We love seeing Teensy boards shoved into all manner of things in order to give them new capabilities and lives beyond what their original creators envisioned; souped-up toys and remote-control-ified gadgets.

This particularly large toy really caught our attention: Jesse Brockmann upgraded his 500-lb vintage John Deere 110 Mower with Teensy 3.2-powered remote-controlled steering, braking, and throttle.

The steering motor is driven by a Pololu Simple Motor Controller G2 18v15, while linear actuators handle the brakes and gear shifting. The mowing blade has already been removed, but additional safety measures include a safety tether, an energized relay that will close and shut off the ignition if power is lost, which is also connected to Teensy’s own watchdog. Jesse’s custom JRover breakout board facilitates servo and I2C hookup. A standard R/C transmitter and receiver is used for control. Find out more on SparkFun’s blog, or in the video below!