Tech Arcanist

Vaman v1

The Vaman v1 prototype was built to validate whether the Jetson Nano alone could handle wireless remote control over 5G Wi-Fi, real-time motor control, and live camera streaming — without using any external microcontroller. It successfully moved, streamed video, and responded instantly to commands, but hardware constraints pushed us toward the next version.

Features

  • Wireless robotic control over 5G Wi-Fi
  • Real-time camera feed through Jetson Nano
  • Basic movement control (forward / reverse / turn)
  • Vision + motion handled on-board by Jetson Nano, no microcontroller

Components Used

  • Hardware
    • Jetson Nano (main controller + processing)
    • Motor Driver L298N (controls motors from Jetson GPIO)
    • Logitech C270 Camera (vision feed)
    • Intel 5G Wi-Fi Module (high-speed wireless control)
    • JetBot Chassis (compact robot platform)
  • Software
    • Python motor control scripts (GPIO based)
    • Wi-Fi command interface
    • Camera streaming script using Jetson Nano

How it Works

  • Robot receives control commands wirelessly over 5G Wi-Fi
  • Jetson Nano drives the motors via L298N motor driver
  • Live camera feed is streamed from the Logitech C270
  • Jetson Nano handled both processing and motor control without any microcontroller.

Performance

  • Instant movement response, no input lag
  • Smooth live video feed from the camera

Media Availability (Important Note)

⚠️ Since Vaman v1 was an early prototype, only one working video is available
(limited documentation because the chassis was temporary and used only for testing).

Limitations Identified

  • PWM control limitation
    • Jetson Nano’s PWM pins could not reliably control the motor driver due to outdated PWM/GPIO library support.
  • USB serial issue
    • When attempting to offload motor control to a microcontroller, the Jetson Nano failed to detect the microcontroller over USB serial.
  • Space constraints
    • The JetBot chassis didn’t have enough space to mount all components (Jetson + motor driver + microcontroller).

Conclusion

  • Vaman v1 successfully proved:
    • Jetson Nano can independently handle motion + camera over Wi-Fi
  • But the limitations led to the next stage:
    • Vaman v2 — bigger chassis + dedicated motor controller

My Learnings

  • Integrating multiple authentication modules into a single access control system
  • Implementing Gmail SMTP email OTP sending directly from ESP32
  • Using Google Authenticator TOTP with secret key handling
  • Working with secured credentials and preventing exposure in code
  • Designing a multi-stage state machine that controls the authentication flow
  • Managing relay-driven solenoid lock circuits while maintaining electrical isolation
  • Admin privilege system: bypass authentication + add new fingerprints