Internet of Things Project Allows Quadriplegic Driver to Race

The Internet of Things is cool, and semi-autonomous cars are cool. Putting them together is extra cool. But putting them together to enable former IndyCar driver, current co-owner of IndyCar team Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and quadriplegic Sam Schmidt to race again is the highest level of cool. Volunteers working at the tech company Arrow have been working on its SAM (Semi-Autonomous Motorcar) project for a few years now. Their goal was to take the latest in IoT innovations and enable Schmidt to actually drive again.

The latest iteration of the project is based on a stock, street-legal 2016 Corvette Z06 Stingray. The basics, like the engine and transmission, are unmodified. "Everything we've done is on top of what's there," said lead engineer Noel Marshal. The team did add a bar that can hold a six-point harness to keep Schmidt safe and securely in place as he races. "That's the only mod you can see in the cockpit, besides cameras in your face," she said in a phone interview.

The cameras in your face are how Schmidt is able to actually drive the car 100 percent on his own, according to the team. He wears a sunglasses-style headset with reflective markers. Four cameras mounted on the dash track the movements of his head and translate them into driving actions. The stock steering wheel is in place; you could turn off the IoT system housed in the trunk and drive it the usual way. But the team found that Schmidt was using the movement of the wheel as feedback. "He can see how quickly he's turning into a curve," Marshal said...