Joystick-Controlled Pan-Tilt Servo Mount

Move two servos smoothly with a thumb joystick — the exact mechanism behind camera gimbals, robot heads and sensor turrets.

What you’ll build

The joystick is two potentiometers: X and Y. The Arduino Nano maps each axis to a servo angle, driving an SG90 pair arranged as a pan-tilt bracket. Push the stick and the mount follows in real time.

Components you’ll need

Step-by-step guide

1. Wire the joystick: VCC to 5V, GND to GND, VRx to A0, VRy to A1.
2. Connect the pan servo signal to D5 and the tilt servo signal to D6; power both from 5V and GND (use the breadboard rails).
3. If the servos twitch, add a 100–1000µF capacitor across the servo power rails.
4. Stack the servos into a pan-tilt bracket, or hot-glue the tilt servo onto the pan servo’s horn.
5. Upload the sketch and steer with the stick — movement is smoothed so the mount doesn’t jerk.

The code

Mapping is direct: 0–1023 from each pot becomes 0–180 degrees, with a small smoothing filter for fluid motion.

#include <Servo.h>
Servo pan, tilt;
float px=90, py=90;
void setup(){ pan.attach(5); tilt.attach(6); }
void loop(){
  int tx = map(analogRead(A0), 0, 1023, 0, 180);
  int ty = map(analogRead(A1), 0, 1023, 0, 180);
  px += (tx - px) * 0.15;   // smoothing
  py += (ty - py) * 0.15;
  pan.write(px); tilt.write(py);
  delay(15);
}