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Can an iPhone App drive a car? Possibly yes possibly no. Here's a post from Mike Brookbank's blog of free press digital host.
Even if you are like me and don't have an iPhone, chances are you have heard this popular saying: "There's an app for that."
Well, now we can add controlling a car to the list of things Apple's hugely popular phone can do.
Yes, you heard me right, some very tech-savvy Germans have come up with a way to remotely drive a minivan using their phone, according to Engadget.
The iDriver app allows you to accelerate and brake with just the push of a button. The phone's motion sensors allow you to steer by swaying it back and forth from side to side as you would a steering wheel.
The app basically converts the iPhone into a video game controller.
Now this concept isn't new. Apparently, a real video game controller from a PSP has been used in the past to control a Honda Civic.
However, according to techies out there, this is a major improvement from anything seen in the past.
The question you have to ask yourself though is why would we need something like this?
We already know the problems cell phones pose when we are behind the wheel. What happens when we're using them to control it?
Thankfully, this is not yet available commercially. But will this soon be one of the $.99 apps you can download? I'm no expert, but I am going to say no.
Bottom line, it shows anything is possible thanks to technology. It also is a great conversation piece and makes for some great video.
We talked about it this morning on "First Forecast Mornings," even showing the amazing video which demonstrates how it works.
In the video, researchers from the artificial intelligence team at the Free University of Berlin test-drive the minivan on a deserted runway at a city airport.
You can see the "Spirit of Berlin" doing tight turns as a researcher, standing several feet away, uses an iPhone to navigate the vehicle.
This conversation piece app was created by the Appirion firm, which specializes in software for mobile phones.
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