Computer technician Bjorn Harms from the Netherlands built himself a self-driving Corvette C6 using just $4,062 in parts. How did it all begin? He purchased a Corvette C6 two years ago specifically to build a life-sized, remote-controlled-driving system for it, with a touch of inspiration from Back to the Future. First, he needed a universal motor controller to send commands to the extra devices for operating the accelerator, brakes, steering wheel, and gearshift. Next, a fail-safe system was implemented so if the vehicle is out of remote control range, it automatically shuts down. Best of all, the car can be driven as a normal road vehicle or using the controller. It took approximately one year to design / build the controller, three months building an in-car prototype and then an additional three months updating it for safety measures. Read more for another video and additional information.
The control unit for the car is located securely in the glove box. As for future plans? Harms wants to build an entire remote-controlled vehicle fleet, so if you ever spot a car with him driving from the passenger seat, or even outside, don’t be too shocked.
“There are multiple reasons why I did it. I always had this idea since I was a kid, especially being a big fan of Knight Rider and building KITT replicas as a hobby, I wanted to push my builds to another level. The scene where Doc remotely drove the DeLorean in the parking lot just stayed with me. I knew that the scene was fake, but I just wanted to try it for myself. After doing some research on YouTube, it turned out that it was possible,” Harms told the ClassicCars.com Journal.
