Wireless: The new backseat driver?

News.com has an update on General Motors V2V’s technology. The safety devices allow similarly equipped vehicles to communicate with each other and warn their drivers of any pending contact.

On Thursday, General Motors demonstrated a vehicle-to-vehicle, or V2V, wireless communication system that alerts you when a collision is imminent. The automaker equipped regular Cadillac STS sedans with wireless and Global Positioning System antennae and computer chips that allow the cars to communicate with other vehicles with similar equipment.

The technology, demonstrated here with three cars navigating a special course, creates what could be described as a digital-driving symphony. The wireless technology in one car detects the presence of the other two Cadillacs and avoids collisions by either alerting the driver of danger or by automatically stopping the vehicle in an emergency.

In terms of an alert, the driver's seat gives off a heavy vibration to the left leg if the driver signals to enter the left lane, unaware of a car in his or her blind spot. Such a warning is an example of what, in the auto industry, is called "haptic feedback"--feedback related to the sense of touch. There's a visual cue too: An icon flashes in the car's rearview mirror to alert the driver that there's another car in the way.

Foursprung, Wireless, V2V, GPS

Source: News.com via Autoblog

Read more

Read what others are saying about it: Bloglines, Feedster, Technorati