If you’ve lived enough years, you’ll probably be familiar with the slot cars of yore – and if you’re reading this, you’re probably familiar with the Nexus One and Android OS. In a world filled with high-graphics video games and this newfangled invention known as the “In-ter-NET,” it’s refreshing to see high-tech gadgets making low-tech toys more fun to use. In that vein, we’re happy to show you this video of a Nexus One using its Android OS and an Adobe AIR computer interface to work as a physical gas pedal for slot cars.
By taking advantage of Android OS’s ability to work with third-party applications like Adobe AIR and the accelerometers built into the Nexus One smartphone, Grant Skinner managed to turn his Nexus One into a gas pedal that can be used to control the speed of a slot car. With the N1 hooked up to the AIR interface, which in turn controlled the slot car track, Skinner is able to tilt the phone to make the cars go faster or slower – the point being to go as fast as possible around the track without flying off.
This is how the setup works:
The generic mobile client connects over the LAN to the desktop app. The desktop app sends it a “surface” SWF which contains all of the graphics and logic for the interaction (allowing the host to dictate the experience). The mobile client then sends accelerometer data to the host, which interprets the data, and sends back commands to update the client UI. The host communicates with a Phidgets motor controller, which controls the speed of the cars.
We like how Skinner used a set of rubber bands to hold the Nexus One in the vertical position while giving it some resistance – just like a real gas pedal on a car. The video explains it all better than any words on a screen ever could. Hit it up below!
AIR for Android Wireless Slot Car Gas Pedal from Grant Skinner.
[Via: AndroidCentral]