Originally published February 21 2006
Prototype vehicle "sees" stray pedestrians
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Save-U system uses three different types of sensors to identify pedestrians and cyclists in the road ahead. Successful testing has already taken place for a prototype in the UK.
A prototype vehicle capable of spotting pedestrians who stray into the road has been built by Volkswagen and other companies.
The Save-U system was developed by a consortium including Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, and several other technical companies.
A prototype has already undergone successful testing in the UK.
A connected computer can then identify an impending impact and either alert the driver or take its own evasive action.
"The main idea is that the sensors will recognise pedestrians and if a pedestrian has a high probability to collide with the vehicle then automatic braking will be initiated by the system," says Marc-Michael Meinecke of Volkswagen.
Meinecke admits the sensors must be shrunk and the image recognition software improved before such technology can find its way into road vehicles.
Traffic safety expert Chris Wright from Middlesex University, UK, says that the prototype could be a sign of dramatic things to come.
He notes that many manufacturers are working on ever more sophisticated technologies to make cars more autonomous.
These include systems to automatically steer a vehicle and maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead, as well as impact avoidance features.
Evidence that this vision could come true came in October 2005, when a 211 kilometre desert race for unmanned vehicles was completed for the first time, by a vehicle developed at Stanford University in California, US.
The Stanford car, called Stanley, completed the course in less than 7 hours, ahead of three other vehicles that successfully made it across the finish line.
Wright says the biggest obstacle to greater automobile autonomy could be legal, as it will be difficult to show where responsibility lies should an accident occur.
"Robot cars will eventually be much safer than those with human drivers," he believes.
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