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Volvo's "Safety Car" Runs Windows 98

Posted by michael on from the feeling-safer-already dept.

An anonymous submitter writes "MSNBC is carrying a report on Volvo's new "Safety Car." It sounds pretty cool, too, until you get to the part that mentions it runs Windows 98 as its operating system. Yikes! Be sure to reboot your car frequently to avoid crashes."

5 of 564 comments (clear)

  1. Unlikely by MisterBlister · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I find it unlikely to believe the journalist got this Win98 tidbit right. All joking about Win98 stability aside, its just not an OS that is designed to be run in any embedded enviornment. Why would they choose Win98 over WinXP embedded, some Pocket PC variant, or something else? It just doesn't add up.

    I'd bet money that the journalist flubbed this one, or its some elaborate trolling with MSNBC realizing that a 'safe' car running Win98 would get an instant Slashdotting.

  2. Windows98? Feh..Check out the iDrive System by Qnal · · Score: 5, Interesting

    BMWs iDrive System on the BMW745i is the real deal.

    iDrive consists of a computer that controls 270 functions (including basic climate and stereo settings), a center-mounted LCD screen and a console-mounted rotary pushbutton knob that works as the system's "mouse." It's an amazingly powerful system that BMW sees taking over almost all vehicle functions.

    More info here.

  3. Re:I simply can't resist... it's too easy by scott1853 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Who says they'd need to tweak the OS? I would think they could run a standard kernel and do their own application on top of it without that application being public. Or am I missing something, like anything that runs ON linux must be open source too. I'm not sure, I haven't actually read the license stuff all the way through.

  4. even more unlikely... by rebelcool · · Score: 3, Interesting
    is the idea that the engine controls (or any other drivetrain subsystem) would be running on anything but a dedicated device chock full of proven code.

    Maybe the gimmicky interface parts run windows CE (this volvo car isnt all that new, i remember reading about it a long time ago), but either way the crucial components would never be left to something that centralized.

    --

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  5. Drove the test version... by GeoNerd · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I drove the Volvo that the MIT Media Lab used to collect 'predictive' data for the lane-change detection etc. It was an interesting experience - driving in Boston wearing a small fiber optic video camera taped (!) to some cheap safety glasses, several video cameras pointing every which way, and sensors on the steering wheel, brake pedal, and gas pedal to collect the data.

    The theory was that they would use the data to predict when you were *about* to change lanes - and set off an alarm if there were a car in your way. I'd be interested to know if they actually succeeded in doing this.

    This wasn't a fully automated process - there was a co-driver who you had to tell when you were going to change lanes, turn, etc., then he would punch the appropriate action into a laptop.

    Then again, I got paid $20 for the hour or so it took, so I'm not complaining :) Well worth all of the funny looks I got on I-95.