Engineering News by You :: Laser-based car crash warning system

Senior board member | 2007-12-20 14:14:57

another small step for the motoring public - giant step for safety - anything which can help improve safety for car drivers has got to be a good thing and lane changing is such a potentially dangerous action - we all do it - all the time - but unless you've got 360 degree vision and at that split second in time - always a potential problem - my vote is YES and a big tick

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Terri ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 14:17:37

yeah ive had my share of near misses and if the engineers can come up with a warning system which works - put me down as a yes - just do it - and if ive got to pay a few bucks more - so what big deal - how much is a lfe worth ? especially mine

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Chen ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 16:40:30

how long before automatic cars - dial up the trip and press a button and the car takes over completely - no driver as such - a fully automatic transporter - can it be done - well there was the robotic challenge just recently and I'll bet a lot of learnings came out of that so maybe it's getting much closer than we think

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Tezza ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 16:43:04

things can still go wrong and accidents could happen - even with robots ha, ha, ha - I've got this vision of robotic cars exchanging details after an accident - I guess the way things are going, all of that would be automatic too -

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Ali ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 16:46:56

it doesn't seem that long ago that Ralph Nader was mounting his crusade for safer cars - we seem to have gome from the sublime to the ridiculous with this avalanch of electronic safey gear being legislated onto every new model - i wonder if we shouldn't just sit back and take stock of what we are actually trying to do with cars and car safety

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Toby ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 16:54:36

http://www.engcom.net/engineering/view/270/42/
yeah - I look at all of this "progress" then look at the Caterham which is featured in this link and ..... well maybe this model is too far the other way but ....sorry - I was just drifffffting offffff into a daydream - behind the wheel of the Caterham - wind in the hair, thru the hairpin bend, drop the gear box down a cog and accelerate out of the corner and .... now back to reality

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Sophie ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 16:58:20

nice thoughts Toby - but there are big boys toys and then the real world of everyday transport and congestion and traffic jams and changing lanes and bumps and bingles road rage and yeah, all of the good stuff to put you in the right frame of mind - before you get to work

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Terri ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 19:41:10

[url]http://www.its.dot.gov/ivbss/[/url]this links to a government site with a wealth of information on this subject - sure as eggs are eggs - its coming - just a matter of when

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Des ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 20:00:03

http://www.gavrila.net/Computer_Vision/Smart_Vehicles/Media_Coverage/spectrum.pdf
this concept or topic isn't new and has been explored by sevearal manufacturers - this link is to an article in 2001 and there are many others around looking into the same or similar technology - it just needs a bit of a shove - could be a technilogical breakthrough or a government to pass a law - same thing happened with inertia reel seat belts, abs brakes, air bags etc etc so get used to it -

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Tom ()

Newbie | 2007-12-20 20:02:52

a warning - i can live with - as long as technology doesn't take over my car - i still have problems with anti lock brakes kicking in at odd times when braking on uneven surfaces or unusual driving conditions - scares me

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