Project Concept

Herbie was designed for the purposes of recreation—what originated as a simple RC car, meant for enthusiasts with a requisite skill level, is now controllable by more novice operators. Updated from a basic RC remote to something more easily recognizable—holding a cell phone as a controller and turning it like one would a steering wheel, it becomes more intuitive to use.

 

Motivation

Existing products either don't have video, or if they do, they don't have content to go with the video, let alone another steering wheel and pedals to control the car. The Herbie will give players the immersive experience of first person driving along with dynamically generated gameplay elements to heighten their enjoyment.

 

Requirements

• Reliably control the car with minimal delay
• Display the first person video stream in real time (or as close as possible)
• Be able to detect and react to obstacles in front of the car
• Add gameplay elements to the video when appropriate (Don't cause the user to drive into a wall)
• Influence the speed of car based on in-game elements

 

Competitive Analysis

	Rover 2.0 Spy Tank	AR.Drone Quadricopter	Mario Kart	Herbie
Control Surface	Tablet App	Tablet App	Nintendo Controller	Steering wheel and pedals
Vehicle Type	Tank	Quadricopter	Go Kart (virtual)	RC Car
Interface	Forward facing camera, audio	Forward and downward facing cameras	Three-dimensional world (virtual)	Forward facing camera
Augmented Reality (gameplay) Features	None	None	Traps and powerups that modify performance of car, other players	Traps and powerups overlaid on video that modify performance of car
Details	Link	Link	Link	This website