Imagine a car that is run by Twitter updates, Facebook likes and Instagram shares. As fantastical as this may appear, such a car has become a reality, thanks to a group of students at Kansas City. These students tweaked a Volkswagen so that it runs only when it has enough ‘social media’ fuel.
To start the project, these students laid their hands on a 1967 model Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. They then took out the car’s engine and replaced it with a lithium-ion battery pack and an electric motor, thus effectively turning it into an electric car.
This is where the fun begins. These students connected a tablet PC with the car’s circuitry so that the car would run only when the PC gives it a green signal. The PC, on the other hand, is connected with the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts of Minddrive, the non-profit who funded the project.
Every time a user interacts with these social media accounts of Minddrive, it generates ‘fuel’ for the car. For instance, if you follow Minddrive on Twitter, that adds five watts of power to the car’s fuel pool. Facebook like brings in 1 watt.
Once the social media interactions happen, the tablet PC tells the car that it is finally getting the social media juice. And so, based on the amount of social media interactions, the car starts rolling. The project is a genius in that it utilizes a very fun and innovative way to capture the attention of the social media audience.
Courtesy: IBN Live
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