I play with the railroad simulator, Trainz.
 

I build and operate scale-model layouts with this virtual model railroading software. The trains can be made to run autonomously. My latest virtual Trainz model layout is a 1/10 scale outdoor layout. There are many different types of vehicles on this that operate autonomously: trains, streetcars, trucks, horse-drawn carriages, boats and yes, aircraft. There are no buses or automobiles, however, except for static models of such on my layo

What does this all have to do with the radio-control hobby you ask yourselves?

I IMAGINE these virtual vehicles to be physical scale models operating autonomously. Each and every one would have some sort of wireless electronic control and command technology associated with it. The challenge in building scale-model operating vehicles that look, sound and act like real-world ones would be in the technology. Being able to cram so much of the guts to make the vehicle function into something with a high level of precision scale. The body of a train locomotive is spacious inside and it's relatively easy to cram wireless control electronics inside the hood of a diesel-electric engine off the boiler and tender of a steam loco. Having an accurate 1/10 scale car or semi truck tractor with full interior and people figures seated in them would be much harder as there would be little space to hide away the necessary functional hardware to make them go. A boat's hull and an airplane's fuselage should provide plenty of room for the working wireless guts. The mechanicals and electronics in theory for scale autonomous road vehicles would have to be designed on a super micro scale like a smartphone. Think of how sophisticated a smartphone is and how compact it is as well. Nothing now made by Futaba would cut it for a 1/10 scale model passenger car such as a 1953 Chevrolet of a 1954 Oldsmobile coupe or sedan with such operating sophistication and scale interior/exterior detail as I dare imagine. I also envision sound effects, operating windshield wipers, exhaust smoke and full vehicular lighting for my theoretical 1/10-scale operating autonomous road vehicles. My theoretical road vehicles would be rechargeable-battery operated and have charging stations in hidden areas of the layout to automatically park and recharged their onboard batteries. Can you imagine shoehorning in the mechanicials to make windshield wipers work on a 1/10-scale model passenger car? The working guts of these models would have to be designed with Swiss watch precision and scale. And where do we tuck away the sound effects equipment for a 1/10 car? The engine sounds, the starter sound, the brakes sound. Where do we hide the smoke generator for a 1/10 diesel truck? What part of the truck model in theory would hold the smoke oil? We have all this sophistcation in model trains already because of the sheer interior volume of their body cavities. I also imagine my 1/10 scale trains and road vehicles to have full working spring suspensions as well. A real tall order.

Please chime in on what you think of developing the most sophisticated and LIFELIKE r/c autonomous scale-model vehicles in the world.

Are you talking about building working scale models 1/10 size ?

Yes, I am. I am interested in knowing how advanced technology is to make this notion feasible. This wild idea of mine is to make accurate scale 1/10 WORKING vehicle models as lifelike as humanly possible and economically feasible, at least for a billionaire. A single 1/10 model car as sophisticated and true to scale as I propose could be $5K or more American dollars if it were to be readily available for purchase on the retail market. What I have in mind is indeed a pipe dream of sorts. There are a lot of R/C vehicles out there for under $1K, but most of them don't make the mouth of a scale model aficionando water for sheer cosmetic beauty. Most of the highly-detailed working scale models tend to be electric model trains. Most detailed scale R/C models are one-off/hand-built by those with money and raw talent in the industrial arts. Making them autonomous/self-driving is even one giant step further in my pipe dream. We are now talking about robotic scale models. Here is a 1/24 model static '53 Chevrolet automobile. Imagine making this in 1/10 scale, with people figures seated inside, that is r/c drivable and fully autonomous in operation. Imagine the windshield wipers and all the lights working. Imagine authentic motor sounds, horn sounds, starter sounds and brake sounds to boot. If there were people figures inside the theoretical model car of mine, it's possible some of the electronic parts could be housed inside the bodies of even them. Stuff , working gear, might even be stowed away inside the seat cushions. We must use available space as effciently as possible. We want to hide away the working parts as much as feasible. The vehicle body only offers so much room to hide stuff. The devil is in the details.

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