Samsung and Vodafone unveil the first remote-controlled 5G car

Samsung and Vodafone will 'make history' this weekend by unveiling the world's first remote-controlled 5G car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Drifting champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. will remotely drift the car around a track all while using virtual reality to see from the vehicle's cockpit.

Speaking ahead of the event, Gittin Jr. said:
“Being a professional fun-haver, I've built my career on pushing the limits of car control. However, I have never envisioned myself getting crazy behind the wheel using VR, phones, and remote driving gear.

I'm going to put on a VR headset to put on a fun interactive show for the Goodwood crowd. And I'll be remotely driving the S-Drone from the Future Lab, on the other side of the Goodwood estate. This is going to get wild!''

Gittin Jr. will start by driving the car, a Lincoln MKZ, up the famous Goodwood Hillclimb. As you'd expect, a Samsung Galaxy S10 will be used alongside the company's VR headset.

Yoon Lee, SVP of Product Innovation and Content & Services at Samsung Electronics America, commented:

“This proof of concept is a great stepping stone towards remote presence use-case using 5G and the Goodwood FOS was the perfect testing ground.

We are thrilled to lead future consumer experience in 5G by pushing the boundaries of our 5G product portfolio and technologies.”

Vodafone's recently launched 5G network will provide the connectivity.

Max Taylor, Consumer Director at Vodafone UK, said:

“The driver, who is positioned in another location at Goodwood, will guide the autonomous car through a VR headset around the track.

Vodafone's 5G network provides speeds up to 10 times quicker than 4G and super low latency, which is critical for this application where an instantaneous response time is crucial”

At least Vodafone's latest 5G concept is less wacky than its previous demo.