For many people having a miniature version of something like a car is already a miracle in itself, but there’s always the possibility to take matters a bit further, as YouTube channels like [diorama111] demonstrate. In this particular case, they took a 1:150 scale model of a Nissan Micra and installed a microcontroller, battery, remote steering and front, rear and indicator lights. Considering the 24.5 x 11.4 x 10.5 mm (LxWxH) size of the scale model, this is no small feat.
The original plastic bottom and wheels are removed, and replaced with a metal frame, as well as steerable front wheels that have a neodymium magnet attached to follow a metal guidance track that can be underneath the road surface. For the brains an ATtiny1616 MCU in QFN format is used to receive commands from the PIC79603 infrared receiver module and drive the motor attached to the rear axle via a DRV8210 motor controller IC. The remaining MCU pins are mostly used for turning the LEDs on the lights and signals on or off.
In the video the miniscule RC car is driven around a course with traffic lights, which gives a good impression of how this could be used in a large scale model of a city, with a hidden rail system to determine car routes. As for keeping the 30 mAh Li-Po battery charged, there’s a charge port on the bottom, but at these low current rates you could have hidden conductive charging points throughout the route as well, assuming you can fit a small enough charging coil in this little space.
(Thanks to [Keith Olson] for the tip)
Very well done indeed. Of course, if it was here in the US, you would have to leave your blinker on the whole time and swerve into the other lane while checking FB on your phone. Actually driving on the wrong side of the road (for us) wouldn’t even cause much of a comment….
Seriously, well done. I which my eyesight was that good.
Only if you’re driving an expensive car;)
I want to roll coal in a teeny tiny pickup truck.
Love the sound effects. I tried to do something similar with something 3x that size and couldn’t find a servo for turning, I like the magnet idea a lot. Might even be possible to get it to self drive based on a small IR emitter in the road.
Anyway, the maker is a master of miniature, amazing!
Motor? Cool.
Steering? Cool.
Oh my god they added turn signals!
Because it’s not a BMW.
Absolutely amazing workmanship!
I cannot help but envy the patience, ingenuity and steady hand of such model makers. The perfect blend of engineering, manufacturing and art.
Would like to see it turn down banana street for scale.
Pull up to Banana Drive-in.
Something does not add up.
At 2:00 the video shows a neodymium magnet used likely as part of some kind of linear motor to make the car turn, but then at 2:55 that part seems to have been removed, and there’s nothing in the schematic to make the car turn left or right.
Still impressive, but I’m not sure how the final part of the video which shows the car driving around and steering was made.
I got it, the magnet is on the front, and interacts with the track. Sometimes reading the video description helps.
“Considering the 24.5 x 11.4 x 10.5 mm (LxWxH) size of the scale model, this is no small feat.”
Rather, it is an incredibly small feat! So small that it’s amazing someone even attempted it let alone succeeded – well done!
I like the organic part vice.
I would’ve started with 6 model cars and ended up with a pile of very smashed plastic after frustration set in. Very well done.
It even mimics the driving speed of the average Micra driving granny!
Super impressive accomplishments! Next? 1/150th Micra Class Racing! Get a Venti Latte and watch the spills thrills and chills!
That is even smaller than my Reliant Kitten (with much better wiring!)
This might be a new world record. Guinness says the todays record is 25mm length.
Really cool. Amzing… To ‘fine’ of work for my eyes … and probably patience.
Only problem is … driving on the wrong side of the road!
I’d love to make a car smaller than this and have been looking for motors like the flat pancake vibration motors but with an output shaft. Has anyone seen something like that?
I would like to buy this
So nice and so small :)