The PS3 is so powerful, it can drive a car

Just how powerful is the Sony PlayStation 3 game console? We know for a fact that it can produce cutting-edge sound and graphics at a whim. We already know that it can help doctors fight tumors. Now we’re about to find out that it’s good enough to drive a car atop Colorado’s Pike Peak.

Yep, and we’re not talking about doing it in a racing game. We’re dead serious when we say that you can take the back seat and the console will guide a car effortlessly when partnered with GPS, infrared cameras, stereo cameras and Yellow Dog Linux.

At the center of it all, of course, is the Cell processor which we’ve heard all too well about. Based on the same technology that fires up IBM‘s Power PCs, the Cell uses its mathematical muscle to do all the complex calculations at lightning-fast speeds to effectively pull off the automotive feat.

Racing’s renowned team Axion will showcase this incredible development in the upcoming DARPA Challenge sponsored by the US Government. At stake is US$ 2 million to be won.

Axion has come close to winning the contest twice before as they ranked sixth a few years back and finished in at third in their last outing. Autonomous driving has always been their cup of tea but this time they want to add a little sugar to their spice by throwing in the high-end game console to the repertoire.

“We felt having cars drive themselves was getting a little too easy, so we threw the Sony PlayStation into our bag of tricks,” says Axion team leader Bill Kehaly as he jokes around with the idea. The DARPA Challenge takes place on the 3rd of November in a venue yet to be announced.

Just how powerful is the Sony PlayStation 3 game console? We know for a fact that it can produce cutting-edge sound and graphics at a whim. We already know that it can help doctors fight tumors. Now we’re about to find out that it’s good enough to drive a car atop Colorado’s Pike Peak.

Yep, and we’re not talking about doing it in a racing game. We’re dead serious when we say that you can take the back seat and the console will guide a car effortlessly when partnered with GPS, infrared cameras, stereo cameras and Yellow Dog Linux.

At the center of it all, of course, is the Cell processor which we’ve heard all too well about. Based on the same technology that fires up IBM‘s Power PCs, the Cell uses its mathematical muscle to do all the complex calculations at lightning-fast speeds to effectively pull off the automotive feat.

Racing’s renowned team Axion will showcase this incredible development in the upcoming DARPA Challenge sponsored by the US Government. At stake is US$ 2 million to be won.

Axion has come close to winning the contest twice before as they ranked sixth a few years back and finished in at third in their last outing. Autonomous driving has always been their cup of tea but this time they want to add a little sugar to their spice by throwing in the high-end game console to the repertoire.

“We felt having cars drive themselves was getting a little too easy, so we threw the Sony PlayStation into our bag of tricks,” says Axion team leader Bill Kehaly as he jokes around with the idea. The DARPA Challenge takes place on the 3rd of November in a venue yet to be announced.