if there is one raspberry pi Breathe life into your old hardware.In all the projects involving vintage hardware we’ve covered, we’ve never seen anything like this Tank simulator using Raspberry Pi YouTuber Tom Scott had the privilege of demonstrating in a recent video. This simulator was originally created by him in the 1970s, but thanks to our favorite his SBC, it still works today.
According to Scott, this is the last remaining 1970s tank driving simulator in the world. This unit features a box where the user can sit with realistic controls like they would be inside a real tank cockpit. The screen shows what is in front of the tank while the box is rigged to tilt and move in real time to simulate the effects of driving a tank in the real world.
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Most simulators today contain virtual worlds rendered with 3D assets, but such technology did not exist in the 1970s.
Instead, the simulator uses a model landscape (the actual physical model landscape outside the control box). The simulator controls a camera that moves through a model landscape consisting of roads, trees, and buildings. The terrain is not smooth and the box will move when obstacles are ‘climbed over’.
What’s impressive about this simulator is how much of the original hardware is preserved. Models, cockpit controls and camera rigs are all integrated into the restoration. The biggest change is that the computer has been replaced with a Raspberry Pi.
The Swiss Military Museum explained that procuring parts for the restoration made the process particularly difficult. The Pi can handle features previously implemented by boards that are no longer available or very hard to come by. The Pi is responsible for sending input to the camera vehicle in the model and registering responses to the control box.
If you want to learn more about this Raspberry Pi project, check out the original video shared. Youtube And see what it looks like in action.
