If you’re a self-proclaimed lazy driver and find manual steering too much of an effort, BMW’s latest car is right up your street. 

The German carmaker’s all-electric 5 Series Saloon lets you change lanes just by looking at your wing mirror. 

The car – which starts at £49,850 – is fitted with cameras behind the steering wheel that monitor the gaze of the driver. 

When the vehicle suggests a lane change, such as when the car in front is going too slowly, it can be confirmed by the driver by looking at the wing mirror.

Once this confirmation sign has been received, the vehicle takes over the necessary steering movements automatically and changes lanes.  

BMW says the ‘world first’ feature on the 5 Series Saloon, called Active Lane Change Assistant, ‘partially automates the driving experience’ and creates the conditions for ‘outstanding functionality’. 

‘This comfort feature now achieves a new level of interaction between the driver and the vehicle,’ the company said in a statement.  

‘The vehicle suggests a lane change and this can be carried out for the first time by looking in the exterior mirror to confirm the lane change. 

‘The Active Lane Change Assistant takes over the necessary steering movements automatically, the traffic situation permitting.’ 

Active Lane Change Assistant is optional, so it can be turned on and off, and it only works at speeds of up to 85 miles per hour. 

The technology gives a visual alert on the screen behind the steering wheel when it’s suggesting a change of lane, and the driver can decide whether or not to accept by glimpsing the mirror. 

While the new technology marks an impressive step forward for automated cruising, drivers may have safety concerns over handing over such a capability to a machine. 

It’s unclear what happens when the driver wants to glance at their wing mirror but doesn’t want to agree to the AI’s suggestion to change lanes when the feature is turned on.

MailOnline has contacted BMW for more information.

At speeds below 85 miles per hour, drivers will also be able to take their hands off the wheel as long as they ‘keep a close eye on the traffic’. 

Aside from the Active Lane Change Assistant, BMW boasted a number of ‘digital innovations’ in the new car, which will be released in October. 

BMW said the ‘cockpit’ of the new car has a reduced number of buttons and controls, achieved by ‘consistently digitalising functions’, while the steering wheel has been redesigned with haptic feedback on the control panels. 

Haptics provide tactile sensations such as vibrations when users apply pressure with their finger, much like a video game controller. 

The 5 Series Saloon comes with two displays for drivers – one 12.3-inch Information Display providing stats such as speeds and battery charge and a 14.9-inch Control Display. 

Aside from providing route mapping, the Control Display allows video streaming and gaming for passengers when the vehicle is stationary.

Using the Control Display for entertainment purposes will let passengers ‘bridge waiting times’ while charging the car’s battery, BMW said. 

Meanwhile, automated parking and manoeuvring of up to 650 feet (200 metres) can be controlled in the vehicle or by smartphone outside the vehicle. 

The 5 Series Saloon also has a ‘sporty elegance and presence’ and a ‘fully vegan interior’, meaning it’s been upholstered without the use of leather.

Overall, it offers ‘ideal conditions for enjoying hallmark BMW driving pleasure in everyday traffic and a high level of comfort on long-distance journeys’, the carmaker said in a statement. 

‘Generous space, modern functionality, a high level of acoustic comfort as well as high-quality, precisely processed materials, fine workmanship and advanced digital services characterise the ambience in its interior,’ the firm said. 

BMW has been behind a range of interesting in-vehicle technology in recent years, although not all of it will be coming to market. 

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, it recruited Arnold Schwarzenegger to unveil a colour changing car – called the BMW i Vision Dee.

The electric vehicle sport sedan uses electronic ink to transition between 32 colours, including purple, pink, yellow, white and red.

BMW told MailOnline that the car is just a prototype and ‘vision of the distant future’ – and that it wouldn’t be bringing it to market. 

Meanwhile, the new fully-electric BMW i7 has 5G connectivity, interior mood lighting and a super-wide ‘theatre screen’ in the back.

The 8K screen, which measures 32×9 inches, folds out from the sun roof at the touch of a button and streams video from Netflix, YouTube and more. 

WhatsApp now lets you LOCK individual chats to stop nosey people snooping on your private messages – here’s how to try it yourself

• WhatsApp has launched a new feature called Chat Lock tday
• Locked messages are kept in a separate folder and the sender’s name is hidden

By Shivali Best For Mailonline

Published: 12:00 EDT, 15 May 2023 | Updated: 12:00 EDT, 15 May 2023

Chinese scientists claim to have designed a brain implant that allows a monkey to control a robotic arm using just its mind.

Researchers at Nankai University shared the announcement on May 5, praising it as a breakthrough that will improve the lives of people with disabilities.

The brain-computer transforms electroencephalogram (EEG) signals into the animal’s control instructions to navigate the machine with food attached.

The research has not been peer-reviewed, and the claims – which cannot be verified independently – are only available in a statement on the university’s website. 

‘The trial was led by the team of Professor Duan Feng of Nankai University and jointly completed with the General Hospital of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (301 Hospital) and Shanghai Xinwei Medical Technology Co., Ltd,’ the announcement reads.

‘This experiment is a further result obtained on the basis of the previous interventional brain-computer interface animal (sheep) experiment. EEG signal recognition and other core technologies.’

The university shared an image of the team performing surgery on the monkey as it received the brain implant.

The sedated monkey is lying on a table where doctors see a screen showing the procedure.

‘The interventional brain-computer interface developed by Professor Duan Feng’s team, through interventional surgery, attaches the interventional EEG sensor to the wall of monkey brain vessels and can collect intracranial EEG signals without craniotomy,’ researchers shared in the announcement.

‘Type and non-invasive brain-computer interface, considering security and recognition stability.’

The interventional EEG sensor passes through the jugular vein, enters the sagittal sinus, and reaches the motor cortex brain area. 

After the operation, the EEG signals were successfully collected and recognized, realizing the animals’ active control of the robotic arm.

‘The results of the interventional brain-computer interface experiment carried out in the brains of non-human primates have promoted the advancement of interventional brain-computer interface from laboratory prospective research to clinical application, and will help promote,’ according to Professor Duan Feng. 

‘The industrial upgrading of medical enterprises, through the combination of medicine and industry to create a national brand of high-end medical equipment, will have broad market prospects in the field of brain disease medical rehabilitation in the future.’

While researchers have yet to release a complete study, other companies have already tested their implants in humans – and provided evidence that they work. 

Inner Cosmos announced its ‘digital pill’ in January that aims to cure depression and is now in the skull of the first human patient. 

The device includes an electrode that sits under the skin of the scalp and the ‘prescription pod’ that snaps onto the user’s hair to power the device.

The implant sends tiny electrical pulses to the brain region affected by depression – the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex – once daily for 15 minutes.

Synchron began human trials of its brain implant in July, which lets the wearer control a computer using thought alone.

The firm’s Stentrode brain implant, about the size of a paperclip, will be implanted in six New York and Pittsburgh patients with severe paralysis.

Stentrode will let patients control digital devices by thinking and allow them to perform daily tasks, including texting, emailing and online shopping.

Then there is Elon Musk’s Neuralink, surrounded by controversy due to activists claiming the company has violated animal rights.

In March, Neuralink’s request to test its chip on humans was rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The agency outlined dozens of issues the company must address before human testing, a critical milestone for final product approval, Neuralink staffers told Reuters.

The concerns include the device’s lithium battery; the potential for the implant´s tiny wires to migrate to other areas of the brain; and questions over whether and how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue, the employees said.

Musk applied in early 2022, but staffers said the company co-founder has yet to solve all the problems – even though the billionaire revealed human trials would start six months back in November. 

The company has been under scrutiny for the past few months as animal advocacy groups and former employees are sounding the alarm over animal welfare violations.

Lab notes by staffers who conducted experiments at the University of California Davis (UC Davis) show animal issues with the implants, echoing the FDA’s concerns.

The FDA’s rejection listed dozens of what the agency calls ‘deficiencies’ that the company must address before human trials, five Neuralink sources said.