A group of Russian car enthusiasts announced on their blog (translated via Red Hot Russia) that they have modified a car to be controlled remotely by an iPad.
The group used an iPad 3 and created an app to control the car via a host of added electronic components to control the acceleration, steering, braking and gear shifting in addition to seeing the road from the perspective of the car.
While doing tests outside, I froze like a dog. Besides, the tablet screen quickly becomes wet and fingers numb and lose sensitivity, making tapping on the screen more difficult. Also, in the street it’s difficult to see clearly the picture from the rear view mirror – the screen brightness is not sufficient. Plus the windshield is quickly covered with snow.
The car was initially called the “James Bond Car,” inspired by a scene from Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” where Bond controls his car with a phone. After the initial test, they started referring to the car as “Opel Virta,” a play on the model of the car, which is an Opel Vectra.
The iPad-controlled setup is actually transferrable to any car with an automatic transmission that houses a direct transmission selector, which means that controls like “drive,” “neutral,” “reverse” and “park” are in a straight line.
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