Dream-Racer lets disabled kids race RC cars

Racing RC cars was definitely one of our favorite things to do when we were mere gadget-obsessed tykes (at least until we turned 16), and soon disabled kids will be able to join in on the fun, thanks to English outfit Dream Technology. The two-person pit crew's Dream-Racer uses a baseball cap with four integrated motion sensors that controls a modified Nikko RC car. Instead of the conventional pistol-trigger controller, you simply tilt your head in the appropriate direction to operate the vehicle. The company developed the tech in response to a request from a charity group that later found the £159 ($315) toy helped disabled children improve their cognitive skills and play independently (gee, ya think?). That's terrific, but we don't see any reason to limit sales to just disabled kids when this thing is ready to ship later this summer -- what kid wouldn't want to pretend they have a mind-link with their car?

[Via MedLaunches]

[sendmeaeuro @ May 13th 2007 12:06PM]

Hmmm... This would be great for playing with 3D games. For those tilting your head to see around corners, moments!

http://sendmeaeuro.awardspace.com/

[Dexter @ May 13th 2007 12:20PM]

I love RC toys. I have one helicopter and a small Cesna plane. I would love to have this Monster truck. The price is a bit too high.

[Tavis Veighey @ May 13th 2007 1:08PM]

This is a really cool thing!

I wonder tho... How long untill a home timkerer releases DIY instructions to convert nearly any existing remote into this... And for less money...

[Caesar @ May 13th 2007 1:10PM]

F'n right! I had my spinal Cord Injury about 3yrs ago and while Im still recovering I can only really effectively use a joystick, I'm soooo buying this and hacking it into faster cars!

[RCaddict @ May 13th 2007 6:31PM]

it should be much of a problem with adapting the hat to control other cars.

Nikko is not exactly a quality producer of RC cars but they at least use a common radio frequency used for RC cars plus their cars and transmitters allow for exchange of the frequency crystal making it possible to drive several otherwise identical cars at the same time.

that shop sells the controller caps separate for 99£ which isnt so bad.
now I dont know if the controller hat allows exchange of the crystals, it should and from what I can tell from that article it does, Caesar, all you have to do is get yourself the controller hat, a set of frequency crystals and a different, faster car of you're likings that runs on the 27mhz band.

if the hat doesnt allow for crystal exchange then what you have to do then is swap the crystal on the car by trial and error and find the frequency the hat runs on, which shouldnt be so hard as Nikko only uses 6 different crystals at 29.995, 27.045, 27.095, 27.145, 27.155 and one more freq I dont remember.

easie pie ^^

[RCaddict @ May 13th 2007 6:33PM]

my bad, typo. should have been 27.995, not 29.995 as previously listed

[Tim @ May 14th 2007 4:36AM]

What's the bet this'll be hacked to work with a Wiimote?

[Lee @ Jun 13th 2007 12:50PM]

wow, that's amazing actually. Think about how far we've come where we can help disabled kids with the use of an RC car. It is a bit pricey, but think how the fun they'll have when they actually use it - I'm sure parents of disabled children would appreciate a device like this. Very cool!

http://www.everything-rc-cars.com