It may not be as cool as operating a drone. However, three students at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena 3-D printed a working RC car, comprised of 3-D printed plastic and carbon fiber.
The car, called The Cirin, is powered by a 5m long twisted elastic band inside of a carbon fiber tube but features plenty of electronics for wireless communication with the controller for driving and braking.
Built by Max Greenberg, Sameer Yeleswarapu, and Ian Cullimore, The Cirin is capable of maxing out at a top speed of approximately 50km/h. Unfortunately, since the car is propelled by an elastic band, the vehicle can only go “a few hundred feet” between elastic windings.
Not too shabby for essentially a rubber band-powered car.
Hopefully the automobile industry, or say someone like Elon Musk, doesn’t get any ideas from this elastic-powered toy!
