"I drove the car with a touch screen tablet" - BBC

VIDEO – Exclusively, the supplier Valeo has allowed us to test the latest technology: the remote-control car with a touch pad

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scene returns inevitably Tomorrow Never Dies , when James Bond, literally lying on the back seat of a BMW 7 Series, remote vehicle’s progress via his mobile phone. Except that I’m not at Pinewood Studio, where tours are most sequences of the adventures of the most famous secret agent world, but in real life, in the parking lot of one of the many research centers the supplier Valeo, located in the Paris suburbs. As a preview, the French company, which is celebrating its ninety this year, has allowed us to test the latest technology: the remote-control car with a touch pad, in this case an iPad

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what process engineers have they been asked to develop this system which is more of a sci-fi and whose operation is similar to a radio controlled car? Devauchelle Guillaume, Director of Research and Development Valeo admit that the prospect of the Chinese investment market ultrasonic sensors and thus worry their global leadership in this area was the trigger.

“Driving intuitive”

In a sector where innovation is the main fuel of success and in the context of “ road maps ‘of the equipment, roadmaps that anticipate the needs of drivers for ten years and build solutions, conduct controlled by a tablet also proved a natural extension of both, the automatic parking already available on many vehicles and application authorizing the automatic parking via smartphone.

all systems and driving aids interact via Wi-Fi and the multiplex network

In the latter case, the self, bristling with cameras and sensors, bed lines, monitors the environment and progress slows and alone. With the iPad, Valeo introduces an additional step on the road to the “intuitive operation.” The tablet will function as remote focusing the main functions of the vehicle, ie steering wheel, accelerator and brakes. All systems and driving aids interact via Wi-Fi and the multiplex network. As a result, you can sit wherever you want: in the front passenger seat, the rear seat or even, as we have experienced a few meters from the vehicle to the park on a parking spot! We quickly took to the game and it takes the intervention of Xavier Groult expert and project leader in active safety at Valeo, to curb our enthusiasm. When the habit of video game consoles and that we belong to the community of geeks, exercise is a formality.

The gear ratio is not the same

To start, we must take care to hold the tablet vertically and hold down a button, for security reasons. Remove the finger is equivalent to disconnecting the electronic connection. The pianist’s hands are recommended because it takes the same time pointing a finger drawing on the accelerator and the brake tab. The car leaves its location. First turn: the tablet is oriented in the desired direction. The steering wheel follows the movement but be careful to remain vigilant because the gear ratio is not identical to the wheel. A quarter turn of the tablet equivalent to two and a half turns of the wheel! Replace the wheels straight to the exit of turn also requires some habituation and fingering if you do not want the car shines in the other direction! A stop is on the horizon. Pressure on virtual pedal: the vehicle stops in a somewhat brutal. Hold the tablet arm quickly becomes tiring.

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reassure motorists. Valeo does not expect to launch this device, but wishes through this laboratory demonstrate that object public is able to communicate with the infrastructure and make them work systems that do not have the same degree of reliability.