Sortable question (creating a drag event)

Sortable question (creating a drag event)

Using the "Sortable" widget, is it possible to create a function that would mimmick the drag and drop behavior of an element?
 
To elaborate, instead of using my mouse to click on one of the items and then dragging it to another position, I want a function that will take the item and move it automatically without my intervention, BUT I still want the sortable behavior to still work properly.
 
Any ideas?