iDriver - iPhone Application to Remotely Drive Cars ~ Video
Computer scientists in Germany have developed an application for the iPhone that turns the phone into a remote control for their self-constructed car.
Using the app, iDriver, the driver can operate the steering, brakes, and accelerator pedal by simply stroking of the mobile phones touchscreen.
A video camera on the dashboard transmits a signal to the iPhone, allowing the iDriver user to see everything in front of the car, and to adjust the car in the direction of their choice.
The commands are transmitted from the iPhone via radio to the power transmission in the car. The iDriver user is able to park a car on the ground level from as far away as the fourth floor of a building.
The remote control and the car called ‘Spirit of Berlin’ were constructed by the Artificial Intelligence Group at Freie Universität and powered by Appirion UG in Berlin, Germany.
The group is investigating how autonomous vehicles may change our lives in the future.
Professor Raúl Rojas, who directed the project, said one day we could all be dropped off and picked up by driverless taxis, which would remove the need for everyone to own a car.
Hmm, this sounds interesting in theory, but I’m not sure about the reality. Although being dropped off and picked up by a driverless vehicle may mean no more driving round and round car-parks looking for a vacant space, I think I prefer driving myself, and this should be left to the world of James Bond. 
Posted on ZEITGEIST
