My head was only still for a few seconds of my hot lap in a Rally Fighter, but that's all it took for me to notice the accessory controls were the vehicle's biggest letdown. Local Motors is seeking to rectify that with the integration of an open-source "Galileo board" from Intel.
A Galileo board is the microcontroller board that's used as a platform for interfacing between a user and a Windows, Mac OS, and Linux operating system. It then controls and interact with other pieces of hardware.
Local Motors plans to fit these boards in the Rally Fighter to control the vehicle's windows, lights, and allow interface with smartphones. But theoretically, somebody tech savvier than I could build out the Galileo board to run some of the off-roader's more exciting systems, like the throttle. Couldn't they?
It's cool that the Rally Fighter will have better controls, but I'm really hoping that means somebody's going to program a remote-control setup so the Rally Fighter can be driven by phone-remote like James Bond's Tomorrow Never Dies 7-Series BMW. Can any of you nerds chime in and assure me that's possible?
In concert with the Local Motors open-source ethos, Intel has made all the design schematics, "Allegro board files" whatever those are, and bill of materials (BOM) available for a free download.
Those that can make more sense of computer specs can check out Intel's product brief and report back to us.
Image: Local Motors, Intel, "Tomorrow Never Dies"