Researchers Just Trained a Car on SuperTuxKart

The latest Mario Kart entry on the Nintendo Switch 2 is pretty cool. But have you ever wished it felt a little bit more… Real? With a car and SuperTuxKart, it can be done. Kind of.

Researchers have transformed a standard hatchback into a fully functional controller that works for a racing video game. The project was undertaken by UK-based security consultancy Pen Test Partners (PTP). The team utilized their in-house research vehicle, a 2016 Renault Clio, for the experiment, and the ultimate goal was to demonstrate how to intercept and manipulate Controller Area Network (CAN) data, a critical skill for anyone entering the field of automotive security. The CAN bus is the internal communications network that allows various electronic control units (ECUs) throughout a car to exchange information, enabling functions like braking, accelerating, and steering.

So this has legitimate, serious applications that aren’t playing games. But you could. By tapping into this network, the researchers aimed to map the car’s real-world controls to the inputs of “SuperTuxKart,” a free and open-source racing game similar to “Mario Kart.” Leading the technical effort was PTP’s hardware hacker, David Lodge, who began by physically splicing into the Clio’s CAN wiring. It also required decoding the torrent of data flowing through the network. This required a combination of studying vehicle documentation, using open-source tools designed to decipher Clio-specific codes, and of course, good old trial and error and some elbow grease (perhaps literally). Lodge meticulously pressed the pedals and turned the steering wheel to observe which “arbitration IDs”—unique identifiers for CAN messages—corresponded to each specific action.

Once the specific CAN signals for steering, acceleration, and braking were isolated, they were translated into game inputs. The brakes were relatively straightforward to configure, as they function as a simple on/off switch. Steering, however, presented a bit of a physical challenge. Since the car was stationary, aggressive turning would excessively wear down the tires on the exhibition floor. The team resolved this by setting a minimal steering angle threshold, allowing for in-game control without damaging the vehicle.

The project was not without its limitations. The team had hoped to use the Clio’s horn to activate in-game items like power-ups, but they discovered that the horn’s operation is not transmitted over the CAN bus. Furthermore, a tight deadline prevented them from linking the car’s actual speedometer to the game’s display, though Lodge is confident it could be achieved by sending specific messages to the vehicle’s instrument cluster. The ultimate result is probably still not something that feels good to play, and it clearly won’t be something you’ll ever get to play either, but it’s a cool proof of concept nonetheless.

Source: The Register