Remote control for Range Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is late to the party promoting its new drive-by-Bluetooth system. But the JLR system currently in development for the Range Rover has one party trick that neither BMW nor Mercedes-Benz can boast – it's not limited to car parks and garages.

Land Rover's system enables the driver to operate the vehicle via a smartphone in situations where it's too risky to stay on board, or when it is of some benefit to have an outside view of the terrain the vehicle is crossing. It also enables the driver to manoeuvre it into or out of an impossibly tight parking space without needing to enter the cabin.

The smartphone app controls the steering, brakes and accelerator, as well as switching between high and low ranges up to a maximum speed of 4km/h – so the operator can safely walk alongside, at a distance of much as 10 metres, as the vehicle proceeds.

Hopefully not into what turns out to be a bottomless bog hole.

In its press information, Land Rover doesn't state whether or not the system continues to function in the event of the vehicle being fully immersed in water – although it is claimed to operate in all weathers and all environments. So now the driver can go orienteering and the Range Rover can come along for the drive...

In a similar vein, but this time with the driver comfortably aboard, the company is also developing a system that enables the car to autonomously execute 180 degree turns in ridiculously tight parking spaces

Using sensors able to accurately assess the amount of space available, or the proximity of pedestrians, the system looks after gear selection, steering, brakes and accelerator and is able to perform as many moves as necessary to extricate the vehicle.

The technologies figure in the company's development of a fully autonomous car, which includes work on "a range of sophisticated sensors to make autonomous cars viable in a range of driving environments and weather conditions."

Jaguar Land Rover is part of the UK Autodrive consortium that is developing ADAS (Advanced driver assistance systems) technologies and is conducting real-world testing of semi-autonomous features in a Range Rover research vehicle, as well as "the development of human machine interface systems in autonomous transport pods."

According to Dr Wolfgang Epple, who is Director of Research and Technology at Jaguar Land Rover: "Getting a car out of a tricky parking manoeuvre can be a stressful experience for any driver. A remote control car, or a vehicle that can autonomously turn in the road, demonstrates how we could use these new technologies to reduce the tedious parts of driving and improve road safety.

"Research into technologies like these won't only help us deliver an autonomous car. They will help make real driving safer and more enjoyable. The same sensors and systems that will help an autonomous car make the right decisions, will assist the driver and enhance the experience to help prevent accidents. Autonomous car technologies will not take away the fun of driving."

So far, the remote control technology has not progressed past the prototype stage, and even if it does reach production, it's not certain we'll see it any time soon in Australia – where a car obviously isn't supposed to know its own place.

But if the JLR system does find its way into future models, at least you'll live to tell the tale in the event of your Range Rover ending up on its roof in the bottom of a wooded gully. Just don't tell the insurance company your thickset thumb pressed the accelerator pedal icon on the screen as you fished the phone out of your pocket...