I converted about five static H0-scale model vehicles into fully functional, self-driving ones. Before that, I owned two Märklin model trains and had started to design a landscape around the tracks to make it more realistic. But this was not realistic enough for me because the cars wouldn't move.
This prompted me to search for solutions, leading me first to the Faller Car System at the age of seven. It equips cars with a motor and a magnet attached to the steering axle, allowing them to follow a wire in the road. Servos can move the wire at intersections to guide cars into different lanes.
But I wanted more realism. The cars didn't have lights or turn indicators, and they couldn't recognize another car in front of them. Avoiding collisions required keeping them far apart or bringing them to an abrupt stop, so I kept looking for a more sophisticated solution.
At nine, I discovered the DC-Car System. Its control chip, roughly 10 by 12 mm, let me add the functions I was missing. I soldered and fitted the lights myself. Infrared LEDs and phototransistors allowed a car to detect the one ahead and keep its distance without stopping abruptly. The cars could also react to external commands for lights, turn indicators, stopping, and speed changes.
I converted an articulated bus, a DHL semi-trailer truck, a street sweeper, a Rothaus truck with a trailer, and another bus. I fitted the drive components, electronics, wiring, and lights into each model myself. They could follow the road, speed up, slow down, brake for a vehicle ahead, and indicate left and right. The street sweeper also had a yellow warning beacon.