Vibrating auto seat alerts driver when cars get too close
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 18th 2010 6:33AM
posted July 18th 2010 6:33AM
Every time we turn around, auto manufacturers are developing loads of new displays and sensors. At what point does the driver hit sensory overload? That's the question that prompted John Morrell, an Associate Professor at Yale School of Engineering, to position twenty vibrating cellphone motors in a rectangular array inside the driver's seat. Several different warnings were devised, including positional warnings (someone approaching closely behind will set off the center of the array, while a car approaching from the left or right will set off the motors on your left or right, respectively). Preliminary tests were done on a simulator based on The Open Racing Car Simulator (TORCS) platform, and so far things look promising. "[T]he vibrotactile feedback improved drivers' performance over that attained by using the rearview mirror alone," according to Gizmag, "and also helped warn of vehicles hidden by the mirror blind spot." Now, if this could do double duty as a massage chair? Then we'd be onto something.
Innovation - no matter the incarnation - never ceases to amaze me. Yes, the possibilities truly are infinite...
@iKid This has been around for some time, Citroen use have it as an option in various cars, and it would appear that other manufacturers do as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_departure_warning_system
@1 Actually this is different. Uggh. It's Sunday lunchtime.
@pple is poo who exactly were u referring to as "wimp"?
@pple is poo
Something tells me your statistical evidence will be somewhat flawed
@pple is poo You are going a little to extreme but basically you are saying many drivers are stupid and they shouldnt be driving and you like the good ol' days. I agree with you. There are so many stupd drivers that if this does make it to many maufactures, the people will not even look to the sides no more just to make sure. Oh wait they don't!
@pple is poo
You want a car without any electronics? You're on Engadget for fuck's sake.
@pple is poo And the gas in your car never lasts more than 5mins
@pple is poo
Do you hate every technological feat or new invention that comes out? Do you actually enjoy ANYTHING in life? I bet if scientists came out with any easy-to-install implant button for your body that when you push it causes an hour long orgasm, you would still say it sucked (and before you reply women are better, yes, I know and have a fiance)...but seriously do you hate everything possible? I see you hate on lots of things on this blog but what do you like or enjoy technology wise? Serious question btw.
@pple is poo And yet your name is "Apple is poo"?
Massage what, exactly?
:drives close to other cars to get the happy sensation of receiving a text:
Tailgating gains a whole new meaning.
...Or does it...?
@Kyang that's what she said.
@evansgw
That's what He said in the car behind you!
@Kyang
let the flirting with women commence
lol get close back off and get close to vibrate the person in front of you lol
watch out for people in the south though sometimes that pony tail could be attached to anything
that means if we ever get used to rely on this tech, we wont be able to judge the distance of nearby vehicles by ourselves using our original ability.... what does that lead us to..then?
@michelleyeow
Some along the lines of this:
http://calorielab.com/news/wp-images/post-images/wall-e-captain-action-figure.jpg
@michelleyeow - exactly, GOD FORBID that someone actually, gee i dunno, LEARNS HOW TO DRIVE before they get a license! ugh.
Does it come with a flesh light?
good concept .. Volvo have low speed auto braking .. Mercedes and Lexus with various radar aided cruise control methods ..
but how about extending this to vibrate on lane stray..
uhm, don't want to nag to much, but in europe vibrating chairs for warning drivers are in alot of cars avaible and have been for years...
And you thought women were bad drivers before...
Women....
if you already have in a car:
1) massaging chair
2) parking radars
and both are controlled by the on-board computer, a manufacturer could hack something along these lines to the car quite easily.
@glassfin It's already been proved people can hack in to the breaking system. So I do see people hacking in to this proximity sensor, but not the manufactures.
watch it now... people might start to drive close on purpose ;)
They should have the option to let the seatbelt choke you when you cut multiple lane :)
Ever drive in South Jersey? That seat would wear itself out in a year...
Or, people could just learn to set their mirrors properly... (i.e. don't make the side of your car visible)
@maisp Wow, A Real Driver. Nice to Meet you! And here I thought I was the Last of "Our Kind"...
I'm sorry but doesn't the Mercedes S-class already do this?
It even alerts if you are too close to the roadside.
If we used technology to build a better public transportation system in this country and in all the major cities, we would not need crap like this.
How am I going to be able to discern whether I'm too close to a car or whether I'm just thumpin' to the latest Black Eyed Peas single?
Just another piece of electronics that will fail after a few years.
This is why the Planet Express Ship has turrets.
Racing Video Games on PS3 in 3D. Please make That a reality. Blur and this would be sweet. GT5 as well.
Kinda reminds me of people driving in India. They use their horns to constantly let everyone know where they are. It's like automotive echolocation. Drivers very rarely headcheck.
As long as there's an off switch ...
give me a friggin break...
just saying , isn;t is too distracting to get notified for every incoming car ?
Just give us self driving cars already
Is it so hard to look ahead and in your rear view mirrors?
Next, the art of acoustic spatial environmental signals will evolve into signaling displays.
Sound cues in a simulated volumetric 3D audio environment will be fed to the driver through earphones, presenting him or her with audio pings, hisses, buzzes and sirens that proportionally describe the environment of hazards, barriers, traffic and speed rates of surrounding elements.
At last, the blind will be able to drive.
"Officer, what's the charge???"
"Driving without earphones. Take him away!"
As if girls weren't already bad drivers. How we're going to see them getting into accidents for intentionally driving too close to the edge.
Gives new meaning to the term "Grinding the rails."
So simple and elegant. This is a genius innovation! Let's hope car manufacturers will not be charging extra $1K for this to be installed.