zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Watch Sam Schmidt Power This Head-Controlled Corvette C8 At Goodwood
Watch Sam Schmidt Power This Head-Controlled Corvette C8 At Goodwood-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:57

Image for article titled Watch Sam Schmidt Power This Head-Controlled Corvette C8 At Goodwood

When racer Sam Schmidt crashed at Walt Disney World Speedway ahead of the 2000 IndyCar season, he was diagnosed with quadriplegia, which effectively ended his racing career. But this weekend, advancements in technology mean the IndyCar team owner is racing a Corvette C8 up the hill at Goodwood.

Schmidt has had a longstanding partnership with Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 500 company that has sponsored Schmidt’s teams for years, and the two have been working together on developing a car that can be controlled by nothing but one’s head movements, which is much of what Schmidt can control.

Enter the Corvette SAM, or Semi-Autonomous Motorcar. Schmidt has been working on this since 2013, and he was able to make his first lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. Since then, he and Arrow have been implementing countless other improvements that have allowed Schmidt to travel faster and farther, with test runs at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb and road trips to iconic destinations. Schmidt’s home state, Nevada, has even issued him a unique driver’s license that allows him to legally operate these cars on the road.

Now, you can watch him make a lap at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is taking place this weekend:

To control the car, sensors track the driver’s subtle head movements which correspond to specific actions in the car. The driver wears a hat fitted with eight infrared sensors that can be tracked by cameras and provide real-time feedback.

So, to decide where he wanted to go in the initial concept, Schmidt just had to look in that direction. To accelerate, he had to tilt his head and tap the headrest, which signaled acceleration in 10 mph increments. To brake, he bit down on a sensor between his teeth.

The concept has grown more refined over time with testing and advancements in technology. Now, Sam puffs breath into a mouthpiece that can sense pressure changes and which controls acceleration based on the amount of air pressure Schmidt creates. That same mouth pressure sensor is used in braking, but instead of exhaling, Schmidt sips air, and the changes in air pressure again dictate the force of braking used. He also has much better control over the racing line now.

Arrow has also used its team of dedicated engineers to provide Schmidt with an exoskeleton that allowed him to walk for the first time in over two decades and at her wedding.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
What Is It Like To Drive A Classic 911 Rally Car?
What Is It Like To Drive A Classic 911 Rally Car?
The star of for any racing nerd was this beautiful Porsche 911 rally car. It was auctioned off on Wednesday, but not before Richard Meaden at Evo got to drive it. What's it like? It's one of the most raw driving experiences he's ever had. The describes some of its...
Jul 5, 2026
Daniel Ricciardo Trashes Lewis Hamilton's Top Gear Record Like A Boss
Daniel Ricciardo Trashes Lewis Hamilton's Top Gear Record Like A Boss
Hey, Lewis Hamilton: while you're getting ready to about your hot ex-girlfriend, Daniel Ricciardo is coming for your ass, starting with your Top Gear "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" record. On last night's episode, the Aussie Red Bull driver set a record 1:42.2 lap time in the Suzuki Liana...
Jul 5, 2026
Valentino Rossi, Fernando Alonso Had Money In Secret Swiss Bank Accounts
Valentino Rossi, Fernando Alonso Had Money In Secret Swiss Bank Accounts
The Swiss arm of HSBC was one of the most private banking institutions in the world until systems engineer Hervé Falciani from his employer. Motorsports stars Valentino Rossi, Flavio Briatore, Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen were on the list of hacked accounts. According to , HSBC is one of the...
Jul 5, 2026
Reminders From The Bathurst 12 Hour: Mount Panorama Will Bite You
Reminders From The Bathurst 12 Hour: Mount Panorama Will Bite You
The Bathurst 12 Hour with its record twenty safety cars would like to remind us all: Mount Panorama Circuit will bite you—hard. The infamous Australian track didn't get its reputation as one of the toughest places to race in the world by having tons of runoff or being gentle on...
Jul 5, 2026
The Final Minutes Of The Bathurst 12 Hour Is The Best Racing All Year
The Final Minutes Of The Bathurst 12 Hour Is The Best Racing All Year
If there's one moment you watch from this year's crazy Bathurst 12 Hour race, it's the very end. A late safety car bunched up traffic, instantly transforming a lengthy endurance race into a four-minute sprint. Race leader Matt Bell already had enough of the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour's record number...
Jul 5, 2026
Rallye Monte Carlo Shows Us That Guardrails Are For Wimps
Rallye Monte Carlo Shows Us That Guardrails Are For Wimps
Rally types call these things "exposures." I call them "flashbacks to when my friend Pike's Peak." Either way, here's some excellent footage of Robert Kubica not driving off a mountain during the Rallye Monte Carlo. What better way to start a lazy Sunday afternoon than with delicious straight-cut gear whine...
Jul 5, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved