From the “Don’t Try This at Home” files: Researchers from the Free University of Berlin have successfully rigged a van for remote control by iPhone. The artificial intelligence team used an app called iDriver, which was developed by mobile phone software developers at Appirion UG, to connect via Wifi.
Turns out, commandeering a real-life vehicle isn’t that different from playing one of the many driving games that currently exist for the iPhone. The remote driver uses the handset’s accelerometer for steering wheel control and on-screen buttons for the brake and gas pedals. (As for visuals, there’s a rooftop camera that streams live video so the user can see what’s going on.)
No, iDriver isn’t available in the App Store, it probably won’t ever be, and even if it were, the app and gear would cost more than most people’s mortgages. Even so, it’s still neat to know that the technology that makes this possible exists outside games and movies.
Check out the vid (below) to see it in action. (It sort of reminds me of the infamous “A Man’s Gotta Do” scene from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog. I guess creator Joss Whedon has a fanbase in Germany.)
iDriver, iPhone remote controlled car
“A Man’s Gotta Do,” from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
[via Mobile Crunch]
