Australian scientists claim that they are developing technology which allows your smartphone to drive your car.
And this isn't just some far-off pipe-dream; the researchers claim that a working prototype of the system will be finished within a year.
Dr Jun Jo from Griffith University in Australia 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."
The system would then use an onboard computer, coupled to a radar system and sensors, which communicate with the phone, allowing the car to drive itself.
The scientists also envisage a future in which car ownership is a thing of the past. Dr Jo said, "Sharing cars will reduce lots of expenditure and solve a lot of traffic congestion in the middle of cities... 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."
This all sounds great but, take it from us, it'll NEVER happen. For starters, would you put your life in the hands of a small piece of electronic equipment? And even if you did trust your phone to drive you around, one day it will break and you will be killed.
Dr Jo's car-sharing idea is similarly preposterous -- would you be willing to forsake your own personal wheels in favour of a shared car? We thought not.
If only these so-called scientists turned their attentions to something more useful...
