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Make a Kids' Power Wheel Toy Awesome for $500 (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the faster-than-a-speeding-toddler! dept.

You can spend less than $500 if you like. That's the maximum amount allowed if you're competing in the Power Racing Series. Interviewee Josh Lee is a member of the Southern Polytechnic State University Electric Vehicle Team. The modified electric 'ride on' toy they showed off and raced at Maker Faire Atlanta (where this video was made) is just one of their many projects. And, obviously, they're just one of many 'slightly deranged' teams involved in learning about and building electric vehicles. (Alternate Video Link)

39 comments

  1. As a parent... by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    The thing that power wheels toys really need is remote controls. When your kids are learning to drive them the kids are too capable of getting them stuck on dumb stuff and not capable enough of getting them back out. A remote control - especially one that could put the thing into reverse - would be a huge benefit.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:As a parent... by sexconker · · Score: 2

      My brother tried to kill me by reversing and running over me in his power wheels truck.
      The remotes should be a simple kill switch.

    2. Re:As a parent... by LordKronos · · Score: 3, Funny

      In theory, that's a brilliant idea. However, you know the reality of an actual implementation would be an unsecured/poorly secured communications protocol resulting in some sick teenagers being able to remotely drive some unsuspecting kid out into the street.

    3. Re:As a parent... by wiredlogic · · Score: 1

      Yeah. Wouldn't want to be bothered being an involved parent.

      --
      I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
    4. Re:As a parent... by Firethorn · · Score: 2

      How is having a kill switch or a remote control for your kid's little EV NOT being an involved parent? In order for the thing to be of any use you have to be watching.

      Sure, it extends the leash a bit, but not even out of sight.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    5. Re:As a parent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF... Why is this modded Funny?
      Maybe driving the kid into a pile of dog shit would be funny. Or into the garden. But to put a little kid into the street, that's atempted murder.

    6. Re:As a parent... by LordKronos · · Score: 2

      Like I said...sick teenagers. I'm sure slashdot has plenty of them (and plenty of the adult variety, too)

    7. Re:As a parent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF... Why is this modded Funny?
      Maybe driving the kid into a pile of dog shit would be funny. Or into the garden. But to put a little kid into the street, that's hilarious.

    8. Re:As a parent... by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Nah.. not enough of an impact. If/when self driving cars become the norm, then expect it. A much bigger impact means much more infamy.

    9. Re:As a parent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No reason to use insecure communications for remote control. Jamming is unavoidable from a determined adversary, but paired TX/RX pairs are pretty much the norm on 2.4GhZ. Even most camera drones are pretty immune from someone taking over driving from their cell phone. Old school unencrypted AM/FM RC bands were pretty open. New digital spread spectrum frequency hopping is reasonably reliable and secure.

    10. Re:As a parent... by houghi · · Score: 1

      Well, why would this be a bad thing? Just hear me out.
      For the religious people it is Gods wil. For the Atheists, it is darwin and evolution. So everybody wins.

      This is also why I am against any trafic rules. If we would get rid of them, in only a few hundred generations, we would have drivers who have extremely fast refelxions on avoiding accidents as well as pedestrians who can jump out of the way with enourmous speed. (and with a bit of luck, we gfot rid of the cyclists in the process)

      This is already happening as driving has become safer and safer over the years Less accidents per mile.
      So as it is already clearly proven, people are already adapting to cars.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    11. Re:As a parent... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      This is also why I am against any trafic rules. If we would get rid of them, in only a few hundred generations, we would have drivers who have extremely fast refelxions on avoiding accidents as well as pedestrians who can jump out of the way with enourmous speed.

      That's way too slow.

      This is already happening as driving has become safer and safer over the years Less accidents per mile.

      The cars are safer in literally every way, and that has been the general trend. Some of the safety features are designed to help prevent accidents, not just mitigate them.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    12. Re:As a parent... by SkimTony · · Score: 1

      I think the real key is how fast these things go vs. how fast parents can move. If the toy can drive faster than most parents can catch up on foot, the value of the remote off-switch goes up.

    13. Re:As a parent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, why would this be a bad thing? Just hear me out.
      For the religious people it is Gods wil. For the Atheists, it is darwin and evolution. So everybody wins.

      This is also why I am against any trafic rules. If we would get rid of them, in only a few hundred generations, we would have drivers who have extremely fast refelxions on avoiding accidents as well as pedestrians who can jump out of the way with enourmous speed. (and with a bit of luck, we gfot rid of the cyclists in the process)

      This is already happening as driving has become safer and safer over the years Less accidents per mile.
      So as it is already clearly proven, people are already adapting to cars.

      The lower death rates are entirely due to improvements in cars, not people. It's things like seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes etc.

      What you said sounds good, but it hasn't worked and it won't work.
      For example, if the kind of darwinism you're suggesting worked for humans, we would have been rid of alcoholics a long time ago.
      I suspect the reason is that the deaths occur long after reproduction. It would be the same with darwinist driving.
      Consider that the death caused by a bad driver would just as likely be an innocent as the driver - maybe less so if street racers with their 4-point belts and roll bars are involved.

    14. Re: As a parent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has it escaped everyone's notice that the Powerwheels Racing Series is not for children? PRS originated at the Pumping Station: One makerspace in Chicago, and directly led to my becoming a member. The cars are modified to hold adults, not children. The $500 budget is to keep things from getting too serious (if you are suspected of violating the budget a kangaroo court is convened and penalties assessed) and teams are also given 'moxie points' for fun design touches, costumes, and general lighthearted attitudes. Don't get me wrong, the builders and racers put a lot of time in on their machines, and the performance they can coax out of these toys for $500 is damn impressive. But this is an event for ADULTS, not kids.

    15. Re:As a parent... by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      First, 'faster than most parents can go' is pushing how fast I'd want a little tyke vehicle to go. I mean, are we equipping it with a proper seat, a seatbelt, roll cage, impact bumper, etc...?

      Second, yeah, the faster the vehicle the more valuable a kill switch would be. Heck, get fancy with it and have it shut down if the tyke exceeds X distance from the control. IE if it starts getting far enough that the parent's control might not be able to reach it, turn off anyways, at least until the parent catches back up.

      A faster EV might make sense if the kid is coming along for a bike ride or something.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    16. Re: As a parent... by rasterboy · · Score: 1

      Thanks for attempting to steer the discussion back on track.

      --
      ...end of transmission...
  2. A Flash movie on the article page? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why the fuck is Slashdot trying to load a Flash plugin on here? I expect that seedy behavior if I go click the Facebook links, I don't expect embedded movies and shit ON SLASHDOT...

    1. Re:A Flash movie on the article page? by phizi0n · · Score: 1

      It says (video) in the title so that's fair warning but they ought to switch over to html5 video tag so that it could actually load on mobile and other platforms without flash.

      I'm just waiting for the day when they figure out how to record sound properly.

    2. Re:A Flash movie on the article page? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Why the fuck is Slashdot trying to load a Flash plugin on here?

      So it can present the video it wants to present. Why the fuck shouldn't it? Get over yourself. You've got plenty of options (including using flashblock, uninstalling Flash, or not clicking on links that have "(video)" on the end) if you don't wish to be assaulted by this non-auto-playing video, oh the horror.

      I don't expect embedded movies and shit ON SLASHDOT...

      Oh, so sites must never change or try new things so as never to upset your expectations? Is everyone making note of this?

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    3. Re:A Flash movie on the article page? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Why the fuck is Slashdot trying to load a Flash plugin on here? I expect that seedy behavior if I go click the Facebook links, I don't expect embedded movies and shit ON SLASHDOT...

      You must be new here. Go away noob, we've had videos on slashdot for ages now.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:A Flash movie on the article page? by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      videos replacing prose for the frontally compromised is not a new idea. It sucks.

    5. Re:A Flash movie on the article page? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      So you only read newspapers and never watch TV news, then?

      It sucks.

      That's your opinion. Slashdot differs, and it's their website.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    6. Re: A Flash movie on the article page? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Browsing on cell phone. Flash video failed to load. None of the links were to video. Alternate video link requires app download. FAIL.

  3. Can't hear a bloody word! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    The guy seems to be mic'd up, but it sounds like all we're hearing is some very muddy audio from the camera's very un-directional mic. I can barely hear him over the background chatter.

    Next time, take five minutes to check you've got everything set up right first, eh?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  4. Re:ffs... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    when we used to put a lawnmower motor on a cart made of scavenged pipes and bike weels, it cost about 150 bucks, no one gave a shit.

    Not true... YOU did.

    I had hours of fun putting a 2-stroke on the back of a kid's push-scooter back in the day -- motor turned a wheel that was pressed securely against the back wheel of the scooter. This was back before bike helmets and kneepads; looking back I'm amazed the whole thing never went up in flames and everyone survived.

    But yeah; I don't recall spending more than $30 on the thing; it was all cast-off parts rigged to work again. Braking involved turning off the gas flow; starting involved getting up to speed and having the spark primed.

  5. Re:fuck 4 fagorz by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

    well-known by clicking here

    /. is one of the few if not the only places one can post as Anonymous, this ability makes it as unique as it's articles (one stop catch up area).

    Sad a Coward like you post such meaningless drivel with this freedom.

  6. almost ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://rjs.org/cars/Metro/Geo%...

  7. Re:fuck 4 fagorz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey newfag, read up about Markov chains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    TempleOS boy is just transmitting the words of G0D

  8. Re:ffs... by epyT-R · · Score: 0

    Thank you. Exactly. People are pantywaists about safety these days. That's what we get for letting effeminate pussies make policy and media.

  9. spend less than $500 to drive correctly.. by danknight48 · · Score: 1

    http://vimeo.com/84550345
    After watching this, and having a giggle to myself, i wish they would spend that $500 on getting a driving license 1st. All i see is destruction derby.

    1. Re:spend less than $500 to drive correctly.. by rasterboy · · Score: 1

      I reviewed the footage (much of which I shot) and you should realize that while some crashes/contact is shown, the race is one part entertainment. We pull out the exciting parts and compile the video so you get a taste of the action, but crashes are not as common as you may think. It should also be mentioned that these vehicles are slapped together at hackerspaces, usually using whatever free or cheap parts we can find, and are not precision machines. The endurance portion of the race is 75 minutes long, which really puts these vehicles to the test. Motors overheat, the vibration of driving shakes controllers loose, batteries wear out. There is some serious engineering that goes into these things, though you might not see it in a short promo video.

      --
      ...end of transmission...
  10. Re:fuck 4 fagorz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    meh. go beat off or something

  11. Give it to Go Baby Go when you are done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After you've had fun with it, donate it to the Go Baby Go project at University of Delaware.

    They'll strip it for parts, most likely, and use it to help crippled children become fully abled adults.

    It's a great program

  12. Awesome? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought this going to be an article on how to remove the motor and add some peddles.

  13. That looks like a blast! by backpaindude · · Score: 1

    Ok, that looks perfect for a grownup child like me and could even bring my actual children along ;)