Someone connected a racing simulator setup to their RC car using an Arduino, and I'm seriously jealous

When I was a kid, I always wanted to have a first-person view of my RC car. I loved bombing around behind the wheel in video games, but when it came to real-life remote control cars, I just had to make do with a birds-eye view. As such, you can probably imagine how jealous I was when I saw this guy connect their driving simulator setup with an Arduino to their remote control car so they can drive it around as if they were in the toy car themselves.

This cool Arduino project turns an RC car into a driving sim

In a YouTube video, tinkerer bitsbits showed off what they’ve been working on. It connects a realistic driving simulator controller and setup to an RC car, so it feels like you’re actually sitting within the driver’s seat of your favorite toy.

Here’s how bitsbits explains their video:

This video is about my journey to combine two expensive hobbies into one even more expensive—but undeniably awesome—project. Along the way, you’ll see me bumble through building a simple proof of concept, struggle with software more than I’d like to admit, and somehow end up with a fully working setup—one with even more functionality than I originally set out to achieve.

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to drive an RC car from the seat of your racing sim—or if you just enjoy seeing someone else make mistakes so you don’t have to—you’ve come to the right place.

Sure enough, the video contains all the nitty-gritty about how they brought this project to life. It took a ton of work, including fitting out the RC car with electronics that allowed it to receive controls via a different source, plus getting the camera on it. Then, they had to work out how to translate the controls from the driving simulator station in a way that the RC car would understand. They also had to get a system set up where the driving station would beam its controls to the car, which would then send its video feed to a VR headset.

However, the end result was well worth it, as bitsbits managed to get it all running in perfect order. I’m keen to see what else he can cook up. In the meantime, check out these five reasons you should get an Arduino if you don’t already have one.