My intro post to the community notes the lack of groups/clubs/worksites near me which is a problem many people seem to share. I also found a
old thread here on the forums about establishing a central 'clubhouse' of sorts though it seemed the idea fizzled due to travel time, distance, and cost.
Drawing on my other interests and the
idea/vison behind the
ARxterra: Telerobotic Community I propose a (imperfect)solution: Teleoperation!
If travel is such a challenge can we avoid it? Perhaps
Do we really have to be THERE in person? Not necessarily.
-----Explaining the idea-----------
The equipment can be controlled over the internet with various cameras on the vehicles, buildings, poles, etc to provide many different viewpoints. Perhaps small arm bots, utility vehicles, small redesigns and creative thinking be used in place of human interference?
Plus with all the cameras we could broadcast some of the feeds to the internet with small ads for sponsors which can minimize the cost to the club. The general public could also try the hobby in a select area with a select set of equipment over the internet, which massively lowers the barrier to entry.
The conversion of existing models to TelOp would hopefully be relatively simple. The control system(hardware/software) would hopefully be open source, fairly plug n' play and versatile.
Once I have more space I'm hoping to work on this as a pet project though it might take a few years before I can have a test setup(small shed, outdoor area, maybe 10 vehicles). If its popular (and financially possible) a bigger shed with more vehicles would be added.
-----------Future dreams-----------
With sponsors and a large (perhaps international) operator group the ultimate goal/dream would be a "R/C Playground" with a main 1+ acre (200+ft by 200+ft) shed, a few small satellite sheds, outdoor area(s), underground space, water area, etc. In-person Operator events can be held as well but under normal operation people don't enter the playground, the just models.
What do you guys think? I know there is a hundred other challenges to overcome for it to work and I tend to think too big. But I think its possible, just don't know if the interest is there.
So would any y'all be interested in my harebrained scheme?
Thanks for reading!