This, if implemented, would reduce the instances of child deaths in driveways. Drivers would be able to reverse their cars with the aid of a remote control and supervise children whilst reversing.
Remote control for your car
High-tech … BYD’s technology lets you move the car by remote control.
WHEN The Castle’s Darryl Kerrigan needed to shift some cars in the driveway, he said: “Can you move the Camira? I need to get the Torana out to get to the Commodore.”
But 15 years after the cult classic film, Chinese car maker BYD Automotive may have a solution to a typical Australian problem: a remote control that can manoeuvre cars at low speeds. With its new technology, you could move cars from the comfort of home.
At this week’s Beijing Motor Show, BYD will unveil a plug-in hybrid car that can be operated by a slim controller similar to a TV remote.
Illustration: Cathy Wilcox
A statement from BYD said: “With the key in his or her hands, the driver can make the car start, move forward and back, turn left and right, and travel at a restricted speed all by itself, without the driver even being in the vehicle.”
The car maker said the technology was the “perfect solution when the parking space is not wide enough for the driver to exit the car once parked” or to “remotely move the car to his or her side without getting wet”.
The vehicle is a concept for now and not due in showrooms soon, but BYD is capable of building the technology.
It is China’s sixth-largest locally branded car maker and one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of mobile phone batteries, supplying Nokia and Motorola.
BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, signed a 50:50 joint venture with German car maker Mercedes-Benz last year to develop electric vehicle technology.
The third-richest man in the world, Warren Buffet, bought 10 per cent of the company in 2008.
BYD is also working on an in-car device that monitors driver fatigue.
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