Gamepad controller instead of steering wheel/pedals ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 01:28:57 am
content: Has anyone modded their car, so that u could drive it with a gamepad, so I mean the steering and throttle are connected to the thumbsticks ?I have a bad back, and sometimes it's pretty hard to move my leg/foot when driving an automatic, if it was a standard, I'd need gear shift paddles on the steering wheel, as I could not use both legs/feet in a comfortable way.So for that matter, has any car maker, used a gamepad instead of steering wheel/pedals ? It works pretty good in video games, and I'm sure my thumbs are far quicker than my feet

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 10:18:28 am
content: Quote from: MathWizard on June 25, 2021, 01:28:57 amIt sounds like an extraordinarily bad idea, to try to implement yourself.Don't do it. When you have an accident, you will be in a huge amout of trouble, if you kill or seriously injure someone, that is if you don't die first.If you have a genuine disability, there are systems which have been tested and certified to be safe and road legal. They're expensive, but it's possible to get a grant, in many countries and I suspect Canada is one of them.https://www.steeringdevelopments.co.uk/products/joysteer-electronic-driving-system

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 10:55:12 am
content: I know there are aftermarket systems that are street legal, to be installed in cars for people in a wheelchair, that follow a simillar principle.But don't do it, get in touch with a professional.

author: Raj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 05:45:29 pm
content: Saab did try to sell cars with joysticks, when their gripen aircrafts came out. It didn't end well.

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 09:19:14 pm
content: I don't even own a car for now, so I can't say I remember the steering full rotation angle, but if GM or Toyota built said controller, it would have proper force feedback, akin to a steering wheel. You would not want to be able to flip your van/truck if u flip your thumb all the way over in miliseconds.Also it would be mounted tho, you don't want to drop it in traffic. So akin to a a joystick in a fly-by-wire planeThey had it in Men In Black 2, driving with a gamepad.

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 09:36:17 pm
content: Fun reading:https://www.wired.com/2015/01/well-didnt-work-saabs-weird-joystick-controlled-car-wasnt-super-idea/

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 10:28:59 pm
content: Quote from: MathWizard on June 25, 2021, 09:19:14 pmplanes very rarely have to be meter accurate, almost all the time in a car a few meters wrong will result in a serious crash

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 11:35:56 pm
content: @OP check with you car insurance company

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 11:50:07 pm
content: Quote from: Bud on June 25, 2021, 11:35:56 pmand what the penalty is for manslaughter....

author: rodcastler
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2021, 11:59:21 pm
content: A good approach is to try this on a simulator.I can tell you (from my own experience) that I have tested a high-end joystick on a car simulator, and I am pretty convinced that it just does not work, even though I can fly pretty well an F-16 with the same gear.

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2021, 04:46:30 pm
content: Eliminating the steering wheel is a very bad idea. In a regular car if the power steering fails you have the mechanical linkages in the steering system to fall back on.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2021, 04:53:46 pm
content: The manual version of the original Honda Insight had a joystick to control the gear shifting and electric boost/regen, but the steering was done by a wheel as usual.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2021, 12:30:43 pm
content: Quote from: MathWizard on June 25, 2021, 01:28:57 amOK, so…You've got your thumbs on the analog sticks and you're driving along, relaxed. You hit a pothole or speed bump. What happens to the analog sticks?My guess is they go all over the place. And thus, so does your car.If you had been gripping the controller tightly, you might be able to retain the relative position of thumbs to analog sticks. But that level of tight grip is unsustainable.The large "throw" of standard automotive controls makes it unlikely for small movements to destabilize the car. You have to yank the wheel far and fast to do that. A game controller is not so forgiving.Hand controls on cars are a concession made for people with no alternative, and I assume they're subject to significant regulation.As for the reaction speed of your thumbs being "far quicker" than your feet: don't be so sure. Your feet are designed to make ongoing micro-corrections as you stand, walk, etc. As you probably know, once you are an experienced driver, your feet react without any conscious thought. (As in, you feel you need more speed and your feet just do it.) I have no doubt one reaches equivalent automatism with hand controls, I just doubt that feet are inherently slower.(Related tangent: people think of their feet as being way less sensitive than their hands, but oh, how untrue that is! They're extraordinarily sensitive. Think about how we can feel a large grain of sand in a shoe. And that's despite the thickness of the skin, and often callouses!)

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2021, 02:22:47 pm
content: Try these people they are specialists in such conversions.https://taic.co.uk/locations/aylesbury/

author: harerod
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2021, 07:36:08 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on June 27, 2021, 12:30:43 pmSomething in that post brought back memories of piloting aircraft. The fascinating feeling of wearing the airframe like an outer skeleton, using all appendices for the additional degrees of freedom.Pitch and roll control are usually realized via a horn that can be held with both hands, much like a steering wheel in a car or by a stick. Especially with the latter, the pilot will find a resting place for the controlling arm and hand. In smaller aircraft that might be the pilot's leg, in commercial (see Airbus standard) or military (modern fighters) there will be a very ergonomic armrest. That is to counter the effect of high-g potholes (e.g. bad weather or high-g turns).Any stick control without some kind of armrest is less than ideal.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2021, 09:30:53 pm
content: Quote from: G7PSK on June 27, 2021, 02:22:47 pmThis is the best suggestion so far. Companies like this have a ton of experience adapting cars to handicapped people while adhering to safety regulations.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2021, 08:12:39 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on June 27, 2021, 09:30:53 pmI said a similar thing in myfirst reply. I'm personally involved with a charity which provides therapy to those with disabilities, using horses, both riding and just being around the animals. A former cllient, has muscular distrophy and had her car specially adapted. I don't know if she still drives, as her disability is progressive. I could ask her, for details of the company who did it, if the origninal poster sends me a private message, but these companies are normally fairly small, not big, so I doubt they could help someone in Canada.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2021, 11:56:51 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on June 28, 2021, 08:12:39 amI used to be on the local RDA committee. My wife is a wheelchair user so I have become fairly well versed with car adaptions as well. In Canada and the US it would be a company like Braunabilityhttps://www.braunability.com/us/en.htmlwho would be able to help. The biggest problem with adaptions is liabillity which is one reason they can be expensive due to meeting the crash test requirments etc on small volume items.