REMOTE CONTROL ON STEROIDS
Is this the world’s fastest remote controlled car?
A gaming whiz has driven a Nissan GT-R around a racetrack using a Sony PlayStation joystick controller.
The Nissan GT-R was fitted with remotely operated steering, accelerator and braking mechanisms and the driver controlled the car via helicopter.
Using a PlayStation4 DualShock4 controller the Nissan GT-R reached speeds in excess of 200km/h around the Silverstone circuit in the UK.
Nissan claims it is a world first.
The car was ‘driven’ by Jann Mardenborough, a winner of the GT Academy that turned gamers into real race drivers.
On his fastest lap (1:17:47), the GT-R averaged 122km/h and reached a top speed of 211km/h; the average speed for the same car driven by a person behind the wheel is 134km/h.
Nissan says the GT-R was fitted with four robots that operated the steering, transmission, brakes and throttle.
Six computers mounted in the boot updated the joystick controller 100 times per second.
The steering position is so accurate it is measured to one part in 65,000. The wireless range from the remote controller was 1km.
To help judge the vehicle’s speed through the corners from the vantage point of the helicopter, a Racelogic VBOX Motorsport sensor was installed to relay speed data to a display in the helicopter’s cockpit.