Two Chinese men successfully drive a 1-series with a Nokia smartphone.
In an age where car manufacturers are producing apps for phones that allow drivers to monitor the car’s vital systems and even switch on the air-conditioning before they hop in, this new app could be seen as one for the “why did they bother” column.
A pair of innovative Chinese computer programmers have apparently successfully used a smartphone to drive a BMW 1-Series by remote control.
A high quality video has been posted on YouTube showing the men programming and testing various scenarios before eventually driving the car using the Nokia phone.
An Jiaxuan and his companion took 20 days to program the smartphone app to remotely control the steering and throttle of the luxury hatch.
It isn’t clear whether the video is a viral ad or a hoax, though the dubiously excellent production of the video does raise some doubts as to its viability.
Either way, it’s questionable as to how useful the app would really be.