It starts with a social media update, and this sends a signal into the little box in the car that lets it know that it has social fuel and can start running. This is the Social Media Car that has been built by A group of students from Kansas City.
The social media-powered car is Minddrive’s brainchild, a Kansas City non-profit which uses experiential learning with at-risk teens. These students re-built a 1967 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and converted it into an electric car.
They replaced the original Volkswagen engine with a lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor. Following this, they installed a tablet PC into the circuitry of the car, which monitors the social watts derived from Minddrive’s social media accounts including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and accordingly controls the power flow.
social media interactions like hashtagging ‘MindDrive’ on Twitter, liking MindDrive’s Facebook page or posts and commenting on their Instagram photos powers the car. A new Twitter follower brings five watts, liking something on Facebook adds 1 watt.
The team is planning to test it out themselves by road tripping from Kansas City to Washington, DC.
Credit: IBN Live
