Picar-X first impressions

Robotic kit for Raspberry Pi
1

Few days ago I purchased a Picar-X and I’d like to share my findings.

The kit is very nice. Good instructions, some smaller parts, but there are plenty of spare parts like rivets, screws etc. etc.
Mounting took a few hours (l did it quite relaxed).

During mounting I encountered no big problems but I would like to share some remarks.
In step 8 a servo arm is to be mounted. From the diagram it is not trivial what part this is. In the video this was also not obvious.

And I ran in an issue with the video cable that got a bit loose during the mounting process.
A better approach would be not to mount the camera unit in step 18 but only mount it after completing the rest of the product. Then one can first test the video before mounting the camera head.

Also if there is ever a V3.0 version: it would be nice if there would be an additional mounting plate with holes to be mounted with standoffs on top of the motor hat. That way one can easily add some extra sensors. E.g. I would like to add a small OLED display and maybe an ultrasonic module to check the back. Even adding a Lidar comes to mind.

Anyway this is a nice product. Lots of great software examples. I think this will give me quite some fun in the future. Thanks Sunfounder.

1 Like
2

Hi FransM,

Thank you very much for taking the time to share such detailed assembly feedback, and for your kind words about the PiCar-X kit — we’re glad to hear you’re happy with the instructions, the spare parts, and the software examples. Your points are all valuable, so let me reply to each of them:

Identifying the servo arm in Step 8
Thank you for pointing this out. We’ll pass your feedback on to our technical team so that the part labels and illustrations can be made clearer and easier to identify in the next revision of the documentation. In the meantime, please double-check it against the illustration for the corresponding step in the official assembly documentation:

The video cable coming loose during assembly
This is fairly common during assembly and usually just needs to be re-seated. Please power off first, re-insert the cable into the connector, make sure it is fully seated and the latch is locked, then run the camera example to check whether the video works properly. If the image is still abnormal after re-seating, or if you notice any physical damage to the cable or connector, please take photos or a short video, upload them to Google Drive (or another cloud service), and send us the sharing link — please set the link permission to “anyone with the link can view”, otherwise we won’t be able to access it. We’ll then help you confirm further.

Your suggestion on the assembly order (finish everything else first and install the camera unit last, so the video can be tested early)
That’s a very reasonable approach and would indeed make assembly and debugging smoother. We’ll pass this suggestion on to our product and documentation teams for evaluation.

Your suggestion for a V3.0 mounting plate with holes
Adding a plate fixed with copper standoffs above the motor expansion board, to mount an OLED display, a rear ultrasonic module, or even a LiDAR, is a creative and practical idea. We’ll forward it to our R&D team as a reference for product improvement. Please note that we’re unable to confirm any specific version plans at this time — the final word will come from official announcements.

Thank you again for your patience and enthusiasm, and we’d love to hear more about your experience on the forum. If you run into any issues during assembly or debugging, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

1 Like
3

Thanks for your reply.
Reseating the cable to the camera after mounting is quite hard, so I removed the whole camera head from the servo. That allowed me to reconnect the cable. Everything then tested fine, after which I remounted the camera head to the servo.

1 Like
4

Thank you for getting back to us and for explaining the process so clearly.

What you did is perfectly fine: re-seating the camera cable after the camera head is mounted does take a bit of technique and is not very convenient, especially for newcomers. Removing the whole camera head from the servo, reconnecting the cable, confirming everything tests fine, and then remounting it is a very sensible way to handle it. We’re glad to hear everything tested fine.

If you run into any issues during the rest of the assembly or while debugging, please feel free to contact us at any time.

1 Like