A group of high-school students from Kansas City have rebuilt a car to generate power from social media updates and interactions.
A group of high school students and staff at MINDDRIVE, a program for students from Kansas City's urban core, have rejigged a car that powers with social media updates. The students revamped a 1967 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and converted it into an electric car, which draws power from tweets, Facebook likes and Instagram views.
After building an electric car, the students developed a machine, which was fitted into the engine to monitor posts from various social media sites, and generate enough power for the car to move. Every social media post is routed through a server and then transfers a signal to the car. The machine in the engine of the car transforms these signals into 'social media fuel', which powers the car to start.
The students hope to travel all the way to Washington D.C., which is more than a thousand miles, in the car and make stops to share the details of their invention and explore museums and other educational attractions. They plan to start the trip May 31 and end it on June 6.
The car can be powered to help the students with their trip to Washington by liking or commenting on the MINDDRIVE Facebook page or following @MINDDRIVE or tweeting with the #MINDDRIVE hashtag on Twitter. Each new follower generates 5 watts of power in the car and liking something on Facebook adds 1 watt.
MINDDRIVE currently has 30 students from five different area high-schools in two classes. According to the CEO, Steve Rees, the admissions have been doubled from last year and they hope to expand further in the years to come.
