DETROIT — Cellphones that warn drivers when people are crossing in front of them. Bicycles and cars that communicate with traffic lights. Sensors in cars that quickly alert other drivers to black ice, potholes or other hazards. A low-priced camera system that brings high-tech automatic braking to the masses.
These life- or time-saving technologies are were shown off last week at the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Detroit. Here are five smart things coming to your car in just a few years:
• WALKING SAFELY: Pedestrians sometimes wander into traffic. Imagine if their cellphones could alert oncoming drivers. In a system being tested by auto parts supplier Denso, computer software in the car would receive the phone signal, analyze speed and direction, and instantly determine if the pedestrian will cross the car’s path. That cuts down on false warnings. “It even can go as far as applying the brakes for you,” said Doua Vang, a Denso engineering manager. The technology is five or more years away. Cars need receivers and radio frequencies need to be set aside by the government. Sending out a constant signal will quickly drain a cellphone battery. And engineers are working on distinguishing between a phone in a pedestrian’s pocket from one held by a passenger inside another car, Vang said. The hope is fewer pedestrian deaths. In 2012, the last year for which data is available, 4,473 pedestrians died in traffic crashes, the highest number in five years.
• PREVENTING PILEUPS: Black ice that forms suddenly is often blamed for multi-vehicle pileups worldwide, because drivers can’t stop in time. Now, state transportation officials in Nevada, Minnesota and Michigan are testing technology that can warn people when the first car hits ice. “We’re using it now,” said Steve Cook, field services engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation, who wouldn’t guess how long it will take to get all cars on the system. Sensors on the vehicles measure road surface temperature and other weather data. They also check the pavement for potholes. The cars relay the information, as well as data on location and windshield wiper, antilock brake and traction control use, to a central computer that sends messages telling other drivers to slow down.