Gear and Gadgets: Automotive Safety and Security in the 21st Century
Technology is not for entertainment and home improvement alone. Huge strides in the health, security, and automotive fields influence society and improve safety. For example, airbags, side sensors, and GPS systems have kept drivers and riders safer in recent years.
Air bags lessen danger of impact, and navigation systems ease driver anxiety, but what else have manufacturers produced to improve safety?
Self-Driving Cars
If drivers are prone to mistakes, maybe we should turn the wheel over to machines. Self-driving cars, tested by huge corporations, like Google and Mercedes, are conjurations of the soon-to-be present.
Aside from assisting with long distances, primary plans involve taking passengers short distances and freeing the road of cars and added pollution.
Gaze Control
It takes less than a second to get in an accident. Often, drivers get distracted when changing radio dials, adjusting the volume, or manipulating the temperature inside the cabin.
Yet, Gaze Control projects data on the inside windshield for hands-free operation, keeping hands on the wheel and eyes forward.
Surround Sensors
Rear view mirrors cause blind spots. Furthermore, reversing a larger vehicle is difficult, and drivers can’t see objects and other vehicles from all angles.
Blind spots create accidents and vehicle damage, yet sensors alert drivers when other objects are close. Having extra ‘eyes’ on the road avoids disaster and keeps drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians safe.
Hot Spot
Kids get bored during long drives. A number of mobile devices entertain children for hours, yet in the car with no Internet, parents deal with rambunctious children.
Cars with Internet hot spots host access to the Web and all of its videos, pictures, games, and more. Chevrolet is one among others that plan to align 4G Internet access with particular models.
Range of Applications
Applications proliferate, purposed for education and entertainment. If you’re lost, there’s an application for finding directions. If you’re bored, you can watch Netflix. And, if you’re late for a meeting, you can send documents or an instant message from the dashboard.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
Computers speak to other computers, which are machines. Cars are machines – the technology is at hand. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication avoids collisions and lessens the likelihood of traffic jams.
Early in use, V2V technology is likely to envelope smart phones as well, so ‘vehicles’ mean bicyclists and pedestrians too.
External Airbags
Taking the omni-sensor sentiment to another level, sensors release external airbags before impact to reduce related injuries and deaths. While manufacturers work to modify in-cabin airbags (there are reported injuries related to airbags), the concept of creating a buffer using airbags seems like a safer option.
Digital Ignition
It’s easy to duplicate keys and pick associated locks. It’s much harder for thieves to gain access to a keyless car. Moreover, entry is one obstacle. A thief must start the engine, which needs a unique digital encoded fob. Furthermore, some devices continuously rotate codes to evade hacker attempts. Speak with professionals likeAutoLocksKent for more information.
Automotive safety standards improve as technology develops better in-cabin systems and external sensors to keep drivers, passengers, and pedestrians safer.
Taylor Douglas is always on the lookout for new automotive gadgets and technology. A longtime auto mechanic, he likes to share what he has learned by posting online. Look for his helpful and entertaining articles on a number of today’s blogs and websites.
