Australian scientists say they are developing technology which will enable your smartphone to drive your car.

Researchers are currently testing the process in a lab but say they will soon be moving on to live road testing.

The technology uses a phone’s satellite navigation technology and camera to drive along the street.

Dr Jun Jo from Griffith University on Australia’s Gold Coast is leading a team which has built a prototype car which they are using to test the software. The vehicle has an onboard computer, radar system and sensors which communicate with the phone.

He told Sky News: “When I get into the car I simply place my mobile phone in the dashboard, facing the camera out to the front. All the sensors around the car will start communicating with my phone.

“We believe cars will become shared properties rather than individual belongings.

“My smartphone could reserve a car near my house and, then when I leave home, I place my mobile phone in the dashboard and my smartphone actually knows where to go and what is my preferred driving style.

“Then when I get out of the car the phone will fix payment for the time I spent in it and for the fuel consumed.”

Sydney-based motoring journalist Toby Hagen says success will depend on safety and reliability: “We have got a lot of autonomy in vehicles at the moment, things like crash avoidance, self-parking, the ability to keep a car in a lane.

“All of them work up to a point but none of them are perfect and that is one of the issues here. If you are going to have a car that wants to take full control of all the driving, it has to work 100% of the time.”

Via: Sky News

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