You can build a small self-driving RC car with Donkeycar, an open-source, Python-based platform for hobbyists and students. This is an educational robot-car project for a controlled course—not a route to a road-ready, full-size autonomous passenger car.
What you’ll build
Donkeycar adds autonomous-driving experiments to an RC car. Its modular software can combine inputs such as a camera, GPS receiver, or controller with outputs to a steering servo and electronic speed controller (ESC), or to a differential-drive setup. The project supports neural-network, computer-vision, and GPS-based approaches, and provides a simulator for experimenting before or alongside a hardware build. See the Donkeycar project overview and its GitHub repository.
The project documentation calls Donkeycar the “Hello World” of autonomous driving: a flexible way to learn and experiment. Its stated audience is hobbyists and students.
Choose a chassis and gather parts
Decide where the car will run before choosing its scale. Donkeycar’s hardware guide describes 1/16-scale cars as suitable for larger spaces, including large offices or outdoor settings, but warns that their speed and weight can lead to damaging crashes. For a smaller indoor area, it recommends 1/28 scale, which is slower and lighter.
#1 Best Overall
- OFFICIALLY LICENSED PORSCHE RACE CAR MERCH + PREMIUM GIFT BOX: Officially authorized by Porsche, this RC race car kit perfectly replicates the iconic 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25’s authentic styling with opening doors and working lights (approx. 10.3in L x 4.3in W x 2.8in H)—ideal for die-hard racing fans. Packaged in a sleek, premium gift box, it’s a top choice for birthday, holiday, or back-to-school gifts for kids ages 8+ and racing enthusiasts
- BEGINNER-FRIENDLY 76-PC ASSEMBLY KIT: This 76-piece RC car kit is easy to assemble by adults in 30-45 minutes with a complete, easy-to-follow instruction manual that provides step-by-step guidance. *Note: Assembly time may vary for kids of different ages building alone
- FULL-FUNCTION 2.4GHz INTERFERENCE-FREE REMOTE CONTROL: The 2.4GHz remote offers stable, long-range control of 10-20 meters (33-66ft) in open areas with full driving functions: forward, reverse, stop, left turn, and right turn. No signal interference means kids can race multiple RC cars at the same time without glitches
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- WHAT YOU GET + BATTERY REQUIREMENTS: 1 x 76-PC RC Race Car Building Kit (includes a built-in motor, 2.4GHz remote control, and custom DIY decals to personalize your Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport 25 race car), 1 x Step-by-Step Assembly Manual. *Note: Requires 5 AA batteries (3 for the car, 2 for the remote) – batteries are not included with the kit
The guide’s example parts path includes the following. Confirm current compatibility, prices, and stock against the project’s instructions and vendors before buying; parts and prices can change.
- An RC car chassis, with the guide naming the WL Toys 144010 as one example.
- A Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB of memory and a microSD card.
- A wide-angle Raspberry Pi camera.
- A USB battery, jumper wires, screws, and a PCA9685 servo driver.
- Printed roll-cage and top-plate parts for mounting the electronics.
Donkeycar’s overview estimates an approximate build cost of $250–$300 and a two-hour assembly time. Those are project-documentation estimates, not a current quote or a guaranteed time: the total depends on parts, availability, shipping, and your experience. The overview and hardware guide also identify the preassembled Waveshare PiRacer Pro as an alternative for people who prefer a ready-to-run platform; check its current listing for price and availability.
Rank #2
- DIY Building: The F1 car kit requires assembly, which is a fun and challenging science kit for children and adults. The process of building the car helps to develop creativity, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. Good choice for children aged 9-16.
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- High-Quality Wood Material: The F1 car kit is made of high-quality wood, ensuring durability and longevity. The wood material provides an authentic and unique feel to the product and enhances the overall building experience.
- Remote Control: The F1 car kit comes with a remote control that allows users to control the car's movements, making it a fun and engaging toy for kids and adults alike. The remote control is easy to use, making it accessible to everyone.
- Racing Experience: Once the car is built, it can be raced against other remote control cars or driven around to showcase its speed and agility. The F1 car kit provides a realistic racing experience and is sure to impress both kids and adults.
Custom assembly or preassembled?
A preassembled car favors convenience. Building around a chassis yourself offers more opportunity to customize it, but check that the drivetrain works with the intended steering and throttle controls, that there is room to mount the electronics, and whether the chassis needs replacement servo or ESC parts or printed adapters. Extra battery and electronics weight can change handling, especially on a small car.
Assemble and bring up the car
The Donkeycar project overview lays out the build in this order:
Rank #3
- Support four 2600mAh 18650 batt (not included), two parallel and two series output currents are larger, and the motor power is stronger.
- On-board HY2120 + AOD514 lithium battery protection circuit, with anti-overcharge, anti-over-discharge, anti-over-current, and short-circuit protection functions.
- On-board FP5139 automatic buck-boost voltage regulator circuit can provide stable 5V voltage to Raspberry Pi.
- On-board 0.91-inch 128 × 32 resolution OLED, real-time display of car IP address, memory, power, etc.
- On-board AINA219 chip is convenient for real-time monitoring battery voltage and charging current.
- Assemble the hardware. Secure the camera, computer, battery, and control electronics so they cannot shift during a run. Follow the hardware guide for the selected chassis.
- Install Donkeycar. Use the project’s installation guide for the host and vehicle setup that applies to your system. Software and hardware compatibility can change, so follow the current instructions rather than relying on an older version-specific recipe.
- Create an application from a template. Templates provide a starting configuration for a Donkeycar project.
- Calibrate the car. Check that steering and throttle commands produce the expected movement before attempting autonomous control.
- Drive it manually. Verify the controls and camera on a clear, controlled course.
- Choose and configure an autopilot. Start with an approach suited to your course and available equipment.
- Try the simulator. Use it to explore the software workflow without putting the physical car through every experiment.
Choose how the car will navigate
Donkeycar documents three distinct learning approaches. The right choice depends on whether you want to teach the car from demonstrations, follow a recorded outdoor route, or develop your own image-processing rules. The project’s autopilot guide describes these workflows.
Behavioral cloning: learn from your driving
Drive manually while the car records camera images alongside steering and throttle values. The documented deep-learning workflow trains a convolutional neural network on those paired examples; during a run, the model uses an image to predict steering and throttle. The guide instructs users to record at 20 samples per second and gives about 10,000 examples as a dataset target. Treat these as workflow guidance, not a performance guarantee or a universal minimum.
Rank #4
- High Speed AI Racing Robot Powered by Raspberry Pi 4, Supports DonkeyCar Project, Pro Version
- High performance AI robot, deep learning, self driving, suitable for high school AI learning/professional racing
- Upgraded chassis, carbon brushed motors, front& rear axle differentials, oil-filled shocks, 4WD independent suspension, 5MP 160° FOV Camera
- Based On DonkeyCar Open Source Project. The DonkeyCar Utilizes Deep Learning Neural Network Framework Keras/TensorFlow, Together With Computer Vision Library OpenCV, To Achieve Self Driving.
- PiRacer Pro AI Kit Is Based On Google’s Open Source Deep Learning Neural Network Study Framework TensorFlow, And Developed In Python - One Of The Most Popular Programming Language.
This approach is a natural starting point for a repeatable indoor course. The guide cautions that outdoor conditions are harder because lighting and surroundings can change. A model trained on one set of conditions may not behave reliably when those conditions shift.
GPS path following: replay a recorded route
With GPS available, drive the route once to record waypoints. The car then uses its current position and the recorded path to steer toward those waypoints. The documentation presents this as an outdoor alternative; it depends on GPS being usable where the car runs.
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- Support four 2600mAh 18650 batt (not included), two parallel and two series output currents are larger, and the motor power is stronger.
- On-board HY2120 + AOD514 lithium battery protection circuit, with anti-overcharge, anti-over-discharge, anti-over-current, and short-circuit protection functions.
- On-board FP5139 automatic buck-boost voltage regulator circuit can provide stable 5V voltage to Raspberry Pi.
- On-board 0.91-inch 128 × 32 resolution OLED, real-time display of car IP address, memory, power, etc.
- On-board AINA219 chip is convenient for real-time monitoring battery voltage and charging current.
Computer vision: write rules for what the camera sees
Instead of collecting manual-driving examples, choose or develop image-processing methods—such as color-space conversion or edge detection—and tune their parameters to the track. This avoids the demonstration-data workflow, but requires you to design and adjust an algorithm for the course.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Mounting, adapting, and testing safely
Added electronics and batteries can make a small RC car heavier, more top-heavy, and less responsive. The custom-build guidance recommends securing hardware and notes that a chassis-specific base plate may be needed. Possible fabrication methods include 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC milling, or drilling thin plywood. A nonstandard drivetrain may also need different wiring and control-output adaptations.
- Run the car on a controlled private course with room to stop and retrieve it.
- Keep people, fragile objects, and valuable equipment outside the car’s path.
- Begin at low speed and confirm manual steering and throttle response before testing an autopilot.
- Recheck fasteners and electronics mounts if the car has taken a bump or its handling changes.
The documented warnings about 1/16-scale cars are practical: they can be fast and heavy enough to damage themselves or nearby objects in a crash. A hobby RC build should not be treated as a public-road vehicle. The reviewed Donkeycar documentation does not establish road legality, roadworthiness, or safety certification for this platform.
Sources and current details
Project pages describe the workflows and parts, but do not show publication dates in the reviewed content. Retail prices, product availability, and software compatibility are changeable, so confirm them in the current project documentation and vendor listings before committing to a build.
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