Here at TUAW we've seen lots of uses for the iPhone as a remote control, but if you were watching and thinking that those projects were way too safe, then the guys at Waterloo Labs have got you covered. They approached the project with a low budget and DIY attitude, building a low-cost (relatively speaking) car that is controlled by a first generation iPhone. Not content with just building the car, they also chose to car-surf on the hood and roof, Teen Wolf style, while testing their handiwork.

While we at TUAW do not condone such dangerous behavior, we can recommend that you watch this other video by Waterloo Labs as a more in-depth instructional video on how to build your own vehicle.

Earlier this week, news of iDriver hit the Internet. In case you missed it, it's an app that was developed by computer science researchers at Berlin's Free University to drive a modified minivan, the "Spirit of Berlin." Steering, break and accelleration commands are sent over Wi-Fi. In the demo video, researchers are driving it around an airport for testing. I'd really like a turn.

Of course, this isn't the first iPhone-controlled vehicle we've seen. Here's a video roundup of iPhone- and iPod touch-powered vehicles both big and small.

[Via Popsci]

Remember Pete's FishCam? Just before Christmas of 2008, we did a short post about Pete Raumann's web app that he developed that allowed him to watch his fish tank, turn the light on and off, and even open and close a treasure chest in the tank.

Pete's now presenting the newly renamed TankedCam to the world, and you get to be in control! While he still won't let you feed his fish (he doesn't want them floating upside down in the tank), you can now get in on the fun of watching and annoying the tank population by heading to either http://www.tankedcam.com or the iPhone / iPod touch-friendly http://m.tankedcam.com.

In his latest hit video, Pete uses an iPod touch and the latter link to control the tank that's in the background. I was playing with this last night while watching TV and trust me, the fish tank was much more interesting than the show. Pete has added an air stone that you can turn on and off, a dinosaur tank ornament with a mouth you can open and close, and one cam that you can pan left and right. A tap on your iPhone screen brings you to a stationary upper camera with a scuba diver that you can control in real time, another air stone controller, and a water pump that you can use to add water to the tank.

If you think that the latter control is going to let you flood Pete's office from your iPhone, you're wrong -- the system is set up with a level controller so you won't be able to add water beyond a certain level in the tank. This is a fun demonstration of remote control via iPhone, so be sure to give it a try. I've included some screenshots from last night's eerily-lit iPhone fish-bothering session, as well as some shots in the light of day. Enjoy!

Important safety tip: Please read the instructions for TweetMyMac carefully, especially the part about creating a separate Twitter account for your Mac -- do not use your regular Twitter account, or anyone you follow will be able to control your machine.

We have previously covered some of the ways in which it is possible to remotely control a Mac at home or in the office. Most of our suggestions have required the use of Mail in order to process some rule and kick off a script or Automator action.

Alex P over at TheMacBox aims to change all of that. Enter TweetMyMac, the little program that lets you get screenshots, iSight snapshots, or launch a program through the use of Twitter. While the list of commands available is not currently as comprehensive as what your imagination can create with a little AppleScript or Automator whizzbangery, it is a good list and growing as well.

An obvious benefit of this approach is the ease of getting everything set up. In the past it took an AppleScript to call another Automator action or some other kludgey-at-best method to get things working. With TweetMyMac there is very little effort required for setup.

Another neat feature is that TweetMyMac will run a shell command. With a little scripting you can create your own custom commands. And using the previously-covered technique of sending tweets via the command line you can have your custom commands send information back to you as well.

What does a former US Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot do with her time now that she heads MIT's Humans and Automation Lab? The short answer is "really cool stuff," and the long answer is even better.

During her tenure as a pilot, Professor Cummings became frustrated with the Hornet's cockpit. "I spent whole time complaining - who was the moron who designed this thing?" she told Wired. At MIT, she and her students were inspired to consider a replacement for the huge controllers that US soldiers use to operate Raven unmanned aerial vehicles. Just six weeks and $5,000 later, they launched a working test flight of a small robotic crafted controlled by an iPhone.

The app they've created relays GPS coordinates to the robot, which then travels from origin to destination on its own. Wired notes that the phone in the video is not jailbroken and the app in question was created like any other. It's very cool indeed. Now if they could only design something to get my kids to the bus stop on time.

This post is a first for me in that I'm typing (or tapping) it in on an iPhone using our Blogsmith CMS. No, there's not a Blogsmith iPhone app that I'm aware of, and I'm not using Safari on the iPhone to pull up our web portal. Instead, I'm controlling my office iMac from about 16 miles away using my iPhone and LogMeIn Ignition.

LogMeIn is a remote access and control application for Macs and PCs that creates a secure connection between two computers by having each logged into a secure server. LogMeIn Ignition adds the ability to control a Mac or PC from your iPhone. To test Ignition, I set up a LogMeIn Free for Mac account and then loaded the app onto my iPhone 3G. How did it work? Read on for more details.

Remember the remote-controlled dog treat dispenser from a few weeks ago? Now Pete Raumann has come up with Pete's FishCam, which comes complete with an iPhone interface so that he can remotely watch his fish swimming around in a nicely appointed aquarium.

It's more than just a webcam, though -- Pete can also turn the lights on and off (both tank and accent spotlights), pan the camera left and right, and open and close the "treasure chest" in the tank. Pete used the same equipment and web-based applet generator from ioBridge that was used to create the dog treat dispenser.

Note to Pete: your next assignments are to build an aquarium-cleaning robot and fish feeder that you can control from the iPhone. The video below shows how the interface works on the iPhone, complete with narration by Mr. Raumann.

What are your ideas for something you'd like to be able to watch and/or control from your iPhone? Put it in a comment, and please remember to keep it clean!

If you've got a far-flung assortment of computers to manage, there are some great zero-config paid and install-a-client-first free options out there -- including the cross-platform hosted approach of LogMeIn. The LogMeIn Free client runs fine on Mac OS X, and the web-based control UI is capable; but how delightful would it be to take that same capability and stick it in your pocket? Very delightful.

LogMeIn has begun accepting applications for the private beta of LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone/iPod touch, the mobile client version of the remote control platform. With a final release planned for the end of the year, the client will allow full remote control of any computer in your list, including screen blanking and zoom/pan options.

While there are great IT admin tools for other mobile platforms (and some promising but never-completed iPhone tools), the iPhone admin explosion hasn't quite arrived yet. LogMeIn is definitely an industrial-strength player and the presence of the client will help to legitimize the iPhone and iPod touch as an enterprise device.

Thanks Shannon

[via MacTech]

Along with the new iPhone SDK 8 beta that came out tonight, Apple also shipped a pre-release version of iTunes 7.7 to developers in the iPhone Dev Program. iTunes 7.7 is a requirement for the new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 firmware; it also appears to include a new remote control feature.

According to an anonymous tipster, iTunes 7.7 will allow either an iPhone or iPod touch to download a free application that can remote control iTunes from anywhere in the vicinity of your Mac (most likely over your home network). Reportedly, this free application will be available in the App Store upon the 2.0 firmware release.

As we cannot confirm nor deny this tip, take it with a grain of salt until we get official word from Apple. However, as you may recall, we hinted about this capability a while back.

Thanks, (redacted)!

Say what you will about scroll wheels versus touch screens but you can't effectively operate a touch screen from your pocket. Fortunately the iPhone provides decent, and the iPod touch excellent, compatibility with standard iPod accessories like this $6.30 Borgvik remote control from Kai Domain (formerly Fifth Unit). It's labeled as a nano device but works well with both touch and iPhone.

Using a remote allows you to operate your iPhone or iPod touch without physically touching the screen. As you can see in the picture here, this remote allows you to to adjust playback volume, play and pauses and navigate between tracks.

Of course, if you're using the iPhone earbuds, a remote control isn't particularly necessary. The squeeze control located on the headset wires allows you to pause/play (single squeeze) and skip to the next track (double squeeze). If you prefer to use your own earphones (as I do) or play back through the iPhone speakers (not necessarily in your pocket), a remote can come in handy. The control clips to your shirt so you don't have to keep grabbing to find it.

Be aware that the iPhone throws up a warning whenever the remote attaches, letting you know that the accessory was not made for the iPhone. It prompts you to enter Airplane mode, a choice you can readily decline.

The attached adapter plug works well with the iPod touch but does not fit into the iPhone's unusually deep headphone jack. Overall performance with an iPhone: 3 Apples out of 5, with an iPod touch: 4 Apples out of 5.

Akoo International announced plans to develop a web site optimized for the iPhone's Safari browser that will allow customers to use their iPhones to control in-store media displays. Presumably, store displays will announce their m-Venue URL and invite visitors to whip out their iPhones and take part. NikoDrakoulis, Akoo CEO, calls this "real-time consumer-to-brand interactivity."

Done well, this may provide an amusing way to pass the time as one's spouse takes his or her time shopping. Done poorly, this will distract customers from actually purchasing products and will tick off the waiting spouses and children as the iPhone user plays with his or her toy. This press release suggests that restaurants and sports bars would be a great place to install these displays. TUAW could never imagine fights breaking out over which iPhone user gets to control the channel.

Thanks Chris Tutor

"Where's the zapper?!"

A time old phrase uttered countless times in countless living rooms across the world, usually accompanied by an expletive or two. Now that Apple has standardized Front Row and bundled a remote with nearly its whole range, Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro owners are also screaming out for their lost "thingy", "zapper" and "remote control". iMac owners are in the clear: they've got a nice little magnetic section on the side of their machine that the Apple remote will elegantly stick to. Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro owners aren't so fortunate. Apple's forgot to give us non-iMac owners a place to stash our remote! The MacBook, with its magnetic lid, offers a semi-viable solution. The remote will happily stick to the left and right corners at the top of the screen where the lid magnets are. It looks pretty stupid though.

One solution that Apple could use, for the MacBook Pro at least, is to adapt the Apple remote so that it will fit inside the laptop's ExpressCard slot. That would allow users to store the remote out of the way while the machine was closed (our less than elegant solution shown above doesn't tackle that problem). Have any TUAW readers come up with a way to keep the Apple remote with their Mac when they're not using it? Guides for Velcro mods, tractor beam construction manuals and levitation how-tos are welcome!