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E14 Fun & Games Project Launch - RC Hammering Rubber Duck in a Tub & the PixyCam Rubber Duck Chase Tank

robogary

This project competition isn't really due until March 2026, but here come the holidays in November and December pushing out project build time.

My Fun & Games project entry will be part of a fun STEM presentation called "Ducks with Hammers" at the Mysticon scifi convention  https://mysticonva.com/  in late January 2026. 

It needed to get fleshed out now, so here are the specifications: 

1.  The RC Hammering Duck in the Tub is a radio controlled truck chassis using an Arduino Nano to translate the radio receiver's servo PWM signal to a PWM signal & direction bits to control the H bridge. 

The Nano also controls a DFPlayer Mini for the sound effects. When the Duck is moving, it quacks. When the hammer swings, a tilt switch wired back to the Nano will fire the HAMMER IMPACT audio file. 

The Hammer is controlled by a third channel on the RC transmitter/receiver.  

The Nano also limits the FWD & REV speeds because the main power is a 11.1 V Lipo battery , and the original truck chassis was 6 or 7 V . The chassis steering is upgraded from a hi impedance DC motor to a standard high torque RC servo. 

The design includes a main fuse, a main power switch, and a motor power switch so the Duck can be turned on without any chance of the wheels turning. There will be several buck P.S. for 11V to 6V for servos and 11V to 5V for DFplayer. 

The Rubber Duck will be illuminated from underneath to make sure it is seen from a distance.   There are a couple pushbuttons hidden so the DFplayer can play "Disco Duck" and "Rubber Duckie". 

Kids will have fun driving and hammering with the Hammering Duck in a Tub........

.....but thats not all.........

2. The Hammering Duck is accompanied by an autonomous HERO vehicle (or a VILLAIN vehicle depending on your viewpoint of a hammering Duck as virtuous or as a scoundrel) called the PixyCam Rubber Duck Chase Tank  .

The PixyCam Rubber Duck Chase Tank   will autonomously seek out the RC Hammering Duck in the Tub via PixyCam. Can the Tank find the Duck  ?  Can it catch it ? What will the Tank do to the Duck ? 

Will the Duck Hammer the Tank ?  That all remains to be seen. The PixyCam will provide the relative location of the Duck and its pixel(block) size from front center. Havent decided if tank steering will be by bang-bang regulator or PID.  

The Tank speed is alot slower than the Duck, but the Tank will not stop unless it detects an object in front of its treads (using ping sensors).  I'm thinking the use an Arduino R4 for the tank CPU, using the R4 LED matrix to show when its locked in to the Duck or searching for the Duck. 

The Duck Chase Tank in continuous and relentless pursuit of the Duck will be entertaining. 

Now that I've spilled the beans, what kind of crazy features do you folks think could added to these robots for more childish sparkle to the STEM show ?          

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    Good ideas. Rubber Duck is only 6 inches high, its main purpose is a target the pixy cam tank can uniquely recognize. Pixycam was pillaged from a prior project. It has problems recogniizing colors when the ambient lighting changes, so the rubber duck is going to be lit from underneath. Some cob LEDs were scavenged from free Harbor Freight flashlights to it it. Sad thing, I blew the cob leds today, maybe for the best because they run hot.

    Faults become opportunities, so Im thinking to put white and red leds under the duck. White leds when running and red if it gets hit by a chase tank laser. 

    I have WS2812B led bars in hand, but suspect to have to use another arduino to operate them because the i2c may interfere with the pulse in command reading the radio receiver pwm. Need to keep it simple. 

    Now I get to put on my sourcing hat to go LED shopping.  :-) 

  • in reply to robogary
    robogary said:
    Now I get to put on my sourcing hat to go LED shopping.

    I'm not sure if we should take that literally after having seen some of your other hats Slight smile

  • Using an Arduino Nano to translate the RC signals and run the duck’s hammer plus sound effects is a clever move. Then the PixyCam tank hunting down the duck adds a whole game dynamic with chase and dodge elements. I’m curious have you thought about adding a live video feed so spectators can watch the duck‑tank chase from a remote screen?

  • in reply to shanewrn

    Thank you shanewrn for the insightful question on the video feed.   The 1st live showing of the rubber duck and chase tank are at a scifi-ish convention, a Saturday morning STEM program about 90 minutes duration.

    Streaming live video in a remote location is alot of prep work, so we stick to recording photos and videos. Its better that way, we can edit out idle time and fuzz out faces of folks and kids that would rather not be in the media circulation. 

    The kids will likely be more interested in operating the RC rubber duck and hammering stuff than watching an autonomous chase scene unfold. Truth be told, the tank is alot slower than the duck, it will never catch it real time. Alot like the rabbit and the hare, the duck has to park and nap for the tank to catch it. 

  • in reply to robogary
    robogary said:
    Truth be told, the tank is alot slower than the duck, it will never catch it real time.

    Presumably the tank doesn't need to catch it if it has a laser though. Speed of light versus speed of rubber duck.

    Tank could also catch it if it manages to intercept it rather then simply chasing behind it. Chose your algorithm wisely commander...

    Instead of a tank you could perhaps have rubber ducklings Slight smile

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    Oooooo thats really naughty Bad Santa. :-) Grinning 

  • in reply to robogary
    robogary said:
    The target needs to be big enough to hit without elaborate 2 axis positioning, A small solar panel or an IR receiver array ?

    You could perhaps add a diverging lens to give you different target coverage patterns. Add some practical use of optics to your presentation.

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    I spent the ENTIRE day today experimenting with 5mW red lasers and phototransistors and ir receivers and the conclusion is any laser would be for looks and it would be paired with an ir LED. An ir receiver has good beam width and enough range to make it work and look like a laser cannon. Lucky I already have all these parts leftover from past projects.

    The ir receivers are very picky about the signal and need to be modulated ay 38kHz. Using another arduino nano, creating 38khz and cycling it every 400 usec kept the ir receiver happy. The conclusion is the Rubber Duck Arduino nano only has to look for a falling edge of that ir signal to trigger a 'hit' as seen by the ir receiver VS1838. 

    I have a flashing red led package to install under the duck to turn on if it gets "hit" and will trigger a short play of Chopins Funeral March. 

    Next challenge: White cob LEDs were installed under the rubber duck to illuminate it as the Tank PixyCam interprets colors differently under different ambient light. Self illumination will negate that impact. Earlier this week the cob LEDs failed while testing. 

    LED rings would look better under the duck, and LED rings are inexpensive when bought as an auto trim accessory. I just noticed today, the LED rings I ordered are just 70 mm across and consume 6 watts. ROFL they will need to have vents or heat sinks to keep from cooking the duck Rofl .

  • in reply to robogary
    robogary said:
    and will trigger a short play of Chopins Funeral March

    A nod back to the old "Gun Fight" arcade machine game perhaps ?

    robogary said:
    ROFL they will need to have vents or heat sinks to keep from cooking the duck

    In the movies, lasers are often used to melt the target Slight smile