V2V communication as a safety feature

Vauxhall's latest safety idea turns the highways and byways into a life-sized feedback loop by allowing vehicles to communicate with each other. We're not talking about the type of communication we humans do in our cars – behavior like pointing out the state bird – think more like WiFi. There are some real safety gains to be had with the system, inventively named Vehicle-to-Vehicle. Using GPS-based technology, along with some type of wireless communication facility, V2V can warn you of potential danger by alerting you to the presence of cars in your blind spots or around a bend, and it can also use data such as speed, direction, and acceleration to determine whether or not you're gonna smack that Scimitar in front of you. Driver alerts can be visual, auditory, or via a Magic Fingers® seat cushion. If you ignore your playfully jiggly seat cushion, the car can even apply its own brakes. This sounds kind of like the funk-tastic Carhood, but with real development dollars behind it.

[Via: Vauxhall ]
[Tag: communication,electronics,europe,gps,safety,vauxhall ]

When reverse lights aren't enough. Our Lady of the Trunk

This is nearly a perfect device. If only you could record your own message – something situationally appropriate, perhaps. As it is, Our Lady of the Trunk is the perfect companion when you're preparing to worship at the feet of Our Blessed Mother of Acceleration. Most of us will have to back out of our driveways or parking spots before summoning full ahead from the propulsion plant, so offertory to these spiritual matriarchs could be considered part of the religion of driving. Really what this little doohickey amounts to is a reversing alarm, but it's apparently got a voice sample in its electronics, along with the standard klaxon. You couldn't pay a loudmouth to hang out on your bumper and announce with the authority of a 100dB sound pressure level that the vehicle is backing up, so how can you go wrong for less than ten bucks? The voice is only in English (sorry, rest of the world), but in the box are the requisite transducer and its power leads, a bracket, and instructions in three, count 'em three, different mother tongues. Father's day is coming up!




[Via: American Science & Surplus ]
[Tag: backup alarm,backup siren,BackupAlarm,BackupSiren,our lady of the trunk,OurLadyOfTheTrunk,reverse alarm,reverse siren,ReverseAlarm,ReverseSiren,reversing alarm,reversing siren,ReversingAlarm,ReversingSiren,safety device,SafetyDevice ]