Getting Started

Follow these guides to go from unboxing to autonomous driving.

Installation

Install Donkeycar on your computer and your car's single-board computer.

  1. 1Install Python 3.8+ and pip
  2. 2Run: pip install donkeycar[pc]
  3. 3Create your car: donkey createcar --path ~/mycar
  4. 4Install dependencies on your Pi/Jetson

Hardware Setup

Assemble your autonomous vehicle with these components.

  • 1/16 or 1/10 scale RC car (HSP 94186 recommended)
  • Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB+) or NVIDIA Jetson Nano
  • Wide-angle camera module (160° FOV)
  • PCA9685 servo controller board
  • Portable USB battery pack (10,000mAh+)

Software Configuration

Configure your car's software for data collection and autonomous driving.

  1. 1Edit myconfig.py to set your camera and steering parameters
  2. 2Calibrate steering and throttle ranges
  3. 3Test manual driving with a web controller or gamepad
  4. 4Verify data recording to the tub directory

Your First Model

Collect data and train your first self-driving model.

  1. 1Drive 10-20 laps around your track collecting data
  2. 2Transfer tub data to your training computer
  3. 3Train: donkey train --tub ./data --model ./models/pilot.h5
  4. 4Copy the model back to your car and test autonomous mode