New directions in car safety and navigation

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In a sign of what's to come, Google worked with Carnegie Mellon University software engineers to bring aerial maps of areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina to rescuers. Google pulled aerial maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and used them to overlay satellite imagery and other maps, giving emergency workers and homeowners a better look at the damage. Microsoft is working on similar technology for the car, according to at least one source.

Tech for the safe driver
Most car manufacturers are introducing new safety technology enabled through a variety of sensors or radar installed on the car. Volvo, among others, sells cars with a so-called blind-spot information system. Via radar on the side of the car, the system can detect a vehicle driving in a blind spot. It then turns on an LED warning light in the car's rear-view mirror.

Similarly, collision-warning systems use sensors to detect the speed of a preceding car. If that vehicle slows abruptly, the warning system would trigger the vehicle's brakes.

Carmakers like Daimler Chrysler are working on electronic stability programs, which through sensors on the car can detect things like wheel slippage, obstacles on the road, and how fast the wheel is being turned in order to make decisions for the driver on traction control. For example, if the sensors detect that tires are spinning on snow or ice, the system will change the pressure of the throttle automatically to compensate for what the driver is trying to do.

Automated car emergency break systems are also likely to pervade next-generation vehicles, experts say. Radar sensors on the car will be able to scan the road ahead and detect obstacles, as well as sense the brake pressure of the driver. If the driver doesn't act, the car would brake or swerve automatically. Yet there are legal questions raised by a car that can act on its own in an emergency: is the car or the driver responsible in the event of an accident?

More futuristic is a Volvo safety concept car that includes a dock for a small personal digital assistant. Drivers can load routing information or personal medical records into the PDA, and then dock it in the car so it can be uploaded and accessible to an emergency medical technician in the event of an accident. That technology could be five years down the road, according to Dan Johnston, a spokesman for Volvo.

Car-to-car communication
In the next 7 to 10 years, we could see a wireless communication system linking cars to a network of roadside units that could, theoretically, alert vehicles electronically to road closures, bad weather, traffic jams or accidents.

Almost all major car manufacturers are working on so-called vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) wireless communication systems. These systems use a dedicated short-range communication, or DSRC, between cars that alerts drivers when dangers such as a collision are imminent. The government has even allocated a short-range wireless transmission standard--802.11p, which operates in the 5.9GHz frequency band--specifically for this purpose.

Here's how it works: a GPS antenna on the top of the car receives satellite information on the positions of other cars. A wireless antenna on top of the vehicle also receives up to 100 different data points from the car's internal network, including information on speed, braking and the use of turn signals. The computer system combines that data and broadcasts it.

That message is heard by any other equipped car within a quarter-mile radius. To ensure privacy, the messages do not include car identification numbers or personal information. The car's software constantly calculates, in real time, other vehicles' positions and speeds.

GM, for example, has already tested the system in its Cadillac STS sedans, which were modified with wireless antennae. GM's proprietary algorithm, called the "threat assessment algorithm," can process data from the GPS and the car's computer network, along with messages from other cars, in order to fire off warnings and prevent collisions.

Government programs in California and other states are also promoting the development of units along major roadways that could communicate with cars' navigation systems. Radar transmitters on roadways could broadcast safety information to navigation systems within cars, for example.

Applications of this technology include sending warning signals to cars from a traffic light, which would let drivers know whether the light is red or green well before the intersection comes into view. Or it could help when the weather is bad. "When you close a road, a transmitter on the sign could signal cars in the area that the road is closed. You'd get a big warning in the car: don't take this road," said Sebastian Thrun, professor of robotics at Stanford University.

But before it's adopted, the public must accept it. Although it can help in a desperate situation, it can also impede privacy by sending out a constant signal of a car's whereabouts.

Experts believe this issue will be ironed out by keeping personal information and car GPS separate.

"Cars are no longer chosen by horsepower--customers are looking at increased safety," said VW's Stosche.