Introducing the DeepRacer Pi: A Budget-Friendly Compute Module Replacement for AWS DeepRacer

The DeepRacer Pi is a custom-designed PCB that serves as a cost-effective replacement for the original AWS DeepRacer compute module. With a production and assembly cost of just $33, the DeepRacer Pi brings the power of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) and the upcoming Compute Module 5 (CM5) to your DIY racing projects.

What You Need

To get started with the DeepRacer Pi, you’ll need:

1. Raspberry Pi CM4 Lite:
2. SD Card:
3. PiCamera V2:

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The DeepRacer Pi empowers makers and students to build, modify, and innovate with their AWS DeepRacer cars. it is a small enough package to fit into 1/28th scale car significantly reducing the footprint needed for AWS DeepRacer.

TODO for DeepRacer Pi Development

1. Move Camera and unneeded headers

   • remove the extra header not needed for the servo control
   • move the camera next to the headers to face forward

2. Implement Battery Monitor

   • Add circuitry and software support to monitor battery voltage and health.
   • Display battery status in real-time for improved usability.

3. Fix USB OTG Support

   • Modify USB configuration to enable OTG (On-The-Go) functionality.
   • Ensure compatibility with peripherals and reliable data transfer.

4. Add Tail light LED

   • Implement multicolor Tail light indicator

5. Add Fan header

   • Enable FAN for additional cooling support

6. Add UART via serial connector headers

   • to enable additional debugging

Setting Up the board

1. Image SD card with Ubuntu 22.04
   • use win+shift+x to enable SSH and Wifi during imaging process
   • Edit /boot/firmware/config.txt
     • Add dtparam=i2c_arm=on
     • Add Start_x=1
     • Add dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
2. Follow these instructions
   • https://github.com/aws-deepracer-community/deepracer-custom-car

Special Thanks for Lars for all the work he did on the Deepracer-custom-car repo to make this a possibility!