The following article was written by our Editor, Jim Punter, in 2010. It is a futuristic look at MOT testing as imagined in 2010 — featuring voice-controlled systems, automated test bays, wireless diagnostics, and digital results. How close did we get to it?

It’s 2020, MOT Tester Tom James goes to the master consul on the wall and switches on the Auto-computed Test bay. The screen lights up, inviting Tom to ‘log-in’, offering ‘voice-command’ or ‘manual’ entry. Tom opts for ‘voice-command, attaching a small remote microphone to his overalls. He enters a pass-code and chuckles to himself before calling out “Tom James, system check, the cat is dead”, alluding to his wife’s pet to which he’s not very attached!

The words flash onto both the handheld’s screen, and large flat screen on the wall. If the computer hadn’t recognised his voice it would have rejected the entry. Similarly if the words didn’t match what he said, Tom would activate manual operation; with its fast predictive text option. In the event the screen displays “Tester confirmed – commence test”, so he puts the handheld down.

He touches “OK” on the screen and calls out “registration”, followed by the registration and chassis number. The screens display the details stating, “vehicle match confirmed”, together with the VSI information, all from a broadband link. If the computer gives the wrong details he calls out “registration repeat” saying it again, or simply says “manual entry”. At any time he can switch between ‘manual’ and ‘voice activation’.

He proceeds through the Test menu, calling “scroll up” “scroll down”, and “stop” as needed. Results from test equipment are automatically flagged up on the large screen – and Tom calls, as appropriate, “confirm”, “reject and repeat”, or “reject” followed by the reason as he does the Test. The roller brake equipment, headlamp tester and vehicles ECU have automatically and wirelessly captured the results for brakes, headlamp aim and emissions.

For advisory notes outside the menu options he calls out “free text”, and dictates the words when the computer says “proceed”. For a brake road test he calls out “road test”, activating the G-meter  for wireless download when it gets back into range.

Test completed he calls “display result”, and using “scroll”, and “stop” commands checks it. Finally he says, “finish test”. The computer offers “confirm”, or “reject” options. On confirmation it asks for a manual password entry before downloading to the main MOT computer via the broadband link. Test complete, Tom moves on to the next vehicle.

In the reception office, failures print off in hard copy, containing both VOSA and the company’s logo. For passes, customers get a slip with a code number for use on the internet to print off a pass in hard copy. The wall monitor in the Test bay is mimicked in the waiting room together with a video feed from the Test bay. Maybe by 2025, a future Tom will scan a bar code to log himself and the car onto the computer.