Posted 04.22.2010 at 1:58 pm
7 Comments
The Brains Behind WiDrive
WiDrive
Our collegiate scholars hold our future in their hands, so it’s always good to see them apply themselves to projects like WiDrive, a remote-controlled, camera-mounted car that can be driven in the first person using an iPhone and a pair of VR glasses.
Built by a Bournemouth University (that’s in the UK) student trying to “do something completely different in an attempt not to bore the f*ck out of my lecturers and inject some excitement into their lives,” the car can be controlled over any WiFi connection (hence the name) and transmits both audio and visual back to the driver's goggles. Commands are issued via an on-board Arduino chip programmed to process commands from the iPhone.
As you’ll see below, the connection between the camera and the VR glasses was a bit spotty, causing the test driver a bit of trouble, but the accelerometer-based steering appears to be pretty responsive. For more details on the programming and perils of such a DIY undertaking, see WiDrive.co.uk.
Want to read more articles like this, plus tips and tricks, home hacks, DIY projects, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
7 Comments
To comment, please Login.
Popular Tags
Regular Features
138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Innovation Challenges
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
.jpg)
February 2012: The Future of Fun
Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
Most Emailed
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Aw, we can't see what the test driver sees?
All I can say is wow! I literally cut, edit and uploaded this video 6 hours ago and it seems to be getting quite a bit of attention :D. Don't worry! I'll be doing another video VERY soon with shots of everything! Thank you for posting this Clay Dillow I really appreciate this!
yay! Comment boards are awsome!
-Ask and ye shall receive-
Hello,
M
How are you doing? Hope you are alright.
Last week, I bought Many items.
it is very cheap and I get it in 5 days. The quality is very good.
The site also sell Sneakers, handbag, purse, jeans, sunglass, hat and so on.
I never forget to share good things with friends.
So,if you are interested in it, you can have a look.
I think you will get some surprise.
This is their : www.newgoing.com
Looking forward to having a go Gavin! Get the video to the VR headset smoothed out and I might put in a good word with the marking lecturer ;-)
It's a shame the camera man is so bad.
Is there anything the iphone/ipad can't do?
Hmmm... could bring a whole new approach to DMV driver tests...LOL