Sony/Toyota Developing Car With Emotions

ackthpt writes: "From Yahoo News, a concept car to be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, next week, will attempt to read the driver's emotions, stress level and respond. Named "Pod", the car will frown and even cry (does this mean it leaks radiator fluid?) With emphasis on attracting younger drivers and "cute", the car will also take pictures when it determines the atmosphere inside is a happy one, memorize musical taste and TV preferences and offer shopping information. (Just what we need, the Highway Shopping Channel...) Probably better not to take this one out into the street. Maybe with some hacking it could really be a fun car." There's a picture. This is wild.

Comments

We're getting closer...

[UserChrisCanter4]

Toyota has their Prius pulling about 50mpg. Honda has their Insight pulling about 65mpg.
The Europeans have the VW Lupo, which in specially modified form can pull ~70mpg

Toyota has announced that they will have the Prius doing 125mpg within a few years. The current Prius costs about $20,000, which isn't a lot on the car market of today. And I'd trust Toyota to make a car that Consumer Reports would smile upon.

My Subaru service guy recommends changing the oil on the Subaru every 7500 miles. You *should* be rotating the tires more frequently than that.

My BMW tells me when it needs the oil changed, and I've heard stories of it going as long as 12,000 miles between changes (which is good, b/c BMW charges a ridiculous amount, and the tool to reset the oil light costs a pretty penny).

So, really, take a look around. The TDI Golf gets 48mpg, and the TDI Jetta gets a little less. And if I had to choose an engine to last me forever, I'd go for a German Diesel over anything else. Some of the Honda Civics get 41mpg (and cost about $13K), and the ~20-year-old beater Honda is a pretty common sight around here, so they must hold up fairly well. Not everything out there is an 8mpg Excursion or a $60,000 luxury Barge.

Solution to DUIs

[NatePWIII]

I don't know why no one has thought of this yet, or if they have why no one has implemented it yet.

What we need is a smart car that can determine if the driver's alcohol blood level is above the legal limit and affectively shut itself off preventing the drunken driver from taking to the road, it could even be smart enough to call a predetermined number (a close relative etc...) or even call a local cab.

If somehow the driver was able to bypass the systems shutdown security it would then call 911 and alert the police of the possible DUI on the road endangering other local motorists...

Cars with emotions... come on people, lets take care of the basic problems first.

Pod can.....

[Halster]

Heyyy...

I wonder if the name "Pod" is in any way based on the old BBC computer game. The game (Pod) was about emotions and general human behaviour. It was aimed at little kids. You got the prompt "Pod can..." and you typed what pod could to... either cry, sing, laugh, whistle etc.
A lot of people who grew up in Australia or the UK around the BBC micro computer will remember Pod.

Damn, it was early 80's 8 bit programming at it's very finest! ;)

Aaah.... I think I'm about to have a second childhood! ;)

Give me the 351 Cleveland Engine !

[beanerspace]

You can keep your "crying" car ... give me one of them "big boys don't cry" muscle cars of the early 70's. I remember my first car was a second-hand 1972 Grand Torino. The 300 some-odd mile trip to and from college was both a pleasure and a snap.

And nothing gave me more warm fuzzies than to step on the gas pedal and know that I had all the pickup I needed to get in and out of traffic.

And happy ? Happieness is being able to open the hood, with nothing more than a wrench and a timing light to FIX and TUNE THE DARN thing myself. Especially because mine was equipped with that beautiful boss 351 Cleveland Engine under a hood large enough to house a 400 CID 2V V8 ! Talk about elbow room !

That and the back seat was large enough to house and/or make a small family !

Re:What people want in a car

[CharlieG]

You know that once upon a time, one of the Detroit car companies interviewed a bunch of people on "What do you want in a car" -People said, Good fuel efficency, large cargo capacity, good visiblility, 4 passenger, etc, etc. They built it, and it FLOPPED! It was called the AMC Pacer.

The rule that car designers learned from that one was to ask the question "What kind of car would your next door neighbor want?" People are more free (read truthful) about giving non-pc answers