi-Fi controller is powered by the batteries connected in series. The servo is connected to the green terminal block while the servo’s signal wire is connected to the white wire. The servo’s ground and the third 7.2V battery are connected to the red wire. Each of the two output ports of the Barracuda can be individually configured as an RC output, digital output, or digital or analog input. This makes the Barracuda very flexible to use.

The photo below is captured during the power up of the servo, camera, and router by soldering the power and ground together for the 5V regulator and by taking the mating connector that will connect to the batteries connector. The 5V regulator is attached to the rear battery. The power wires are used for the servo and the power plug is used for the Linksys. A detailed view is shown in the video below.

The base IP address 192.168.1.1 should be configured on the router while the stock IP address 192.168.1.0 is configured for the Barracuda. An IP that works with that of the router and Barracuda is also configured to the camera. With the configuration program that comes with it, the IP can be changed to whatever is desired. The two Ethernet cables are used to connect the Barracuda Wi-Fi robot controller and camera to the router.

To drive the car, the Barracuda controller comes with a sample program and source code. Driving can be started when the sample program for the Barracuda is run after the car is powered up and the camera is connected to the browser. A PS3 controller plugged into the computer can also be used for control which the Barracuda supports. The image below shows the final device when everything is connected.