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57 Comments
- aplusplus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29I won't be happy until it turns into a giant, talking robot.
- daRoach, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23I agree, we need more talking robots in society these days.
I go to the grocery store and I go through the talking robot cashier, but instead of having a robot voice (as a robot rightfully should) it has some woman's recorded voice. This is IMHO a wrong message to send to society.
Robots should sound like Stephen Hawking. Not an attractive woman. - veesah, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21"... developed by researchers in Germany"
Ahh the germans.... love their cars :-) - jackal42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13German cars rule!
- kazsymonds, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Why dont they make a car that has built in stilts? Before a crash the car would lift itself up high, thus avoiding collision.
It worked in wacky races. - Orbatos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7those never worked and you know it
- m00nmaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"Are you insane? This is Hitler's car!" - Jon Lovitz in Rat Race
- DarthTater, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7"...and your talking in mexican but cant even spell bueno right..."
Dude44
And you are so clever you don't have a clue mexican is not a language. Mexicans talk Spanish... "s-p-a-n-i-s-h" ;) - cleverboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well, if it changes into a giant talking robot on impact, I'm thinking the driver will be a bit put out. A giant talking beachball, maybe... or a beanbag chair...
- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Instead of this they should have it be like those toy trucks they had back in the eighties, where it senses an obstacle in front of it and then these huge animal claws come out of the wheels so it can just ride right over stuff.
- darb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6With such a sophisticated system, you'd think instead of just reinforcing the door panels...it could determine the best course of action to avoid the collision? ...Lock the brakes, slide the car, turn it to accept the impact at a different angle?
- ddales, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Undoubtedly designed with American drivers in mind. Germans generally don't run into eachother very often. Since it costs anywhere from $1000 to $2000, or more if you really suck at driving, to get a license here, they are much much better drivers overall and vastly more careful. I moved to Hamburg, 2nd largest in the country with about 3 million people, a little more than a year and a half ago. I have seen only one accident the entire time. I'm difinitely loving my insurance rates though even being in the highest risk braket because I'm considered a beginner driver.
- dagfooyo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"what good is a car where the door wont open"
Dude, haven't you ever seen Dukes of Hazzard? - boredzo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6War's over. Hitler doesn't rule Germany anymore.
- m00nmaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Spanish is a poor rip off of English. Hamburger = Hamburguesa? Pretty close, eh?
- semvhu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Or you could mount a stinger missile on top of the car and have it blow the other vehicle or object up before impact. Then there would be no collision at all. Problem solved.
- StevoCJ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'd imagine it wouldn't have a huge amount of time to move the car in such a way.
Also I'd reckon in a side collision, either you're travelling very slowly and the other car fairly fast, i.e. when pulling out of a junction, or you're travelling very fast sideways, in which case there's little to be done. - Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2because then the car is useless, what good is a car where the door wont open
If I am reading this right, the "bond between door and frame" is either the hinge area or the latch area, either of which need to be 'un-bonded' to work, ie. be a door - schleufer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Anytime I hear anything about German Engineering these days, especially cars, I think of that commercial "German Engineering in da haus, ja!"
I actually like the "unpimp your ride" ads
http://thelastminute.typepad.com/blog/2006/02/unpimp_your_rid.html. - evansls, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2why don't they put the special metal in it to begin with instead of installing cameras to determine when to turn the special shape shifting metal on.
- mz00m, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I can see it now... one more little thing on my VW to break. German engineering ain't what it used to be!
- heffer2k02, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I suppose, it just seems strange that this reinforcing is left to microseconds before collision, as opposed to securing the door to the frame, say, when you drive off. Maybe with some deadbolt style reinforcing bars. I guess then you can argue that in the event of a crash the door isnt going to open easily, or maybe such a system is clunky and impractical.
- heffer2k02, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Once it realises an impact is imminent it will activate a shape-shifting metal in the door. This reinforces the bond between door and frame, which is normally a weak spot, and distributes the force of the blow more safely."
Why reinforce the frame just before collision, and not at design time? - carpespasm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2perhaps so, but now that all the other cars are such tin cans, anyone left with a heavy car wins the fight ;P
- boredzo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Once it realises an impact is imminent it will activate a shape-shifting metal in the door. This reinforces the bond between door and frame, which is normally a weak spot, and distributes the force of the blow more safely."
How about a solenoid that loads a small nested metal peg, like a miniature shinai stick? I should think that that would help greatly.
(A shinai stick is a bamboo cane inside a bamboo cane inside a bamboo cane inside a bamboo cane ..., in case you didn't know. They are very strong and flexible, and you do *not* want to get hit with one.) - DCGaymer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Shields UP.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1why not just shape it that way to begin with?
- schildkroeter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Well... we could just all get bulletproof cars, which have doors that weigh 40 pounds extra and are made out of solid steel...
Or we could just go with stopping at the Gas station after a couple dozen miles, instead of every 3 or 4 :)
Think about it, with todays fuel prices you can't afford making your car sturdier, it's all about effective use of weight! - theone3, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Hmm.. do you think that might be because the whole 'my car can beat up your car' thing was getting a little dangerous? I mean, just brushing past one of those car gives me bruises!
- Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd rather see a hud on the windscreen with all sorts of cool info like tracking surrounding vehicles etc... or auto-pilot cars!
- carpespasm, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5how about we just put a thick skin on the door, cars made 20 years ago didn't need this overengineered stuff, the car had some meat to it. now as soon as you bump into a shopping cart 400 air bags deploy, half the car crumples, and if you have a unibody car the car's very structure is toast. i believe half the safety features in cars today are just an excuse to make them cheaper and easier to break, so it increases your chances of having to get a new one.
notice that semi trucks aren't any lighter than they were 20 years ago. what'll happen when your paper thin, shape-changing BMW smashes into the 1/2 inch thick steel box tubing on the back of a semi trailer? meanwhile the guy in the old lead sled from the early 70's could plow through a tree and buff out the damage. - StevoCJ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hmm, maybe we should consider moving away from cars and more towards public transport. Seems to me any research would be better off concentrated there. Newer, faster, safer cars are not the way forward.
- Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Tracking vehicle accidents and providing information to the driver would be a pointless waste of time. There is no way a human could process any information, not even focus their eyes on the information, let alone the imminent distractions, before collision. Humans can't even instinctively react fast enough, nor can they instinctively make the right choice in milliseconds with so many variables. Milliseconds are too short to even notice all the variables.
- RicktheBrick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Every car should have a gps and wi-fi system on it. It could than report its location, speed and direction of travel to every car within say 100 feet of it. The cars than could determine between themselves which one should brake and which one should continue to avoid any collision.
- blankman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why don't they just make cars with the same structural integrity as if they were always going to take a side impact? It seems like a waste to have such an elaborate system just to increase structural integrity at the exact moment of impact when it can always be that way.
- keesj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wouldn't it be easier to just stop the car? I mean, if the car can anticipate an impact.. just stop the car or something :/
- Rosewood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Shocker that 8 people didn't get that this was a ***** JOKE about Russia and the US
- m00nmaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Everyone needs to drive a '69 Dodge Charger. It's got the door bonding technology built in. As well as a SWEET air horn and the ability to outrun dimwitted policemen while saving the day for all the citizens of Hazzard County.
- sumgi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How about with all those sensors the car just avoids the other car...EVASIVE ACTION!! a.k.a !@#?! BREAK!!
- rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Is there a manual override button?
- m00nmaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How about we get better drivers? If the driving test required some actual skill, it might not be so easy to pass.
Also, if the driving test required that you take it with a car that has a standard transmission, a lot less people would have licenses right now. Driving stick, I feel, keeps me more alert than when I was driving automatic. - nappingcracker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2While we're at it...
Mexicans /s-p-e-a-k/ Spanish
;) - Dude44, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1no... Spaniards speak spanish...mexican is a different dialect... but good try...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@Jackal42
German cars are much better than any other country's thanks to their extensive research using live humans as crash test dummies during World War II. - derekbez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'd be happy having all those sensors/cameras feeding into an onboard (heads-up?) display, so I can make my own decisions.
It's fairly simple, and old technology. Radar seems pretty advanced these days, but all we get is parking sensors on the more expensive models.
Is it too much information for us 'dumb' drivers? Do they think we'll concentrate on the "radar" screen instead of the road? Maybe I will. I also program my satnav while moving - so long as my driving workload is otherwise low, I might add.
So, Herr Autohersteller, please give us heads-up displays, that have 360` 'radar', that can also calculate rate of closure and other interesting numbers. I don't mind if you include a Bitchin' Betty to warn me of potenial hazards (like following distances etc). - MadMac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Is that a Nissan Skyline in the graphic for the story? SWEEEET!
- devinh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0It would be nice if those radar sensors could also detect speed traps.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1So does it change shape before or after it invades Poland?
- aplardi, on 10/12/2007, -9/+5Perhaps if we use Opera or Maxthlon everything will be okay?
- 76ers, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1HAHAHAHAHA @ aplardi
(2mins later)
Gawd now i've even forgoten what i was going to say -
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