The Worst Car Feature Ever Invented?
Every so often an idea comes along that is so awful it deserves a place in the Bad Idea Hall of Fame. Like there was the toilet timer that made sure workers don’t spend too much time in the bathroom, and of course there was that hotel bed-warming service.
But now, along comes an idea that makes those others seem positively brilliant.We have photos showing “hands free driving” in a car that is controlled by the driver’s brain. I’m not making this up.
I don’t know how good you are at controlling your thoughts, but speaking for myself, if you strap that gizmo to my head when I’m behind the wheel, here are the sort of unfiltered random impulses my car is going to get from me:
Getchur motor runnin’, head out on the highway, lookin’ for ADVENCHUR…
Hey Pal! You think I won’t broadside you just because you’re driving a Jaguar? Really?
There’s supposed to be black ice on the highway today, but there’s only one way to find out…Whoa, I can’t believe the black leather mini-skirt that chick is wearing. Let’s find out where she’s going…
But here’s the thing. Apart from those potential drawbacks, there’s an even bigger reason why this thing will never catch on. You can see it here, on this dork’s head.
“Hey there Emily, you wanna go for a spin in my new Brain Driver Mind Car?”
“Jeez Neville, as cool as that neuro-headset looks on your receding hairline, I don’t think so….”
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Daniel Goehring of the AutoNOMOS research team of the Artificial Intelligence Group at the Freie Universitaet demonstrates a hands-free driving of the research car named ‘MadeInGermany’ during a test in Berlin, February 28, 2011. The car, a modified Volkswagen Passat, is controlled by ‘BrainDriver’ software with a neuroheadset device which interprets electroencephalography signals with additional support from latest radar sensing technology and cameras. The ‘BrainDriver’ application is a demonstration and not roadworthy yet. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch