Here’s a nice video of a car (minivan) recently developed to be completely autonomous, only to be controlled by the iPhone iDriver app it is connected to. The Spirit of Berlin team (Berlin Racing Team) developed the iPhone app and used the platform which was developed for the 2007 Darpa Urban Challenge.

How does it work? The iPhone connects with the driving circuitry via WiFi and as you will see in the video this offers a gas button, a brake button, and a steering button to enable the accelerometer for turning.

These all correspond to moving robotic bits and bobs underneath the driver’s seat which are too technical for us! The front camera video below is transmitted to the iPhone in real-time to make sure the driver doesn’t run over himself!

[via Berlin Racing Team]