Cal State students design virtual route 66
- June 23, 2010
Three Cal State East Bay students have designed and built a way to travel Route 66 from Santa Monica to Amarillo, Texas, without moving an inch.
As their masters thesis in multimedia design, the students have outfitted a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle that can take whoever sits in the driver’s seat to any spot on historic Route 66 via video screens with three-dimensional models of buildings and other landmarks along the route.
At stops along the way, the “driver” of the Beetle will also have the option of reading information and viewing pictures of Route 66 landmarks in their heyday, as well as see video footage of interviews with the people who had (and have) close ties to the landmark highway.
Two of the students involved in the project, Ann King and Tina Lai, revisited the Route 66 Museum in Barstow on Wednesday.
King and Lai, along with fellow student Marc Meyer, started the project over one year ago and funded the project through funds of their own and donations.
“Simulators have been done before,” said King. “But not one that was in an actual car and used the controls in the car to operate it.”
Those who step in to the Volkswagen navigate through the virtual Route 66 by picking a destination on the map with the vehicle’s gearshift and steering down the road the road using the vehicle’s steering wheel.
“We hacked into a keyboard and connected the wires to the gearshift,” said Lai. “Wires and switches are hidden everywhere.”
The car also uses a Nintendo Wii tucked under the hood and connected to the steering column to sync the motion of the wheel to what the driver will see on the screen.
King took three road trips along 66 for the project, documenting landmarks along the way and taking pictures and video footage for use in the simulator, including interviews with people who have close ties to Route 66.
The 1969 Volkswagen Beetle was chosen for the project not only because it was donated but because it also was one of a few models that would fit through the door of the space where the students were working on the vehicle. The Beetle was in rough shape when the students acquired it but donated and discounted bodywork and upholstery work have it looking good and ready for virtual road trips.
“A lot of people doubted us, but we did it,” said King, who was awarded with her masters degree in multimedia design on June 10 when the project was completed.
Currently, the simulator is sitting in storage at CSU East Bay. King said that she hopes to acquire the necessary funds to take the simulator on a museum tour and someday bring it Barstow.