The Dual Control R/C Car is what you get when you take an R/C car and stuff it full of electronics. I bet it was fun to build.

“The purpose of this project was to take a traditional remote controlled car and create our own control mechanisms. To control the car, we used a dual-axis accelerometer and LEDs (light emitting diodes) configured as photo-detectors. The control mechanism was selected using a single pole dual throw (spdt) switch was wired in a single pole single throw (spst) configuration. The two-axis accelerometer was used as a tilt sensor that detected how far the chip was angled from its neutral, flat position. An analog voltage was produced for both the x- and y-axes that corresponded to how far the accelerometer was tilted, and in what direction.

A custom LED array was also used to control the car. Though LEDs are traditionally thought of as light producing elements, they also produce a voltage corresponding to how much light they receive – brighter environments produce a greater voltage across the LED. We took advantage of this fact by causing the decrease in voltage by blocking light from entering one of the four LEDs (forward, reverse, left and right) to cause the car to move in the appropriate direction (See accelerometer & led sensor array unit).

To implement a safer car, an infrared distance sensor was used to continually scan the area in front of the car. The sensor produced an analog output voltage proportional to how close an object was. When an object was detected, the car momentarily reverses to avoid a collision. ”