HackerTubewatch
Surprise me
Frame from This 1970s tank simulator drives through a tiny world Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

This 1970s tank simulator drives through a tiny world

60 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
2 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2024–2025 score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Recommended as a great example of early VR and pre-computer simulation.

Tom Scott visits the Swiss Military Museum to see the last surviving 1970s tank-driving simulator. It uses a real camera moving over a miniature model landscape rather than any computer graphics.

“This tank simulator from the 1970s is a great example of early VR” (HN, 2024)

2 recommendations · 2 citations · Explainers

4 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@bux93 Feb 2024 Recommends
on HN thread A man who invented VR goggles 50 years too soon (2016)
Using VR goggles that have no capability of viewing anything VR makes them just regular goggles though? This tank simulator from the 1970s is a great example of early VR: [this video] I wonder if there's anything earlier..
1970s tank simulator as an early VR example

Citations, criticism and jokes

@jtxt Oct 2024 Cites it
on HN thread Building a Game with the Real Engine
Reminds of an early tank simulator where the driver in the cockpit saw a video feed from a camera on a gantry they were slowly driving around a diarama. [this video] "Real engine" for just one player at a time though.
Early tank simulator using a camera on a gantry over a diorama
@bitwize Sep 2025 Cites it
on HN thread Simulating a Machine from the 80s
The Swiss Military Museum maintains an exhibit with a 1970s tank simulator that guests can try out. It consists of a tank cockpit in a hydraulically mounted chamber that can pitch and roll with the changing terrain. The operator drives a little camera around a large diorama providing a first-person view of simulated terrain; a "foot" on the camera senses the terrain which is then translated into movements of the chamber. Apparently all of the equipment is original except the computer; as computer parts became harder to replace, eventually they just used a Raspberry Pi. [this video]
Swiss Military Museum's 1970s tank simulator with a diorama and camera

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Search
j k
Next / previous video
r
Surprise me
l
Like (video page)
w
Watch later (video page)
?
This help
Esc
Close