As beautiful driving or racing might be, sometimes accidents happen and in 99 percent of the cases, those who suffer severe injuries can't go back behind the wheel.
Now, as we're all psyched about electric or self-driving cars, someone tries to do something for those petrolheads who can't handle the steering wheel anymore, nor press a car's pedals.
Meet the Semi-Autonomous Motorcar (or SAM) Project. It's not about autonomous gizmos, but it still sounds as sci-fi as the cars that can drive themselves.
So, what should you expect in the video below? Well, you'll see quadriplegic and former IndyCar racer Sam Schmidt driving a modified 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray around the Brickyard. He controls the car by only tilting his head.
How is this possible?
It's not rocket science, although there's a high level of tech knowledge behind this successful initiative. The developers were inspired by avionics and came up with a system that works as following. When Schmidt moves his head, an array of infrared cameras around the driver's seat detect motion by reflecting light off markers on his hat.
The cameras are extremely sensitive and can track minute head movements down to four thousands of an inch. To make an idea, that's about the thickness of a single sheet of paper.
A computer in the car's trunk processes the information and sends it to a second computer, which uses advanced algorithms to send the date back to the car.
For example, side to side movement activates the steering while a quick backwards head tilt engages the gas pedal. To slow the car down, all he needs to do is bite down on a sensor that controls the braking system.
Also, if the car goes off course, a computer system will correct the trajectory and keep things on the safe side.
Google News