Auto-assembled, not yet reviewed

DonkeyCar

Raspberry Pi self-driving RC car with a minimalist Python autopilot.

Reproducibility63/100Partial source coverage, unverifiedCADBOMWIREFWBUILDLICREPHow it is computed
DonkeyCar 2-DoF self-driving RC car, 3D render from build_hardware.md
simplified 3D ยท build_hardware.md

About DonkeyCar

DonkeyCar is an open-source software platform for building small-scale self-driving cars from off-the-shelf RC chassis; the software is MIT licensed and no hardware license is stated upstream. A Raspberry Pi (or Jetson Nano) drives an off-the-shelf RC chassis through a PCA9685 servo driver, with a camera for vision and a modular Python library for behavioral-cloning autopilots. It has an active community, hosted build and software docs, and supports cameras, lidar, GPS, and game controllers.

Licenses

Hardware
No hardware license statedMIT covers the donkeycar software only; no roll cage or top plate CAD is published
Software
MIT
Docs
Not published

Degrees of freedom

2 DoF drive 1steering 1

Breakdown source

Ackermann steeringRC carsource

How to build DonkeyCar

5 steps

Steps marked Motari summary condense the linked source; follow the source for exact instructions. Upstream step marks a step taken from the linked guide.

  1. Assemble the RC chassis

    Build the recommended 1/16-scale RC car chassis (e.g. WL Toys 144010) and 3D-print the compute/camera mount.

    Motari summarydocs.donkeycar.com/guide/build_hardware

  2. Mount the Raspberry Pi and camera

    Fix the Raspberry Pi and wide-angle camera to the printed deck on top of the chassis.

    Motari summarydocs.donkeycar.com/guide/build_hardware

  3. Wire the PCA9685 driver

    Connect the PCA9685 servo driver to the Pi over I2C and to the steering servo and ESC throttle.

    Upstream stepdocs.donkeycar.com/guide/build_hardware

  4. Flash and configure DonkeyCar

    Flash Raspberry Pi OS to the microSD card, install the donkeycar package with the pi extras, create a car application with donkey createcar, and calibrate steering and throttle.

    Motari summarydocs.donkeycar.com/guide/build_hardware

  5. Drive, record, and train

    Drive manually to record data, train a behavioral-cloning model, then run it as an autopilot.

    Upstream stepdocs.donkeycar.com/guide/train_autopilot
Print timenot published
Assembly timenot published

Wiring, power and firmware are safety-relevant and shown for reference only. Check them against the source before building.

DonkeyCar bill of materials

10 rows

Cost to build

$244.77USDestimate
  • sum of upstream Approximate Cost rows for the Raspberry Pi build, excluding 3D printed roll cage and top plate$244.77estimate

In the source currency, as read on 2026-09-30. Not converted, and not checked against current vendor prices: none of these is a Motari-verified checkout total.

DonkeyCar parts, as the source lists them. Prices are the source's, not checked against vendors.

DonkeyCar bill of materials
PartQtySpecSourceConfidence
RC car chassisMagnet Car or compatible supported chassis
1Magnet / HSP 94186 class RC chassis or alternative from supported cars
Magnet / supported RC chassis vendors$92DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
M2x6 screwseight screws for printed/chassis assembly
8M2x6
Amazon / generic$4.89DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
M3x10 screwsthree screws for printed/chassis assembly
3M3x10
Amazon / generic$7.89DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB)onboard compute
1quad-core ARM
Raspberry Pi$60DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
PCA9685 servo driverPWM control board
116-channel PWM, I2C
Adafruit / generic$12DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
Wide-angle cameraRaspberry Pi camera
1CSI wide-angle
Raspberry Pi / generic$16DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
MicroSD cardOS + software
164 GB
generic$18.99DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
USB power bankpowers the Pi
110,000 mAh
generic$26DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
Female-to-female jumper wirewires between Raspberry Pi, PCA9685, servo, and ESC
1female-to-female jumper wire set
Amazon / generic$7DonkeyCar hardware guide parts table
high
3D printed roll cage and top plateprint in PLA or use a third-party print service
1DonkeyCar printed roll cage and top plate
3D print yourself / third-party printprice not listedDonkeyCar hardware guide print-parts section
med

Rows from the source's own parts list 3

docs/guide/build_hardware.md@e3c9327markdown

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
DonkeyCar Raspberry Pi hardware BOM
source table rows
DonkeyCar docs / listed vendors$92, $4.89, $7.89, $26, $60, $18.99, $16, $7, $12; printed cage/top plate unpriced
L67
hardware notes
DonkeyCar docsno price listed
L80

docs/cars/supported_cars.md@e3c9327markdown

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
supported RC chassis
1 chassis
Magnet / HSP / Exceedno price listed
L3

DonkeyCar source files

11 files

Files stay in the upstream repository under their own licenses; these links open them there. The 3D model on this page is Motari's conversion of the file named under Simulation.

DonkeyCar in simulation

Robot description files a simulator or CAD tool can load, linked at the commit they were found.

No URDF, MJCF, SDF, USD or Onshape model has been found in the sources.

The 3D specimen on this page is converted from docs/guide/build_hardware.md at e3c9327.

Builds of DonkeyCar

0 reviewed

No reviewed builds of DonkeyCar yet.

A build log records the evidence (photos, a video, your repository), what the build cost, how long it took and what you changed. Each one is checked by Motari (until a maintainer claims this page) before it shows here, and reviewed builds count toward the reproducibility score.

Sources and provenance

Sources

Last push to autorope/donkeycar: 2026-09-19 (checked 2026-10-01)

Related links

How this page was made

Assembled from public sources on 2026-06-04, not yet reviewed by the maintainer. Each figure links to where it is stated; a value the sources do not state reads "not published". Last source review: donkeydocs e3c9327, 2026-06-07.

Original files stay intact and separately licensed; Motari adds only the summary on this page. Maintainer? Request a correction or removal.

Badge for the README

Maintain DonkeyCar? Show its reproducibility score in the project's README. The badge links back to this page and updates with the score.

Badge: reproducibility 63/100

Markdown
[![Motari reproducibility score for DonkeyCar](https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/donkeycar)](https://motari.io/r/donkeycar)
HTML
<a href="https://motari.io/r/donkeycar"><img src="https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/donkeycar" alt="Motari reproducibility score for DonkeyCar" height="20"></a>

Not fully met yet: cad / mesh present (partial), wiring diagram (partial), oshw-compatible license. The score is read from the project's own sources, so publishing what is missing is what raises it. A score of 90 or more needs a reviewed build. How the score is computed