Siemens VDO -- the same in-car gurus that brought us the oh-so-snazzy
eCorner contraption -- is back at it again in an attempt to jazz up the plainly styled dashboards that we've (begrudgingly) grown accustomed to. While
adaptive cruise control has become somewhat commonplace in higher-end automobiles, that technology simply keeps you from resetting your speed every time the cabbie in front of you eases on and off the accelerator; Siemens' traffic sign recognition system boasts a camera attached to an internal computer which automatically recognizes common road signs and displays an alert in the driver's heads-up display. Not only will the driver see a digital rendition of the sign without taking his / her eyes
too far off the road, but he / she will have the option of enabling the vehicle to dynamically adapt to changes in speed limits, theoretically eliminating any previously valid excuse you could give the boys in blue once pulled over. While we're sure those speed freaks will happily turn down this
convenience on their next car purchase, those of us who need all the help we can get in taming that
lead foot (and skyrocketing insurance premiums) can look for this speed-dictating option in 2008.
[Via
The Raw Feed]
posted October 16th 2006 6:48AM
Man, the more sophisticated cars become, the more fright I feel about the intellectual future of the Humanity - there seem to be less and less things to be aware of!
New kind of terrorism: fake speed signs and traffic lights. What's next then? Strong crypto signed road signs? Traffic lights with double/triple hand shake protocol?
Honestly, as poor driver, I'd love to have something like that. But all the potential problems easily outweigh any benefit in sight.
ditto, what if you're on a 25 mph road and someone just swaps out the sign for 55mph? you might just crash into the next car before you have a chance to shut the thing off...
You morons. It doesnt pull the eyes out of your sockets and jam them down the exhaust pipe. YOU STILL HAVE CONTROL OF THE CAR, and if you're too dumb to realise this then this system surely isnt in your budget anyway.
here's the thing.. the way this should really work is as follows: the speed limits, RR crossing, and what-have-you signs should be preprogrammed into the car! This isn't much of a stretch considering these things do not change much. That way, no one can mess with the official information (that is, if diebold doesn't make the in-car system), and you don't have to rely on a camera to see what may be blocked by other traffic/trees/etc on the side of the road. ok?? get it right Siemens. (and anna)
Is it just me, or does the HUD just look like a window sticker?
Anyone know if this records the speed info like a black box?
does it tell you when you are driving on the wrong side of the road? (look at pic)
audio. VDO 3DO
Ferny, that’s not the wrong side, that’s a Autobahn. With two lanes for every direction.
I don’t know where you are living, but I always thought that the concept of motorways or at least roads with more than two lanes has spread over the globe in the last, uhm, 100 years or so?