While we wouldn’t put Mario Kart up there with the kings of racing simulators, the fact some of gone through the trouble to make a Chevrolet Volt into the game’s controller is still mighty cool.
A group of hobby hackers decided to undertake the task of turning the Volt into a full gaming rig and ended up winning multiple awards at HackIllinois 2016, according to Road & Track. By taking a Raspberry Pi mini computer and plugging it into the Volt’s OBD2 port, the computer is then able to read inputs coming from the steering, throttle and brake sensors. Mario Kart is then booted up on the mini computer with the car becoming the controller.
Mario Kart is then booted up on the mini computer with the car becoming the controller. That’s a simplified explanation of how this whole contraption works, but the hackers even managed to make the headlight switch the boost controller and wiper switch the weapon thrower. The Volt becomes a life-size emulator just like that.
The group also states any modern vehicle with sensors will work, meaning, yes, you at home could potentially do this, too. We’d kindly request the original Gran Turismo for anyone willing to build one for us.
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