Robotics testbed
WYZECAR
A browser-operated perception-to-control platform for vision autonomy experiments.
What I owned
System architecture, ROS2 nodes, perception integration, browser controls, embedded motor interface, and tuning.
Problem
Turn a small RC platform into a controllable autonomy testbed with live video and person-following behavior.
Built
Integrated YOLOv8 perception, ROS2 control plumbing, browser-based WASD control, live video, an ESP32 motor interface, and PID motion.
Outcome
A robotics platform that makes the full perception-to-control loop inspectable and tunable from a browser.
The conditions that shaped the system
Perception, video, and controls share limited edge-compute resources.
Loss of detection or browser connectivity must not leave stale drive commands active.
The platform needs a manual mode for safe tuning before autonomous behavior is enabled.
Tradeoffs made explicit
Manual control first
Browser WASD control provides a safe commissioning path before closing the person-following loop.
Separated ROS2 responsibilities
Perception, following, motor control, and web presentation remain independent nodes with inspectable boundaries.
Embedded bridge
The Linux compute module owns autonomy while the ESP32 handles deterministic motor and steering commands.
Shows the robotics loop end-to-end: perception, control, hardware interface, operator UI, and field iteration.