Engineers are developing a system which uses gestures made by the driver to control the vehicle.
An infrared sensor on the dashboard recognises certain movements and facial expressions to alter settings on the radio, the sat-nav, the Bluetooth and the car's ventilation system.
The gestures include a wink to turn the radio on and off, a nod of the head to the left or right to turn the volume up or down, respectively, and a tap on the steering wheel to change the radio station or song.
Drivers can also make a phone call by making the finger-and-thumb phone sign.
It is unclear yet just how sophisticated this technology is -- our immediate guess is 'not very' -- and it has not been proven just how well it works. After all, these gestures could easily be misinterpreted.
For example, agreeing with something said by the passenger may change the radio volume, as would head-banging when you get to the rocky bit of Bohemian Rhapsody, à la Wayne's World. However, maybe we're underestimating the talents of the engineers.
Our main gripe with this system is that, even if it does work, it's completely pointless. After all, what's so difficult about pressing a button?
