RC_CAR_GUI

GUI for RC car telemetry and controls with high-performance C++ extensions.

Features

• PyQt6-based graphical interface for RC car control
• High-performance C++ extensions via Pybind11 for robotics calculations
• OpenGL-backed 3D visualization widget with Python bindings
• CMake-based build system with MSVC support
• Standalone C++ testing capabilities

Prerequisites

Python Dependencies

• Python 3.8 or higher
• PyQt6
• opencv-python
• pydualsense
• zeroconf

C++ Build Dependencies

• CMake 3.15 or higher
• Microsoft Visual Studio (with C++ Desktop Development workload) on Windows
• GCC or Clang on Linux/macOS
• OpenGL development libraries (e.g., libgl1-mesa-dev and libglu1-mesa-dev on Linux)

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/cduarte0306/RC_CAR_GUI.git
cd RC_CAR_GUI
git submodule update --init --recursive

2. Install Python Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Build C++ Extensions

python setup_cpp.py build

This will:

• Configure CMake with the appropriate compiler
• Build the C++ extension module as a Python-importable DLL
• Place the compiled module in the python_modules/ directory

Build Commands

• python setup_cpp.py build - Build the C++ module (Release mode)
• python setup_cpp.py build --debug - Build in debug mode
• python setup_cpp.py rebuild - Clean and rebuild
• python setup_cpp.py clean - Remove all build artifacts
• python setup_cpp.py test - Build and run standalone C++ tests

Running the Application

From the project root:

cd src
python run.py

C++ Module Development

Project Structure

RC_CAR_GUI/
├── cpp/                      # C++ source code
│   ├── include/              # Header files
│   │   └── math_operations.h
│   ├── src/                  # Implementation files
│   │   ├── math_operations.cpp
│   │   └── bindings.cpp      # Pybind11 bindings
│   └── tests/                # Standalone C++ tests
│       └── test_math_operations.cpp
├── external/
│   └── pybind11/             # Pybind11 submodule
├── python_modules/           # Compiled Python modules (generated)
├── src/                      # Python application source
├── CMakeLists.txt            # CMake configuration
└── setup_cpp.py              # Build automation script

VSCode Tasks

The project includes VSCode tasks for easy C++ development:

• Build C++ Module (Ctrl+Shift+B) - Build in release mode
• Build C++ Module (Debug) - Build in debug mode
• Rebuild C++ Module - Clean and rebuild
• Clean C++ Build - Remove build artifacts
• Test C++ Module - Run standalone C++ tests

Access tasks via: Terminal > Run Task... or press Ctrl+Shift+P and type "Tasks: Run Task"

Using C++ Extensions in Python

import sys
sys.path.insert(0, 'python_modules')
import rc_car_cpp

# Use high-performance C++ functions
magnitude = rc_car_cpp.MathOperations.vector_magnitude(3.0, 4.0, 0.0)
angle = rc_car_cpp.MathOperations.angle_between_vectors(1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0)
x, y, z = rc_car_cpp.MathOperations.normalize_vector(3.0, 4.0, 0.0)

Standalone C++ Testing

The C++ code can be built and tested independently:

python setup_cpp.py test

Or run the executable directly after building:

# Windows
build\Release\test_cpp.exe

# Linux/macOS
build/test_cpp

Development Workflow

1. Make changes to C++ code in cpp/ directory
2. Rebuild the module: python setup_cpp.py rebuild or use VSCode task (Ctrl+Shift+B)
3. Test standalone: python setup_cpp.py test
4. Use in Python application

Troubleshooting

CMake not found

Install CMake from https://cmake.org/download/ and add it to your PATH.

Visual Studio not found (Windows)

Install Visual Studio with "Desktop development with C++" workload from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/

Module import fails

Ensure the module was built successfully and the python_modules/ directory contains the compiled module (.pyd on Windows, .so on Linux).

License

[Add your license information here]