It's fairly safe to say that Continental Automotive Systems isn't the only
company out there conjuring up an
in-car safety system to alert motorists of impending hazards, and while a
certain sect (we jest, we jest) would likely ignore whatever great advice it's sure to give, we can still admire the effort here. Dubbed a "car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure telematics application," the system's goal is to alert drivers in advance of
potential perils such as poor traction conditions, an approaching ambulance / emergency vehicle, or a road-block ahead that could induce fits of frustration. The developments are reportedly right in line with the US government's Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) Initiative, and we're sure officials are mighty proud of the E-Flare, which provides optical and acoustic
warnings coupled with a force-feedback gas pedal, and E-Horn, which accepts incoming warning signals from emergency vehicles and alerts the driver via (presumably distracting) in-cabin lights and sounds. No word just yet on when our next whip will sport a few extra senses, but rather than make things easier on us to control, why not jump straight to
autopilot?
[Photo courtesy of
Continental]
posted May 24th 2007 1:52PM
Ah I can't wait for the E-Pod (an automatic ejection and recovery system ala "The Jetsons") or the E-Phone (a vehicle to vehicle communications system).
They got this idea from Monty Python's Flying Circus, "The Cycling Tour" episode.
GULLIVER: Amazing, isn't it? We have also developed a tomato which can eject itself when an accident is imminent.
PITHER: Even if it's inside an egg and tomato roll?
GULLIVER: Anywhere! Even if it's in your stomach, and it senses an accident it will come up your throat and out of the window. Do you realise what this means?
PITHER: Safer food?
GULLIVER: Exactly! No longer will food be squashed, crushed and damaged, by the ignorance and stupidity of the driver! [becoming slightly messianic] Whole picnics will be built to withstand the most enormous forces! Snacks will be safer than ever! An simple pot of salad dressing, treated in our laboratories, has been subjected to the impact of a 4,000 pound steam hammer every day for the last sixteen years and has it broken?
PITHER: Er....well...
GULLIVER: Yes, of course it has...but there are other ideas - the safety straps for sardines for instance.
[A tomato leaps up out of the glove compartment and hovers, then it ejects itself out of the car window]
PITHER: Here, that tomato just ejected itself.
GULLIVER: Really? [embracing Pither excitedly] It works! It works! [the car crashes]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Wre5zO4Ek
(starts around 7:25)
Hey, I work for those people.
That's all I need, an electronic back seat driver.
pretty awesome. [S]m[/S]
Hey I work for them too.
Thank you for your interest in our product. Some of the warnings you might come to expect and depend on, include:
"CAUTION: female driver ahead, 300-feet."
"WARNING! Asian female driver ahead, 100-feet, suggest evasive action!"