This BlackBerry controlled train makes me wish I had of asked for one as a gift!

Over at the BlackBerry Developer Blog they're celebrating the holidays and doing so in some very fun BlackBerry ways. Rob Williams, Application Development Consultant at BlackBerry has taken some time to demo his BlackBerry controlled HO rolling stock train after having recently helped Tim Neil with Bluetooth control for parts of the BatBerry. With some Arduino code coupled with a BlackBerry Cascades application, Rob was able to set up a number of operations that can all be controlled via BlackBerry.

Using the BlackBerry app, my family can now send the train either direction or stop it completely. The train also automatically reverses after a gentle delay when it hits the limit switches. I also built in controls for the lights in the four houses, with the choice between steady or a pretty flickering setting, plus a brightness setting.

The model functions without being connected to my BlackBerry as well; however, when I do connect, I have dynamic instant control over my train from anywhere in the room. It’s a lot of fun for the family and it will definitely be a new annual holiday tradition! 

You can check out the quick video above to see it in action or head on over to the BlackBerry Developer Blog for a further look at the story behind it all. Totally awesome! Shame I'm a bit late to ask for a train set for the holidays.

Read more at the BlackBerry Dev Blog