Remember that scene from Tomorrow Never Dies, where Bond drives his BMW by remote control? Well it looks like Jaguar Land Rover is on the path to making it a reality, albeit in a much slower and more controlled form.
The British company has announced the launch of a system that could see future drivers able to remotely drive their vehicles using their smartphones.
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It’s pretty cool, although you won’t be using it to escape from international super-villains any time soon. Instead Jaguar Land Rover’s system is designed to help off-road drivers over tricky terrain and ordinary drivers out of tight parking spots.
According to a press release from the company, the smartphone app includes control of steering, accelerator and brakes as well as changing from high and low range. In order to make sure that things don’t get out of hand, Jaguar Land Rover has capped the speed at a maximum, meaning that you should be able to comfortably walk alongside your vehicle.
The remote control function will only operate if the user is within 10 metres of the car and if the smart key can be detected. The system will stop the vehicle if the driver moves out of range or gets too close, meaning that you probably won’t be run over either.
While, the technology looks pretty cool as is, it’s not going to be rolling it out in this form. Instead it’s looking to the future, when it reckons the technology could include more autonomous functionality where the driver gives a simple command from the handset to traverse an obstacle or exit a parking space, and the car does the rest.
