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Gesture Control for Automotive Peripherals

j-rock nowhere writes "An article in Automotive Design and productions' Field Guide to Automotive Technology describes a possible future method of controlling things like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road."

221 comments

  1. jedi by frieked · · Score: 4, Funny

    Soon, drivers will be able to command vehicle functions with the wave of a hand.

    Does this work on storm troopers too?

    --

    I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
    -Xenocrates
    1. Re:jedi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Error Message from device.

      "This is not the function you are looking for..."

    2. Re:jedi by Greedo · · Score: 4, Funny

      You: (waves hand in front of dashboard) This is not the radio station I was looking for.

      Honda: This is not the station you were looking for.

      --
      Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.
    3. Re:jedi by Josh+Booth · · Score: 1

      Nice sig, but my path to Enlightenment is /usr/X11R6/bin/enlightenment

    4. Re:jedi by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 1
      "You: (waves hand in front of dashboard) This is not the radio station I was looking for.

      Honda: This is not the station you were looking for."

      Clear Channel: Yes it is.

      You: Yes it is....

      Clear Channel: You underestimate the power of the Dark Side

      --
      Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  2. Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 4, Funny

    Driver makes gestures
    Car swerves down into a ditch
    Hands not on the wheel

    1. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by SlashdotLemming · · Score: 3, Funny

      Pity those people who talk with their hands.

      Pressing a button or turning a knob cannot be misinterpreted, waving a hand can

    2. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by kevinT · · Score: 1

      Have you ever watched some of these people on their cell phones?

      They would be turning everything on and off, radio to full blast, then to nothing!

      It would be funny to watch if I wasn't worried about them losing control and killing me!

    3. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by carlos_benj · · Score: 5, Funny

      This won't be implemented in Italian cars.....

      --

      --

      As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.

    4. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's a joke. The whole reason you're more dangerous is because of CONCENTRATION.

      The fact you're talking on the phone (regardless of whether you're using a hands-free set or not) means that some aspect of your cognitive functions are not on the road. Pure and simple.

      People waving their hands around in an attempt to spell something will be a menace. I can imagine what'll happen as soon as something's mis-spelt. People'll soon switch their eyes across to whatever readout it has to try and delete something.

      We should be enforcing laws stopping people driving dangerously and without due care and attention, not making up expensive technology that will provide yet another distraction for idiots.

    5. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by shirai · · Score: 1
      Yes it is not a good idea considering there is a much easier, cheaper and better solution. There are called big and intuitive controls. Let me say again:

      BEEEEEEEEEG. INTUITIIIIIIIIIVE.

      For example a larger round dial for the volume control and large and uniquely located and shaped buttons for track selection and station selection.

      I personally will only buy after market stereos that feature a volume knob. It is such a great interface. I can:

      • Find it immediately with very little or no looking
      • Know how it operates intuitively
      • Can crank it quickly or slowly depending on my need (this is useful in cop situations)


      But the interface with the two little volume button for up and down that are placed SIDE-BY-SITE and will do something else depending on the mode it is in? Please no.
      --
      Sunny

      Be my Friend

    6. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by lakmiseiru · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. While you're off waving your hands to control your cell phone, radio, etc, they're not in their proper place (i.e. on the steering wheel).

      Having your hands on the steering wheel is a good thing. If you aren't looking at the road, you can't see the car you're about to hit. If you're looking at the road but your hands are gesturing, you can't control your car to avoid the person you're about to hit.

      Nuff said?

      --

      Access denied: Not enough clue for requested operation.
    7. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by The_dev0 · · Score: 1

      I agree. I much prefer a system that lets you keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. Besides, I'm happy with my current voice-activated system. It's easy to use with simple commands like "honey, skip this bloody song, will ya?", and also holds your drink when you drive. I only wish I could get the mute command to function properly...

      --
      Never fight naked, unless you're in prison...
    8. Re:Does anyone else see this as not a good idea? by gurensan · · Score: 1

      You'll find 100% agreement here. It's not the phone that's the problem, it's the ATTENTION!

      --
      You are all fartheads.
  3. erm... by REBloomfield · · Score: 1

    looking where you're going is one thing, steering in that direction would be nice too :)

  4. I dunno... by TopShelf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sounds like a recipe for a new rash of Road Rage incidents.

    "Hey, a$$hole - you gonna flip me off like that, I'll show you!" (swerves and cuts off guy who's just trying to check his voicemail)

    --
    Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
    1. Re:I dunno... by frieked · · Score: 4, Informative

      RTFA
      the system has a camera positioned in the center console area pointed up at the roof so that the space in which the driver makes command gestures is essentially the same as where a gearshift lever might be. The thinking is to keep the operation of the system as familiar and natural as possible so that the driver won't be distracted from watching the road. (Another benefit is that since the gestures are made at a low level in the center of the vehicle other drivers are not likely to see them and interpret them as digital expletives.)

      --

      I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
      -Xenocrates
    2. Re:I dunno... by iworm · · Score: 2, Funny

      digital expletives

      [snort] Excellent!! "..and I mono-digitally expressed an expletive at the other driver..."

    3. Re:I dunno... by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 1

      Er... and if there actually IS a gear shift lever there? And if there isn't one, the driver probably doesn't drive stck, so performing any action in that space is neither "familiar" nor "natural".

      Bad design. How about making an autopilot that takes over when the driver is being an idiot?

    4. Re:I dunno... by addikt10 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I want it to honk my horn and start driving aggressively if I flip someone off, not check my voicemail.

    5. Re:I dunno... by SEWilco · · Score: 2, Insightful

      One can either photograph a hand pushing virtual buttons where a gearshift lever would be, or actually put buttons there to be pushed. Including if there is a gearshift lever already there -- put buttons on the lever.

    6. Re:I dunno... by Razor+Blades+are+Not · · Score: 1

      yeah I can see it now.
      First I have to get my hand into the right place. So I glance down to see if my hand is positioned over the camera. It's relatively easy to find a shift stick, but without that tactile reference point, I expect it might require a little bit of concentration to find the sweet spot.
      Then I wave my hand in a set of gestures that I have to concentrate to remember.
      Hmmm was it the circle to the left with the index finger ? Or was it the fist pump followed by the come hither wave ?

      How is this any better than reaching over to the volume knob and twisting it ? What if the volume knob was on the steering wheel ?

      apart from the expandability advantage (You have to re-wire knobs and dials to do different things - I expect you just need to upload a new gesture profile to get different responses with this system)... I really don't see that this will improve things all that much.

    7. Re:I dunno... by tcopeland · · Score: 1

      >>> For some reason I can't post anymore to our previous discussion... it's say that I moderated the discussion! How bizarre. Anyhow:

      > as long as you don't sin too much. :-). Yeah, I think I'm over my limit :-)

      > watching children grow up that conscience
      > is a learned trait

      Well... I don't know. My kids seem to know when they're doing something my wife and I have told them not to do... they kind of sneak around. And my oldest is only 3.

      > no expectation on my part that there
      > should be any consistency.

      Oh definitely, right, if it's just a collection o' stories, it's no big deal to find inconsistencies. But if it is purported to be the word of God... it should be consistent... or else it's not. God's word, that is.

      > point of view this person expresses.

      Whew, that's quite a page. We could extend our current discussion another 50 posts on that one :-)

      > I don't *know* enough of the details
      > of the bible

      Yup, I'm feeling like my Biblical knowledge is pretty lacking as well...

  5. My Science Project anyone? by garcia · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'll give it a hand gesture all right...

    Watch for the neon middle finger to pop up from my truck.

    1. Re:My Science Project anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "When you're cool, the sun shines on you 24 hours a day."

      That movie...

    2. Re:My Science Project anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, I remember that! I want one of those! Anyone know if they're available?

    3. Re:My Science Project anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      IMDB link for My Scienece Project

  6. I wonder... by WinDoze · · Score: 1

    What does the car do when you give the finger to the a$$hole that just cut you off?

  7. Voice is better by 3.5+stripes · · Score: 2, Insightful

    hands free ya know....

    --


    He tried to kill me with a forklift!
    1. Re:Voice is better by 3.5+stripes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Really though, voice recognotion is good enough to differntiate between different owners, my cell phone now will make calls if I tell it to.

      Why even bother with hands, they should really stay on the wheel.

      --


      He tried to kill me with a forklift!
    2. Re:Voice is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The creator addressed that issue in the article if you had bothered to read it.

    3. Re:Voice is better by 3.5+stripes · · Score: 1

      He glosses over it, you mean.

      Noise interference for sound, light interference for cameras.

      I think a combo as he suggests might be better, but honestly, I'm less likely to say something that could be interpreted as a command, than I am moving my hand in a way that could be interpreted as one.

      --


      He tried to kill me with a forklift!
    4. Re:Voice is better by paradesign · · Score: 1
      not in a convertable at speed. not a good signal / noise ratio. Geatures solve part of this. also gestures a re popular in web browsers, but how many voice controlled browsers are there?

      i wouldnt want to talk to my car (too HAL) but ill wave to it, sure.

      --
      I want 2D games back.
    5. Re:Voice is better by buck_wild · · Score: 1

      Hm. I drive a convertible, and I'm still able to talk on my hands-free cellphone while the top is down. And that's with the mic mounted on the sun-visor.

      So I think the location and quality of the mic should be taken under consideration.

      --
      If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
  8. Imagine the gesture if... by jkrise · · Score: 1

    The car tries to go straight up!!
    Middle of the road...

    --
    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
  9. My first thought when I read this... by TrollBridge · · Score: 2, Funny
    ...was that my car would automatically beep the horn and flash headlights when I give a fellow motorist the finger.

    Does that make me a bad person?

    --
    There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
  10. Keyboard? by andy1307 · · Score: 1

    Why cant you build a keyboard with something like this. It would be more intuitive and easier on your wrists.

    1. Re:Keyboard? by WC+as+Kato · · Score: 1

      Because it would be the size of your car!

      --
      --- I'm Green Hornet's sidekick not Inspector Clouseau's!
    2. Re:Keyboard? by RandomWhiteMan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They've been coming out with a couple interfaces that use gestures lately. Don't know how good they are though. Touchstream Keyboard

  11. Geez.... by psychophil.com · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I already make enough gestures while driving.

  12. Queue thousands of "middle finger" gesture jokes.. by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 1

    People look silly enough talking on hands free phones while in the car. If they are waving their arms about at the same time they are going to look positively psychotic.

    --
    Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
  13. Good one Zaphod by Genady · · Score: 1

    What's next your current squeeze throwing a pencil through the area of effect, throwing off the station while you try to listen to the news of your theft of the new wonder car? Sheesh!

    --


    What if it is just turtles all the way down?
  14. Amusing effect on fingerspellers by Lonesome+Squash · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I have a habit of absent-mindedly fingerspelling when I'm thinking about something else. I suspect this would cure me.

    It might be a problem for those who use sign language to speak to their passengers, but then, maybe signing while driving isn't such a great idea.

    --
    Behold the riant ape! Beware, his crooked thumbs!
    1. Re:Amusing effect on fingerspellers by brakk · · Score: 1

      That brings up the questions:

      Do they make teletype machines for cell phones?

      And if so, Can you get a cigarette power adaptor for them?

    2. Re:Amusing effect on fingerspellers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I actually saw 3 hearing impaired (2 deaf, 1 mostly) people I know having a sign language discussion (a rather involved one at that, at least by appearances) while driving down a highway. Scariest thing I ever saw, I had to take up a position a few cars behind them and stay there where I could keep an eye one them.

  15. Perfect for me by L.+VeGas · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'm used to using my hand.

  16. Gesture this by metallikop · · Score: 1
    "we have an extremely robust system that can pick up gestures anywhere in the car"

    I'm fairly confident that I have hand gesturing in the car well covered, usually accompanied by some symbols such as @ and $. @^#!%%$ off!

  17. Prevent RSI? by arpy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can't wait for this to be implemented for PCs. Maybe one day I can merely give the finger to my Windows computer at work instead of giving it the three-fingered salute. Certainly help prevent RSI.

  18. Huh. My car is ahead of its time. by foxtrot · · Score: 5, Funny

    I already have this.

    If I place my hand on the device in front of me,
    and I move my hand to the left, the car goes to the left. If I move my hand to the right, my car goes to the right.

    There's a set of gestures I can make with my other hand to select something called a "gear". And the motion recognition even watches my feet, too!

    -JDF

    1. Re:Huh. My car is ahead of its time. by BigBadBri · · Score: 1
      I move my hand to the left, the car goes to the left

      Who taught you to drive? If your hands are in the correct position on the wheel, then it's (in a LHD car) - if I move my hand down, the car goes to the left.

      --
      oh brave new world, that has such people in it!
  19. Keep your eyes on the road... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...and your hands upon the wheel.

    1. Re:Keep your eyes on the road... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you going to the roadhouse?

  20. A simpler way with little innovation required by mao+che+minh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How about a few buttons on the steering wheel that correspond to standardized jacks used to interface things like your celluar phone and stereo? The stereo part is already done (in most Acura's for example), now just add celluar compatibility and provide one of those systems that turns you car into a speaker phone and your done.

    1. Re:A simpler way with little innovation required by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 1

      Standardized jacks in the steering wheel. Good idea. That way, when you turn, the cables can get all tangled up, and you have to pull over to untangle the mess and make that call.

    2. Re:A simpler way with little innovation required by mothrathegreat · · Score: 1

      I rather hope they'll have had a bluetooth solution for this soon

      --
      Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
    3. Re:A simpler way with little innovation required by carlos_benj · · Score: 1

      I was thinking the same thing. I pictured a motorist in the ditch trussed up in a cocoon of cables after trying to correct a fishtail on ice or something.

      --

      --

      As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.

    4. Re:A simpler way with little innovation required by mao+che+minh · · Score: 1

      "a few buttons on the steering wheel that correspond to standardized jacks" What I meant was that the buttons on the steering wheel activate your celluar phone that is attached to a jack somewhere in the car (likely on the dashboard). I even gave an analogy: stereo systems with controls on the steering wheel. Yea, maybe I should have worded it better originally.

    5. Re:A simpler way with little innovation required by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The stereo part is already done (in most Acura's for example), now just add celluar compatibility and provide one of those systems that turns you car into a speaker phone and your done.

      no it's not. the controls on steering wheels are far from standard... they intentionally use a bizzare protocol so that it is 100% useless with any decent aftermarket audio systems. (sorry, the stereo in your honda oops I mean acura sucks compared to some of the real stuff out there.)

      If you think that the automotive manufacturers will standardize on anything without being forced to (see federal mandates to use a single comms protocol for diagnosis interface to the car's computer) then you are pretty silly.

      I even had a system that was SUPPOSED to intergrate everything with speech way before any carmaker even though of it. in 1999 I had the Clarion autopc that integrated your car's systems (via diagnostic connector translator), GPS, audio system and cellphone into one simple to use and voice activated system....

      Only 1 cellphone was ever supported with it because the other cellphone manufacturers were not interested in letting out their super secret IP so that you can make your phone dial from the cradle.. and it was an analog cellphone that was phased out within months..

      that and the engineers at cellphone companies are twits to the point that they rewrite everything for every model and even change it in the middle of a modle year.

      if you want that stuff standarized... get laws passed to force the companies to use a standard API and protocol... it's obvious that no industry's want any standarization.. otherwise they would have had it already.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  21. It's not the problem by paranode · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Politicians and inventors seem to think that the cause of cell-phone related accidents has something to do with their hands being too occupied. I think it's quite obvious that the real problem is that people can't focus on two things at once. I don't think any of these new laws or hands-free technology will improve anything because little Susy driving around in her new BMW SUV that her daddy gave her isn't going to be saved when she's talking to Jennifer about how her boyfriend Chad just dumped her and she changes lanes into MY CAR!

    1. Re:It's not the problem by brakk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree, I drive 90% of the time with one hand whether I'm on the cell phone or not. It's after I get off a call and I don't remember the last couple miles that I wonder how I was doing it. I know my subconscious had taken over and was driving for me, but what would have happened if I needed to respond quickly or little Susy merging into my fender. It's not the lack of hands that would be the problem; it's the lack of concentration on the road.

      (Although, I've noticed that when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet.)

    2. Re:It's not the problem by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Although, I've noticed that when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet."

      Pretty simple. The passenger talking to you is part of your immediate environment. They occupy more of your sensory abilities that a cel caller. You only hear a cell call, and somewhat artificially at that. A real live person can be seen, heard, smelled, etc. Much more "real" that your phone call. Or radio for that matter, considering the limited volume, placement and quality of sound.

    3. Re:It's not the problem by Liselle · · Score: 1

      If you're holding on to a phone, either with your hand on cramming it between your shoulder and your head, wouldn't that count as a THIRD thing to focus on?

      However, I agree that all the technology in the world will not save people from their own stupidity.

      --
      Auto-reply to ACs: "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."
    4. Re:It's not the problem by spencerogden · · Score: 1

      Maybe it takes more concentration to listen to a voice coming out of a speaker. When the person is sitting right there, you can get some of their hand expressions and a there voice inflections are clearer.

      Also, maybe when you are talking in the car it is just idle chatter, whereas on the phone there is usually a reason for the call.

    5. Re:It's not the problem by tiled_rainbows · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "..when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet." Also, when someone is in the car with you, they know when to shut up. As the passenger, you're not going to say anything requiring an in-depth response whilst the driver is attempting a complex manouver.

    6. Re:It's not the problem by FunkyChild · · Score: 1

      And passengers are also able to notify the driver of things. If you're talking to a passenger and start to drift off the road into the other lane, the passenger will probably say "shit, look out!" while someone on the phone will be completely oblivious to what's going on.

    7. Re:It's not the problem by Bronster · · Score: 1

      I believe the real reason is that the person in the car with you is aware of your environment, and stops talking/distracting you when a situation arrises. They immediately realise that you need to concentrate. Someone on the phone will keep talking, and your brain will allocate effort to listening to them.

    8. Re:It's not the problem by theLOUDroom · · Score: 1

      Politicians and inventors seem to think that the cause of cell-phone related accidents has something to do with their hands being too occupied. I think it's quite obvious that the real problem is that people can't focus on two things at once.

      I think you're quite wrong. If that was true, it should also be illegal to talk to the passengers in your car. I think we can all agree that your average person can handle driving down the road and talking to the person next to them. They have to if the want to pass their driver's test.

      The problem is cellphones are to complex to operate while you're going down the road. Think about how much time it take to dial seven number accurately on a tink keypad with poor tactile response. Or to press the volume button seven times just to get the volume level right. We never saw these kinds of problems with CB radios because they're simple. See my other post about how voice dialing should be mandatory for cellphone use in cars.

      Susy is just a reckless, irresponsible person. She shouldn't be on the road, even without a cellphone. Without one, she would have been looking in the rearview, doing her makeup when she hit you. The problem in her case doesn't have very much to do with cellphones at all.

      --
      Life is too short to proofread.
    9. Re:It's not the problem by Fapestniegd · · Score: 1

      Maybe we should invent driving simulators for household phones, whith simulated hazards. That way people could train themselves to pay attention when they drive, in the safety of their own home.

      Make it so the houshold phone will not work unless their able to play Gran Turismo while talking.

    10. Re:It's not the problem by Sparakkis · · Score: 1

      Yep. In the case of a demanding situation, someone who is babbling on and on will definitely distract you. Its a logical, simple, direct explanation, and therefore will be ignored.

    11. Re:It's not the problem by jobugeek · · Score: 3, Interesting
      I read a study somewhere(can't find it at the moment), that studied just what you said. It stated that talking to someone in the car also is aware of the environment. If a car starts to turn into you, that person will obviously stop talking where someone on the other end of a cell phone will not realize what it happening.

      Also, the study took into a effect that more traffic can actually be safe at times. Once the repeition of your drive gets ingrained, if there isn't anything to keep you alert, people tend to "autopilot".

      --
      I'm not drunk, I just have a speech impediment. And a stomach virus. And an inner ear infection.
    12. Re:It's not the problem by WuphonsReach · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Big difference between a phone call and a passenger.

      A passenger is in the same environment as you, which means there's a second set of senses (semi) paying attention to what's going on outside the glass. A cell-caller has no such cues or abilities.

      Passengers also have vested interest in NOT bringing up volatile, emotion-laden, or stressful topics. OTOH the PHB is completely comfortable with chewing you out over the cell phone just like he would over regular land-lines. Most passengers are aware of when a conversation has become too complex/difficult for the situation and will defer the conversation or change topics.

      CB radio really doesn't map 1:1 because stressful, emotional-laden, or private topics are rarely discussed over CB. (No expectation of privacy.) Plus, the pattern of conversation is different with radio/CB. Pauses between replies are normal in radio/CB - but in phone usage, we're accustomed to interpreting silence as having meaning. So we don't like to leave the channel silent or we might be construed as being rude to the other party. You're also paying per minute for cell (less of a factor now that cell is cheaper), so there's incentive to push more information across in the same time period.

      The other thing to consider is the topic being discussed. Some topics require more concentration then others. Talking about the weather is pretty light conversation, and probably doesn't affect driving ability. Trying to troubleshoot a Beowolf Cluster over the phone is a lot more complex and probably has a big impact on your ability to drive.

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
    13. Re:It's not the problem by Hognoxious · · Score: 1
      They occupy more of your sensory abilities that a cel caller.
      Which leaves less for driving.
      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    14. Re:It's not the problem by SharkJumper · · Score: 1

      It's thought that one of the differences between talking on the cell phone and talking to a person in the car is that the person in the car is responding to the same sensory cues as you, as well as responding to sensory cues from you.

      So, when you are concentrating on merging onto a 5-lane freeway, your passengers 1) see the impending traffic pile-up, 2) notice the look of concentration on your face, and 3) shut up so you can concentrate on your driving.

      The guy on the other end of the cell phone has no such cues and therefore keeps on yapping and distracting you.

      Of course, I tend to go against this logic, myself. It does sometimes affect my concentration to be talking with passengers in the car. This is why I will not be getting a cell phone in my car.

      SharkJumper

    15. Re:It's not the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's because the other person will go "OH SHIT LOOK OUT." or "Dude, where'd you learn to drive?"

    16. Re:It's not the problem by micromoog · · Score: 1
      Well put. This idea was entirely confirmed by a University of Utah study earlier this year. Key quote:

      ...users of hands-free and hand-held cell phones are equally impaired, missing more traffic signals and reacting to signals more slowly than motorists who do not use cell phones.

      So hands-free phones do nothing to help the problem, regardless of the massive ad campaigns launched by both cell phone manufacturers and automakers to the contrary.

    17. Re:It's not the problem by HalfStarted · · Score: 2, Funny

      lately its been damn did you see her... pull up along side again....

      gotta love the summer...

      --


      Have you thought for yourself today?
    18. Re:It's not the problem by EvanED · · Score: 1

      Also, if for example someone pull in to cut you off, the person in the car will probably shut op for a second, while the person on the phone will keep on yapping away.

    19. Re:It's not the problem by Hatta · · Score: 1

      I don't know about you, but I'm able to ignore extraneous data in a moment of crisis. You don't need audio to drive anyway, so if something unexpected happens, just ignore your ears. As I said in an earlier post, I think it's more about where you put your eyes.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    20. Re:It's not the problem by Hatta · · Score: 1

      If that were the case, then listening to books on tape would be just as distracting as a cell phone. You don't need ears to drive, you do need eyes and hands to drive. In a crisis, your brain has a way of directing attention where it needs to be. So you can turn off your ears pretty easily. But not if you're looking at your phone and you don't know there's a crisis. When you are reacting to a close call, you don't think about what you're doing, you just do it. If you have to think about it, you won't be able to react in time. So the brain can process visual data automatically into physical reactions (if you're a good driver) bypassing higher order stuff that a cell phone conversation would interfere with.
      It's like in martial arts, if you spend time thinking about your moves, you're gonna get tagged. Your best performance is when you don't think at all, but just flow. Indeed, it can be entertaining even to watch yourself move without thought. Of course, this is just a hypothesis.
      it would be interesting to do functional MRI studies to determine which areas of the brain are activated by driving conditions, and which are activated by phone conversations, and whether they overlap at all.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    21. Re:It's not the problem by wytcld · · Score: 1

      Yes, the statistics are just the same for accidents with hands-off and hands-on cell phones.

      The statistics are also the same for driving when really tired and driving when just over the legally-drunk line. But it's legal to drive when tired, and in New York it's legal to use that cell phone while driving as long as you hands are off it. The corporations like laws that just require more technology be consumed for perceived safety.

      So let's arm cops with devices to make sure drivers are fully caffeinated. Caffeine jitters probably cause more accidents too - but this will sell more colas and coffee, so it's good.

      --
      "with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
    22. Re:It's not the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Although, I've noticed that when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet.

      The other person in the car is yelling "look out!", in fear for their life. The cell phone caller has no such concern.

    23. Re:It's not the problem by BigBadBri · · Score: 1
      She shouldn't be on the road, even without a cellphone. Without one, she would have been looking in the rearview, doing her makeup when she hit you.

      Now you're either being sexist (bad, because I know lots of pretty OK women drivers), or anti-SUV drivers (good, because they tend to be bad drivers with low self-confidence and correspondingly low skill).

      SUVs are the bane of the road-users life. They are uniformly badly driven, can't corner properly, and you have to poke your nose round the side to see enough to overtake.

      SUV drivers are inadequates who think that (big == safe), who can't use mirrors to check behind themselves when they overtake, and who seem to think that having a big lump of metal entitles them to change lanes whenever they like.

      Let's ban SUVs, and sterilise SUV drivers to stop them breeding. A test (do you neecd to spend a significant portion of most of your journeys off-road, or on unmade roads) should be applied before a person is allowed to drive a SUV, and extra driving lessons provided to teach the owner how to corner, and how not to drive at slow speed on the crown of the road. Not cutting corners on country roads when you're being overtaken would also be a good thing for them to learn.

      SUVs - I hate 'em.

      --
      oh brave new world, that has such people in it!
    24. Re:It's not the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Ha - if I don't get -1:Troll for that, there's no justice in the world.

      I meant every word of it, though.

      Bri.

    25. Re:It's not the problem by Tenareth · · Score: 1

      No, since you are stuck with only one sense, you need to concentrate on it a bit more. If all the senses are working together, takes a bit less concentration because some are making up for others.

      --
      This sig is the express property of someone.
    26. Re:It's not the problem by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Not studied much cognitive psychology, have you?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    27. Re:It's not the problem by theLOUDroom · · Score: 1

      Now you're either being sexist (bad, because I know lots of pretty OK women drivers), or anti-SUV drivers (good, because they tend to be bad drivers with low self-confidence and correspondingly low skill).

      Bullshit. I didn't pick the SUV example of the person being a girl, and suggesting that a girl like the one in his example might do her make-up is hardly sexist.

      If I'd said "Women can't drive." That would be sexist.

      There are bad female drivers out there, who do their makeup, yak incessantly on their phones, etc. That's reality. There are bad male drivers too.

      What I was being was anti-irresbonsible, unattentive drivers.

      It's funny how willing you are to belittle a large group of people based on a single characteristic (owning an suv), yet you see no problem calling me a sexist because you didn't get my point.

      Here's my point:
      Susy was gabbing on her cellphone. Susy wasn't paying attention to the road. She ran into someone else. This indicates that Susy does not pay a sufficient level of attention to the road. For some reason she doesn't feel she has to. Taking away her phone isn't going to change her attitude. It will take away one distraction, but chances are she'll find another one.

      --
      Life is too short to proofread.
  22. keeping eyes on the road ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a possible future method of controlling things like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road.

    Or more importantly, the movie playing on your nice in-dash LCD DVC player.
    Or for women, it allows them to more easily apply eye make up in the rear-view mirror.

  23. Finally... by skurken · · Score: 1

    I can kill an annoying tune on the radio by flipping it the bird.

  24. Gesture-Based Interfaces by mcc · · Score: 5, Interesting
    A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wave bands for news of himself. The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive-- you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure, of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program."

    -- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    My God, it's finally happened.
    1. Re:Gesture-Based Interfaces by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a) damn you, you beat me to it
      b) DNA must be twirling in his grave.

    2. Re:Gesture-Based Interfaces by f0rtytw0 · · Score: 1

      nuts someone beat me to it. This was the first thing I thought of when I saw this article.

      --
      this is the most important sig ever! In your face 446154!
    3. Re:Gesture-Based Interfaces by MyHair · · Score: 1

      So Sad he couldn't live a little longer to see it. Are Douglas Adams and Scott Adams the new Da Vinci's?

      RIP DA.

  25. Make your choice... by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 2, Funny
    ..since facial recognition requires a camera and similar software, automakers could sell a security feature that would authorize vehicle operation based on facial features. Once the camera is in the car for that purpose, gesture interface becomes an inexpensive addition.
    but..
    Another benefit is that since the gestures are made at a low level in the center of the vehicle other drivers are not likely to see them and interpret them as digital expletives.
    So either other drivers will see your waving your hands thinking you're flipping them the bird, or your head bobbing up and down near the centre console as you try and get it to recognise your face...what a predicament.
  26. Gesture Control by Entropy248 · · Score: 1

    Yeah... This is exactly what I need. I want to let go of the wheel and wave my arms around like a moron in order to change radio stations. More importantly, I want flipping people off to dial my ex-girlfriends. Better yet, I want signalling a left turn (right turn for ppl driving on the WRONG side of the road) to change the channel on my DVD player. They could combine this technology with the motion-activated PDAs to make caucophonious symphony of beeps and widgets powering up whenever I light a cigarette while driving. Seriously, who the fuck needs another distraction or reason to let go of the wheel while driving! I can't even imagine what would happen if I was getting some on my ride into work... Not that I could now, but...

  27. Not exactly a good idea by Tha_Big_Guy23 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Going back to the days when in Driver's Education, they teach that while driving you should keep your hands on the wheel at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions. While you may move your hands about the vehicle to perform certain tasks as changing the radio station etc. using hand gestures to control things within the car gives us the same problem that we have now. This problem is that people are using the hands that they should be driving with to do various other things within their vehicles. A voice command system would be much more valuable within a car as it would preclude the need to remove your hands from the steering wheel. Their argument in the article about voice recognition has holes in it. They say that cars are too noisy. If you've taken a ride in one of the newer cars with the windows up, and the radio off, it's rather quiet inside the car. Perhaps I just don't understand, but I still think that this would just be asking for trouble.

    --
    If you're looking here for something insightful or thought provoking, you're probably looking in the wrong place.
    1. Re:Not exactly a good idea by TheViffer · · Score: 1

      This problem is that people are using the hands that they should be driving with to do various other things within their vehicles. A voice command system would be much more valuable within a car as it would preclude the need to remove your hands from the steering wheel.

      Until you tune into some talk radio station :-)

      --
      -- Knowing too much can get you killed, but knowing who knows too much can make you rich.
    2. Re:Not exactly a good idea by GojiraDeMonstah · · Score: 2, Funny

      George Carlin recommended keeping your hands at 9:45 and 2:15. That way you have an extra half hour to get where you're going.

      --
      "Stop throwing the Constitution in my face, it's just a goddamned piece of paper!" - George W. Bush Nov. 2005
    3. Re:Not exactly a good idea by WuphonsReach · · Score: 1

      I was taught 10/2 as well, but IIRC, airbags in the center of the steering wheel change the equation. Now I think it's either 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 so that your arms/wrists aren't in the path of the airbag when it deploys.

      I also recall that you're not supposed to steer using the over/under(?) method at the top of the wheel, but instead do a shifting motion with your hands at the sides of the steering wheel. (Same reason, keep your wrists/arms out of the airbag deployment zone.)

      --
      Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
    4. Re:Not exactly a good idea by Hognoxious · · Score: 1
      Now I think it's either 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 so that your arms/wrists aren't in the path of the airbag when it deploys.
      If your airbag's deploying, isn't it kind of a bit late for steering?
      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  28. Speech recognition? by Psyx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hell, there have been car phones that respond to voice since 1986 at least. We used to have a GTE prototype. Gestures sound like a step backwards.

  29. Sweet! by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just get a bee into their car and watch the hilarity!

    Seriously, most people I see can't even handle driving when they aren't actually trying to do anything else, why are they being encouraged to do anything but drive?

    1. Re:Sweet! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should see people in Oklahoma try to "drive" in the rain. It would be safer to just shoot yourself, at least you would die quickly.

  30. Ultimate solution by TheViffer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road

    How about shut off the cell phone, tune the stereo to one station and pay attention to the road.

    Solution: $0
    Chance to get into an accident/kill someone: less

    --
    -- Knowing too much can get you killed, but knowing who knows too much can make you rich.
  31. What about hands on the wheel? by Ashtead · · Score: 4, Interesting
    .. or the stick-shift every once in a while.

    The big problem seems to be that the concentration isn't on traffic even with hands-off versions of mobile phones. True enough, there is not that gross inattentiveness associated with reading or writing text-messages, or other non-telecomms activities like applying makeup or reading the newspaper. Still, the concentration isn't where it ought to be during phone calls, I have experienced this myself, being on "autopilot" whilst talking. Enough to keep the vehicle following the road; but at the end of the conversation I realized I could not remember anything of what I had passed, even obvious things like small towns and intersections.

    On the other hand, this idea of being able to quickly get commands across to various in-car systems seems exciting. Being able to turn on a music selection with a flick of the wrist certainly is vastly better than an in-car entertainment system full of pushbuttons. I got one of these here, and I never am able to work it unless the car is stationary.

    --
    SIGBUS @ NO-07.308
    1. Re:What about hands on the wheel? by gregmac · · Score: 1
      The big problem seems to be that the concentration isn't on traffic even with hands-off versions of mobile phones.

      Yeah, the problem is trying to get the little rubber seal on the phone open and plug in the headset. I bought a headset, and it's great to use (despite the attention thing, which I totally agree with you on), but a lot of the time if someone calls I don't bother with it, because it's harder to try and get that thing in than it is to drive one-handed for a couple minutes.

      --
      Speak before you think
    2. Re:What about hands on the wheel? by micromoog · · Score: 1
      The big problem seems to be that the concentration isn't on traffic even with hands-off versions of mobile phones.

      Confirmed by this study.

  32. Cell Phones on the Road by leeroybrown · · Score: 2, Informative

    Research has shown that the largest affect of a Cell Phone conversation on a driver is in fact the level of concentration required to listen, think and converse with the other party.

    Not having a phone held awkwardly while driving is a big help but you still loose a lot of your concentration on the road.

    It sounds like an innovative control method but it still won't keep concentration purely on the road.

  33. To deploy airbag... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...cover both eyes with your hands. Airbag will deploy shortly. No peeking!

  34. That's great and all, but... by Blind+Linux · · Score: 1, Funny

    Someone should devise a system that could apply makeup to womens faces while they were driving.
    Imagine the drop in road rage and accidents...
    just imagine.
    :p

    1. Re:That's great and all, but... by mothrathegreat · · Score: 2, Funny
      I'm picturing Homer's makeup shotgun with an airbag conversion. That ought to keep Worlds wierdest police videos pt 8 busy for a while

      --
      Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
  35. Here in lies the problem by TnkMkr · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If driving was simply a function of keeping your eyes on the road, there would be no problem... the thing is you have to PAY ATTENTION when you are driving. I don't remember where I saw the numbers, but I remember recently reading an article that suggested hands free cell phone uses drive as bad and crash as often as those who do not use hands free kits.

    Now with the desire to integrate a LCD screens, DVD player, Video Games and a whole host of distractions I loath to think what driving will be like in the future. People need to just drive their car and worry about amusing themselves when they are not hurling down the road at 60 MPH.

  36. What, no HUD? by GojiraDeMonstah · · Score: 1

    We should leap-frog gesture technology and go straight to this.

    But Seriously. Yes, safety innovations are worthwhile. However, at the risk of sounding like a hystronic dumbass, your car is not a goddamn entertainment center! Work the CD player, yap on the phone, eat a taco, crank up the A/C, turn around and shriek at the kids... I even see advertisements for in-dash TV/VCR/DVD screens.

    Maybe the answer is getting cars to drive themselves with GPS or something. That way we won't distract Joe Consumer with the tedious task of driving, leaving him free to settle back with a bucket of KFC and some pr0n on the way to the mall.

    --
    "Stop throwing the Constitution in my face, it's just a goddamned piece of paper!" - George W. Bush Nov. 2005
  37. why not get rid of the wheel completely? by tiled_rainbows · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why not stick with the physical interfaces for cellphone, stereo, etc, but DRIVE using guesture recognition? How cool would it be to just have to point in the direction you wanted to go? Okay, not that cool, but I still like the idea

  38. No physical touch... by stevenp · · Score: 1

    >> But they're taking things a step further, because the work on gesture interfaces at CMU doesn't include physical touch

    The physical touch is important. It is important for the person to receive a physical feedback from the controls so that he can "feel" them moving.

    It is not coincidence that many people still prefer the old-style clicking keyboards that give a nice tactile feedback.

    btw. How are they going to distinguish between control and spontaneous gestures? Maybe the system will be forbidden in the southern countries where the people naturally move their hands a lot when they speak?

  39. oh please Oh Please OH PLEASE?! by jpellino · · Score: 1

    Can we rig it so that giving someone the finger deploys the airbag?

    Please?

    --
    "Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
  40. voice control by calethix · · Score: 1

    According to the article
    "(1) cars are noisy, so that technology needs much more work and (2) many people simply don't like the idea: "I would feel strange if I had to talk to my car," he says."

    Personally, I'd rather give my car voice commands instead of hand gestures so I don't know where it comes up with #2. As for #1, I thought most modern cars (excluding cheapo cars like my neon) were pretty good at eliminating road noise. I suppose that would still leave issues with noise in the car such as radios and screaming children.

  41. What ever happened to voice recognition? by Proudrooster · · Score: 1

    Ever since my 8-bit Commodore 64 with 64k of RAM I've was promised Computer Speech Recognition. I was able to train the C-64 speech recognition software to recognize commands like "North, South, East, West, Go up etc... " to play Infocom games like Zork. Now we have cell phones with enough CPU power to process images, play Beethoven's 9th with a 16 string polyphonic orchestra to notify the user of an incoming call, but WE STILL DON'T HAVE BASIC SPEECH RECOGNITION. What's up with that?

    So is this the end for speech recognition? Have we given up? I want to speak to my cell phone and have it obey, not gesture to it while I'm trying to drive. Clue to cell phone manufacturers, the cell phone has a microphone, maybe it could be used to something..... hmmmmmm.....

  42. They did this on the Osbournes... by jpellino · · Score: 1

    Ozzy trying to voice control the BMW radio... he resorted to gestures. Didn't work. Of course you have to be able to speak actual words and use more than one gesture to do any of this, so he and his two kids are out...

    --
    "Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
  43. hand up and scream by Lust · · Score: 1

    so does the airbag deploy when your mouth opens wide and you throw your hands in front of your face in horror?

    1. Re:hand up and scream by airdrummer · · Score: 1

      most car operators (i won't credit them with the term _driver_;-) don't lose control, they abdicate:-{

  44. NOT the problem with cell phones in cars, dammit! by SuperBanana · · Score: 5, Insightful

    method of controlling things like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road

    First off- my stereo in my car displays the FM frequency info in the gauge cluster, at the top, and I know all the controls by feel; the button groups are shaped with surfaces to let you recognize which button group you're on. This feature was introduced in 1989 by Audi, and continues in every single model they make- so this is solving a problem that doesn't exist, frankly. If one manufacturer can do it, any can- it's just smart design and a little bit of extra electronics.

    Regardless, The problem is NOT the "taking your eyes off the road" bit. The problem, time after time, is your mental focus.

    Researchers found that when a driver is talking on the cell phone, it's almost like they enter a tunnel of sorts- they loose their situational awareness(ie, "where are the other cars around me?" "what is my speed?" etc.) and sort of blankly stare ahead. You can recognize anyone in this "mode"; they look like some kind of automaton.

    Of course, the phone companies say "that's absurd, people in cars talk to the driver". That's right(even right to the extent that many states limit passengers for young drivers, who haven't enough experience)- but when you're talking to the driver (studies have shown that) you stop talking to them if the situation the driver is in gets complicated- ie, a merge, someone starts to cut them off, an exit is coming up, or they're looking for a turn to make- or even if the driver suddenly changes their body language- and even that act of stopping talking to them can give the driver a wakeup call. People on the other end of the phone can't do any of this, of course.

    But, have you ever wondered why the cellphone industry is happily embracing the hands-free stuff? They get to sell extra accessories at an absurd profit margin compared to the phone unit itself- and it distracts everyone from the much more "dangerous"(to them) truth- that people can't talk to other people safely unless they're in the car, ie, cell phone calls by drivers should be illegal PERIOD.

  45. Buttons on the back of the Steering Wheel. by brakk · · Score: 1

    I still think the best method for changing radio stations or answering phone calls or other non-critical tasks in the car is buttons on the back of the steering wheel. Some cars already have it. So you don't have to take your hands off the wheel, you just move a finger or two.

  46. Didn't I see this on EFC by jj_johny · · Score: 1

    Hey, they use gestures to fly in Earth: Final Conflict but it looked a little to much like they were always being a bit inexact in their movements. Don't know that I want controls that have no feed back to them.

  47. Government by mothrathegreat · · Score: 1
    I dont want the government to put a camera in my car! They'll record me and send it to the NSA!

    Im going back to my cellar now to make more tin-foil hats for my family... :)

    Still it does make me wonder.

    --
    Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
  48. This will be so annoying. by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 0

    Oh yea, the convenience of a wave of the hand. You itch your nose, you hang up on someone. You swat a bug, you auto-dial your mother in law. You start making out with your significant other, and your OTHER significant other plays you a tape of it off their answering machine. Oh yea, can't WAIT for this one to come out!

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  49. Integration by wombatmobile · · Score: 1
    I remember the first time I saw an old man walking down the street talking out loud to nobody and gesticulating like a spontaneous flying angel. It was the 1970's and schizophrenia was a rare condition that was for the most part kept hidden from mainstream society behind institutional walls.

    These days, society is a lot more integrated.

  50. Keeping your eyes on the road is not the problem by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 2, Informative

    Keeping your brain focused and in gear is the real problem with cell phones and other gadgets.

    "It's not just the physical distraction of holding the handset -- there's the intellectual distraction of holding the conversation."

    "...cell phone conversations using "hands-free" devices are just as likely to cause dangerous distractions as those conducted on hand held phones."

    "There is a very substantial decrease in the amount of brain activity, the amount of neural activity allocated to driving, while you are simultaneously listening,"

    Hang up and drive.

  51. You Linux people... by rampant+mac · · Score: 4, Funny
    ...are so far behind the times! My new BMW uses Microsft's new embeded OS to enhance performance of my Beemer's traction control, safety system, and...

    HOLY FUCK!

    *makes vulcan sign*

    *crashes into tree*

    Windows

    A fatal exception 0E has occured at 0028:C004CDCF in VXD VNTFS(01) +
    00000B987. The current application will be terminated.

    * Press any key to terminate the current application.

    * Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE again to restart you computer. You will lose any unsaved information in all applications.

    * Pray that one of the above will work.


    Press any key to continue_

    --
    I like big butts and I cannot lie.
    1. Re:You Linux people... by aserra · · Score: 1

      That's "Bimmer", unless of course you are driving the two-wheel kind...

    2. Re:You Linux people... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course the real answer is to close up all the windows, turn the car off, restart it and re-open the windows...

  52. Totally disagree by Surak · · Score: 1

    By your logic, we should eliminate radios, remove all passenger seats from vehicles (making it so only one person can be in a privately-owned vehicle at a time), etc.

    After all since drivers can't do two things at once, listening to the radio would be out, talking to passengers would be out, fiddling around with car seats, etc. would be out...

    No, you're right. We should make so the driver has NO DISTRACTIONS. I'm starting my campaign to remove passenger seats and radios from cars today!

    1. Re:Totally disagree by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 1

      As a pedestrian you have my full support, where can I make a donation to your campaign?

    2. Re:Totally disagree by brakk · · Score: 1

      You shouldn't stop at just removing distractions from the car, you should remove distractions from the road as well, like pedestrians.

    3. Re:Totally disagree by Surak · · Score: 1

      No, no. You're a distraction as well! After all, someone in a car might check out your ass! We wouldn't want that!

      My campaign includes the removal of ALL distractions, including pedestrians!

    4. Re:Totally disagree by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 2, Insightful

      True, but when that little green walking guy signal (when did we all forget how to read?) is on, I'm not a distraction, I'm claiming my right-of-way. And the next SUV-driving, cel-phone gabbing soccer-mom who nearly runs me over because its too much trouble to look out the windshield just might get a steel-toed boot in the fender.

      And for the record, I used to drive 30k+ mile/year for yesr without an accident, I'm only a pedestrian now because some uninsured kid in a borrowed car destroyed my vehicle while argueing with his girlfriend on a cel phone.

      Where is "arse-whuppin" justice when you need it?

    5. Re:Totally disagree by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 1

      LOL!

      You joke about that but I _fear_ when the weather breaks around hear and the sidewalks are full of beautiful people. I see _so_ may fender-benders because some driver was checking out some walkers ass!

    6. Re:Totally disagree by Surak · · Score: 1

      Reductio ad absurdum, which as a certain radio commentator who I won't name because it causes flamewars has said, is the art of demonstrating absurdity by being absurd.

      That's what I was doing.

      Eliminating cellphone any basis other than it causes than the fact that it distracts the driver by occupying one of his/her hands is absurd. Plain and simple. Talking to someone on a handsfree phone is no more distracting than talking to the person next to you.

    7. Re:Totally disagree by paranode · · Score: 1

      The difference here is a cell phone call is interactive unlike the radio. You actually are concentrating on a conversation and (presumably) thinking about what you are saying. As was pointed out in another reply, having the people in the car with you is different than struggling to hear someone over a cell phone and trying to listen to what they're saying. With a passenger, you share the same environment and you can concentrate on your driving. A phone call in the car tends to be an involved conversation so you give it more attention then you would someone sitting next to you to whom you can tune out to some degree.

    8. Re:Totally disagree by Hognoxious · · Score: 1
      And the next SUV-driving, cel-phone gabbing soccer-mom who nearly runs me over because its too much trouble to look out the windshield just might get a steel-toed boot in the fender.
      You missed out 'having turned without using the indicators...'. That's what really gets on my nerves and of course, is doubly dangerous on a pedestrian crossing.
      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    9. Re:Totally disagree by Surak · · Score: 1

      The difference here is a cell phone call is interactive unlike the radio.

      Your radio isn't interactive? You can't change the station, adjust the volume, alter the graphic equalizer (or bass and treble), change the station presets, etc.?

      With a passenger, you share the same environment and you can concentrate on your driving.

      Hmmm? You can SEE the passenger, so this could be even MORE of a distraction as you glance over your shoulder to notice facial expressions, etc. Also, if I had a dime for everytime someone almost got into an accident because they turned around to see what their child had put in their mouth or to discipline their kids, etc., I'd be a very wealthy man indeed. So, no I still disagree.

    10. Re:Totally disagree by Surak · · Score: 1

      Sure. People have bought into the crap they've been fed by the media. The media have been harping on this subject for years now. To paraphrase W.C. Fields, say something loud enough and long enough and people will eventually start to believe you.

    11. Re:Totally disagree by EvanED · · Score: 1

      Or what about the people whe pull up so far their entire car is last the stop line so you either have to walk practically it the lane of active traffic of go behind? I hate that... They should make it legal for peds to stay on the crosswalk by trampling over their car...

    12. Re:Totally disagree by EvanED · · Score: 1

      >>Talking to someone on a handsfree phone is no more distracting than talking to the person next to you.

      Dunno if the studies someone else providid address this, but here are 3 reasons this is most certainly not true:

      1. You have less information. Period. It's a cell phone call, so there's probably significant quality loss. Even land-line to land-line calls significantly degrade the quality. Result? You need to think more to figure out what they are saying.

      2. Chances are better that the cell phone call is about business or another activithy that requires you to pay more attention than you would it nopmal chatter. Like most of the stuff my parents would talk about when we'd go on trips would be of the sort where you don't have to thing. Whereas when my dad would be talking on the cell phone he'd have to think through blueprints and stuff in order to anwser. Another level of concentration that was diverted away from where it should have been: the road.

      3. The person in the car is also paying attention to what's going on. If, say, someone cuts in front of you and you have to slam on the breaks, the person you're talking to will probably shut up, allowing you to instantly go back to the road. The person at the other end of the line will continue on talking like nothing happened. Like it or not, it will take a moment for your concentration to switch back to the road.

    13. Re:Totally disagree by Surak · · Score: 1

      Please see my other comment. I already answered those things.

    14. Re:Totally disagree by BigBadBri · · Score: 1
      I guess you're not in the UK, so you've never had a moment when you're so busy laughing at I'm sorry I haven't a clue that you've nearly driven off the road.

      All of Radio 4 is dangerous, but Humphrey Lyttleton is deadly.

      --
      oh brave new world, that has such people in it!
  53. Where's my electric thumb? by doublem · · Score: 1

    Time to leave the planet.

    Any moment now a space ship will crash and announce "Take us to your lizzard."

    At least Vogon poetry will be better than most pop crap.

    As I said before:

    My question is, if the whole planet now sounds like Ford Prefect is somewhere in the area, where's my electric thumb and my copy of that book with the "Don't Panic" cover?

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
  54. Dumb idea by theLOUDroom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I'm going to take my hands off the wheel, I want to do something quick and unambiguous, then out them right back where they were. Buttons and switches are simple, reliable, and give tactile feedback. When I flip a switch on my dash, I can feel it move, and heard it click. I know my will has been done and I can go back to driving the vehicle. With a gesture system, there will be a tendency to wait and see if the system has properly recognized your motions before returning your attention to the road This is bad.

    Steering-wheel mounted controls are the way to go. Control the radio with you thumbs and maybe dial your phone with buttons in the middle of the wheel.

    Controls need to be quick and simple. We don't have any laws saying you need a hands-free kit for your CB in any state that I know of because they aren't that distracting. A single button push or know twist will effect whatever changes you want, and no one hesitates to drop their mic if they need to, since they're desiged to handle it. Contrast this with a typical handheld cellphone: Tiny keys, poor tactile feedback, inefficient controls (volume buttons instead of a knob), tiny displays. Just think about how much time you take your eyes off the road to dial a seven digit number. Plenty of time to get you killed on the wrong day.

    Voice dialing (for ANY number: "five-five-five-one-two-one-two"), volume control knobs, and a single button that takes the phone on and off-hook should be mandatory for all cellphones used while driving. NYS already has a law requiring the use of a "hands free" kit, but AFIAK just plugging and earbud into your phone satisfies that requrement.

    --
    Life is too short to proofread.
    1. Re:Dumb idea by hackstraw · · Score: 1

      With a gesture system, there will be a tendency to wait and see if the system has properly recognized your motions before returning your attention to the road.

      With any phone system, there will be a tendancy to wait and see if the person has properly recognized your previous statement before returning your attention to the road.

    2. Re:Dumb idea by micromoog · · Score: 1
      Controls need to be quick and simple.

      I think you need to control your use of bold. Quickly.

    3. Re:Dumb idea by Hognoxious · · Score: 1
      I could not agree more. You sound 1) like a usability expert and 2) like you know what you're talking about.

      The main article is a perfect example of a solution looking for a problem.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:Dumb idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      and give tactile feedback


      Boy ain't that the truth.

      In the early 90's I had a summer job helping Alamo ( car rental company ) shuttle their cars around the SF bay area. One of the models they had was an 'early access' version of Buick Riviera. This 'early access' model had a touch screen display for controlling the AC and the radio.

      What was more impressive than the touch screen was the numbers of them that were wrecked by customers. All because the driver had to take his eyes off the road and read the display.

      Boy I hope that the entire industry ( and not just GM ) learned from experience.

    5. Re:Dumb idea by buck_wild · · Score: 1

      Tard.

      --
      If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
  55. What about Rage gestures? by MongooseCN · · Score: 1

    When you stick your middle finger up will the car automatically flash it's lights, blare it's horn and swerve violently?

  56. I think we have a serious design flaw here by Sugar+Moose · · Score: 1

    I bet getting road head would really confuse the shit out of it.

  57. Back Seat by My+name+isn't+Tim · · Score: 2, Funny

    I hope it doesn't recognize gestures in the back seat....

  58. Stupid Mod Requests by MyHair · · Score: 1, Funny

    I usually hate "mod parent up" posts, but mod parent up.

    No, I still hate them. Mod me down.

    In other words, "me too".

  59. Customizable gesture languages? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Will there be variations of gestures for the individuals? For example, Italians love to use their hands when talking and they already have an informal meaning for each gesture, so it would make sense that they could define their own gestures. Then there's deaf people who know sign language. Could it be adapted to their own variation of sign? Lastly, there's the amateur orchestra conductors I see now and then leading an imaginary symphony in their cars.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  60. The perfect interface by teamhasnoi · · Score: 2, Insightful
    for autos is right here!

    I love old VWs, because there is nothing to mess with. It's about driving.

    Now it's about eating, calling, tuning, drinking, shaving, beautifying, watching, reading, screwing, eating, listening, drinking, and eating.

  61. Has this been done for keyboards? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anyone know if they've used this technology to create so-called "virtual" keyboards, in which an IR array tracks your fingers over a flat space and interprets your finger motions as keystrokes? It seems like a logical step for those who type faster than they speak, and it would be extensible to all sorts of applications.

  62. My Company Makes this Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    goto www.jestertek.com

  63. Jedi???, Nope, Picard instead. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Loose wave with semi-outstretched 1st finger... "Make it so... Engage!"

  64. Great Idea! by bc8o8 · · Score: 1

    As long as you can make the middle finger honk the horn and swirve, I'm happy!!

  65. Nail polish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Reminds me of a conversation with my father years ago.

    "What's this mean?" - arm out window, bent with arm pointing to the ground.

    "That's stop."

    "And this?" - arm straight out.

    "That's a left turn."

    "And now?" - arm bent up.

    "That's a right hand turn."

    (3 out of 3 - yay!)

    "Right, what does this mean?" - he put his arm out the window, unbent, palm flat, and waved his hand up and down.

    This was a new one. I had no idea.

    "It's a woman who's just applied nail polish, and is trying to get it to dry faster. Stay well clear of her if you want to live."

  66. little Susy? by Andorion · · Score: 1

    You let your "subconscious" take over and drive for you, and you're worried about little Susy? It's people like you that I worry about...

    ~Berj

    1. Re:little Susy? by Hatta · · Score: 1

      You are obviously not a martial artist. When sparring, if you have to stop and think about what you're doing, that's wasted time. You fight much better if you just let go and let it happen. Your subconscious is a lot smarter than you think it is.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    2. Re:little Susy? by Andorion · · Score: 1

      No martial arts for me, but I don't think that's a good analogy =) Don't get me wrong, I do the same thing, but you have to admit when you're "zoned out" you're less alert - changing lanes might be second nature, but you're less likely to notice that car in the blind spot.

      ~Berj

    3. Re:little Susy? by buck_wild · · Score: 1

      I seriously doubt that anyone would change lanes while 'zoned out'.

      It's possible I'm the exception, but I have a 40 minute commute home each day, and occasionally zone out to a radio show. I certainly feel myself come back to reality when I'm near another car, or change lanes.

      --
      If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
  67. Re:NOT the problem with cell phones in cars, dammi by hackstraw · · Score: 1
    The problem, time after time, is your mental focus.

    Yup. Thats what this study found.

    According to the study, rubbernecking accounted for 16 percent of accidents reported. This was followed by driver fatigue, which was responsible for 12 percent, looking at scenery or landmarks (10 percent), passenger or child distractions (nine percent), adjusting the radio, tape or CD player (seven percent), and cell phone use (five percent).
  68. Apititude by Ceadda · · Score: 1

    It's really not a question of hands, phones, pushing buttons, where your looking or any of those accident reasons that people throw out to explain cell phones and bad driving. Really, what we have here is a matter of Aptitude. Some people, when driving and recieving or making a call, never look at their phone. These users reach out, work their phone, radio, various pieces of their automobile all by touch. The phone doesnt distract them or make them reckless cause their completely capable of doing several things at once. In fact, they probably always do several things at once. Then there's the rest of the cell phone users, about 90% of the population? Probably a high number but maybe not for some area's. heh. Anyway, these users need to look at their phone every time they do anything with it... they drive down the road staring intently at the radio just to change the station. You see them weaving abuot and following lines whenever they do anything but drive. So what it really comes down to, is ability. Some of us can use the cell phone, and all the better to us, nothing should take that away. Nothings gonna fix this cause no ones gonna wanna sit though an aptitude test to see if your smart enough to drive!.. never know how many people would fail! lol

    --
    *There's Klingons on the starboard bow, scrape em off Jim!*
  69. Mass media is the best tool for totalitarianism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surveys are another good tool, although when the reader strips away the conclusions, it's possible for the mass media to have disseminated valuable partial truths, which any savvy mass media would generally avoid since it does not serve any powerful profit-center advertiser agendas such as those of distilleries, pharmaceuticals, and the agents/services for which such advertisers pay.
    Crime reporting is another great tool for the media to lead the charge into totalitarian excess.
    It really helps speed the pace to have an irrational set of punishments enshrined in law, too.

    Let's randomly pick Sweden for an example. Let's say for the sake of argument that Sweden has irrationally strict penalties against the use of a certain naturally-occurring substance, and it is decided in Sweden to survey use of said naturally-occurring substance. Perhaps drawing on studies that show Schizophrenics to be more self-embarrassingly candid, or studies that show dogs beaten at random subsequently manifesting volatile reactions, these intrepid Swedish surveyors find that (lo and behold!) users of said naturally-occurring substance in Seden are more likly to manifest schizophrenia.

  70. Hand free or brain free? by gfxguy · · Score: 1

    Of course, the problem with cellphones, consumption, tuning the radio and changing CDs is not that the hands aren't free it's that the brain is free - it isn't trained on the road, paying attention to where you are and what you are doing (respects to Yoda!)

    The studies are in and show that hands free cellphones don't significantly reduce accidents caused by being distracted.

    In fact, there shouldn't even be a law specifically regarding cellphones or anything else, there should just be one d.w.d. (driving while distracted) law.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
  71. Not your hands, but your mind. by gurps_npc · · Score: 1
    Studies in Australia have shown that it is the distraction of TALKING to someone, not the hand/eye stuff that is responsible for the increased accident rate.

    That is, the problem is not taking your eyes off the road, or your hands off the stearing wheel. Instead it is your attention off the road.

    In fact, talking with someone in the passenger seat, that has their eyes closed and therefore does not pause when the traffic get's funky, should cause just as much problems as talking on the phone.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
  72. Gestures & Formula 1 by Enzo1977 · · Score: 1

    If gestures were used as the controls in a formula 1 car, music conductors would become the new Michael Schumacher!

    --
    I hate all sigs, even this one.
  73. And what would make the horn beep? by bflong · · Score: 1

    ... make fist, extend middle finger....

    --
    Why is it so hot? Where am I going? What am I doing in this handbasket?
  74. Survey says cellphoners more easily distracted... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    A survey says cellphone users, even hands-free, more easily distracted during driving ... even when not using the cell-phone!

    The conclusion assumes the survey is answered honestly. Suppose that the survey actually matches with some accident reports, then doesn't the survey merely indicate that some people are pretending to be distracted by something else besides the cellphone?

    Personally, I've found that using the phone while I drive was very difficult at first, even though I was a very experienced driver when first I tried it. During the learning process, I nearly ignored a stop sign and a red light, simply because a conversation or call was extremely important to me. Even now, I would probably look for an opportunity to pull off the road if knew something like that would be happening. I believe I'm a good multi-tasker, but it doesn't make sense to me to multi-task driving with any other activity of vital importance. The most difficult conversations are the emotional ones, and I'm not talking about the kind of emotional show needed to bawl out a company rep. for conveniently (to the company) mishandling a regular payment.

  75. ASL for devices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great now the deaf can use their cell phones and stereoes while driving!

  76. It's all 'distracted driving' by switcha · · Score: 1
    Here's a piece that discusses a University of Utah study. Hands-free or not, when talking on a cell phone or (as Dr. Dean always points out) to a passenger, you are not as safe. Period.

    Plus, factor in the danger of thousands of Americans trying to learn this new gesture technology in their new car (turned guided missle) while doing 65 down the freeway. Oh, learn it in your driveway? Yeah right, we are talking about Americans, here...

    --
    You know what? ... A little club soda *did* get that out!
  77. Re:NOT the problem with cell phones in cars, dammi by micromoog · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Here's some of the research referred to by the parent post:

    University of Utah study published January 2003

    A key finding: users of handheld and of hands-free cell phones were equally impaired.

  78. you're the closest one yet by EEgopher · · Score: 1

    I think the plain and simple answer is that we've been trained since age 4 to have good phone manners, to be polite to the person on the other line.
    We all know how aggravating and rude it is when the person on the other line is "distracted" by TV or something, giving us "uh-huh" waaaayyyy too late to have been paying attention.
    We want to avoid this in the car, to be polite, to follow our ingrained phone ediquite, and so we drive like apes on morphine.

    --
    hi, I like pancakes -.-- -.-- --..
    1. Re:you're the closest one yet by spencerogden · · Score: 1

      That idea was poking me in the back fo the head after I wrote my post. Very good point. At the end of the day I think it definitely takes more concentration just to hold a phone conversation, hands free or note.

      We have statistics on the number of accidents where cell phones are involved. I would be interested in numbers comparing _how_ the phone was being used when the accident occured, talking, punching buttons, handfree or phone to the ear.

  79. read the article, maybe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When will there be a (-1, Did Not RTFA) moderation?

  80. Re:NOT the problem with cell phones in cars, dammi by lazira · · Score: 1
    Researchers found that when a driver is talking on the cell phone, it's almost like they enter a tunnel of sorts- they loose their situational awareness

    I think it's because your mind has to adapt to the concept of the phone. It's not natural to talk to a hunk of plastic, so you kind of project yourself somewhere else where you can ignore everything but the voice. Talking to a real person is more natural- they are actually there, so you still pay attention to your surroundings.

  81. The Osbournes and voice control by dspyder · · Score: 1

    Did anybody watch the Osbournes this week? Ozzie's new bimmer doesn't understand a word he says... especially where he swears at it. Think it will understand his gestures any better????? :)

    --D

  82. The end of mooning by Zhe+Mappel · · Score: 1
    Any technology that threatens this, the purest form of American motorist communication, is a technology we cannot afford.

    That said, I suppose the increasing size of the American ass is going to render the point moot, anyway. Video killed the radio star, but McDonalds killed mooning...

  83. Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by WaxParadigm · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "ie, cell phone calls by drivers should be illegal PERIOD."

    Come on, making something that is not a direct infringement on another person illegal is what should be illegal. I should be able to do whatever I want in my car while driving, even if it's really stupid. But, the instant that effects someone else (I hit someone/something) I should be punished accordingly (because I will have then actually infringed on someone).

    Studies have shown that computer ownership and fast internet connections correlate to online file swapping. I think we'd be in agreement that computers, and the use of them to make/share MP3s when not violating copyrights, should be legal. It's only when you violate the copyright should you be punished...and you should be punished for violating that copyright, not owning/using a computer.

    Same with cell phones. They, and the use of them, should be legal as long as that doesn't infringe on someone else. When you get in an accident cause you made that choice to talk, and accepted responsibility for that choice by making it, you should be punished for hitting someone...not for use/ownership of the phone.

    I (unfortunately) see a world approaching where everything "good" will be mandated by law, and everything "bad" or "potentially bad" will be prohibited. You, my fellow man, are leading this march...and I wish you would stop.

    1. Re:Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by micromoog · · Score: 1

      so . . . drunk driving should be legal as well?

    2. Re:Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by BigBadBri · · Score: 1
      Come on, making something that is not a direct infringement on another person illegal is what should be illegal

      I think being hit by a car driven by someone who's distracted by a mobile call counts as infringement, don't you?

      I regularly drive long distances as part of my work.

      If someone calls, and it requires more than a couple of seconds of attention, I tell them I'll call them back when I've found a safe place to stop. And that's with a hands-free kit.

      I do this because it's the right thing to do - I am by no means a meek and mild driver, but I am a safe driver.

      --
      oh brave new world, that has such people in it!
    3. Re:Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by tfoss · · Score: 1
      I should be able to do whatever I want in my car while driving, even if it's really stupid. But, the instant that effects someone else (I hit someone/something) I should be punished accordingly (because I will have then actually infringed on someone).

      Right, and that will help the family of four you killed how? The point of these laws is to protect lives and prevent accidents by limiting the dangerous situations that cause them.

      Illegal file swapping is an entirely different situation than an automobile accident (i.e. file swapping doesn't kill or maim people), and one that should be dealt with differently. Hell, by your logic, driving drunk should be allowed, we just ought to punish them more severely if they cause an accident.

      We do, and should legislate certain dangerous behaviors, especially when they potentially impact on other people's safety.

      -Ted

      --
      -=-=- Quantum physics - the dreams stuff are made of.
    4. Re:Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by WaxParadigm · · Score: 1

      "We do, and should legislate certain dangerous behaviors, especially when they potentially impact on other people's safety."

      I agree that we do, but I don't agree that we SHOULD. Legislating _behaviors_ and technology/tools is dead wrong, especially when we're not talking about direct infringement, but POTENTIAL (your word) infringement.

      "Right, and that will help the family of four you killed how?"

      Our laws should not be setup to control people, but to give them the freedom to make choices - and suffer the consequences if they make shitty ones that result in something bad. Make the consequences for killing someone on the highway a lot more serious...and you'll get a lot more peole who will make the right decision (not to talk on phone) not because they're forced to, but out of good judgement.

      I'd rather have safety because of responsible people acting that way because they have liberty and live well within its bounds...than have percieved safety because of a tyrany that's made every POSSIBLE cause of harm illegal.

    5. Re:Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by WaxParadigm · · Score: 1

      "I think being hit by a car driven by someone who's distracted by a mobile call counts as infringement, don't you?"

      Exactly my point - when someone hits you, they've infringed on you (and/or your property) and they should be punished (probably more than they are now-a-days). You don't need cell phone useage to be legislated to do this, it's already against the law to hit someone with your car.

      "I do this because it's the right thing to do - I am by no means a meek and mild driver, but I am a safe driver."

      This is exactly the responsible driving I'm encouraging. You shouldn't be fined for answering your phone while driving, especially since you're being responsible about it (which it sounds like you are). Maybe we want to legislate against unresponsible use - but that's completely subjective. The only real way to legislate against unreasonable use is to punish the result (accident), not the cause (cell phone use).

      Some people would say, just as they're saying cell phone use should be legislated, that meekness and mildness while driving should be enforced. I, for one, think you sould have the breadth to answer your phone and drive in a non-meek and non-mild manor, as long as you don't hit someone.

      I actually don't understand if you agree with me or not. Your first sentence makes me think you don't because of the tone...but you talk about something (being hit) that I agree should be an infringement. You then go on to say you do things (answer the phone and drive the way you do) that may cause accidents (and you don't seem to believe that these should be illegal.

      Guess it's agreed - direct infringements should be punished, behavior (even stupid behavior) shouldn't.

    6. Re:Yes, Legislate Everything Why Don't We? by tfoss · · Score: 1
      Our laws should not be setup to control people, but to give them the freedom to make choices - and suffer the consequences if they make shitty ones that result in something bad. Make the consequences for killing someone on the highway a lot more serious...and you'll get a lot more peole who will make the right decision (not to talk on phone) not because they're forced to, but out of good judgement.

      This is a point on which we disagree then. Laws are very much there as a manner of control (and that is true whether you use my preferred laws, or yours). In my view, there are a number of problems with only punishing crimes after the fact. You are trusting people as a whole to be aware, and beyond that, to be smart enough avoid the dangerous behavior. It is apparent that people aren't always the former, and often not the latter.

      Alcohol, in particular complicates this issue. When you are drunk, you act in ways your often wouldn't sober, including doing many things you *know* better than to do. Expecting to define your safety on the roads by counting on a drunk driver to be aware enough of the consequences of the relatively unlikely event that they hit someone is just scary. Hell, it is known how many people choose to drive drunk, even though the penalties are well known. Why do you think people will make the right decision about a cell phone (which is an action most people would rate as far less of a safety issue)?

      I'd rather have safety because of responsible people acting that way because they have liberty and live well within its bounds...than have percieved safety because of a tyrany that's made every POSSIBLE cause of harm illegal.

      Sure, so would I. However, the former is a utopian ideal. People as a whole are not responsible, regardless of how few laws there are. Our society understands that some behaviors have a significant downside, and this is weighed against how large a limitation of rights restricting the behavior would be. We have not chosen to outlaw all cars, because although that may prevent all auto accidents, it is too severe a limitation. We have chosen to restrict some of the things you can do in cars (live driving drunk), when the value of that act (not very great) is outweighed by the risks to yourself and others (very high). This is despite the fact that most drunk drivers don't cause accidents. As a society, we have chosen the benefits of minimal tyranny & prevention of accidents to complete freedom & unabated public danger.

      Would you leave matches around for your little kid to play with, but say "now don't use these or you might 1. burn yourself, and/or 2. burn the house down and/or 3. get grounded for a week" or would you simply put the matches in a cupboard not easily accessed by a 5 year old?

      -Ted

      --
      -=-=- Quantum physics - the dreams stuff are made of.
  84. Hey! by Unreal+One · · Score: 1
    I have no hands you insensitive clod!

    ...It really makes driving a bitch. :o)

  85. So, I'll be able to give my radio the finger... by Thag · · Score: 1

    Every time Phil Collins or Led Zeppelin comes on, and it'll automatically change the channel?

    OK!

    Jon Acheson

    --
    All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
  86. Fuck Gesture Control by sharkey · · Score: 1

    If we outlaw gestures, only criminals can flip people off!

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  87. Re:Voice is better... Not really though by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trying to navigate a graphical interface with voice (think windows or a HUD of some type) is murder.

    I work at a place that invented gesture recognition technology years ago and it is quite tight now. The "Hurdles that are mentioned in the GM press release are not an issue with our product"

    Check it out at www.jestertek.com

  88. Examples and the future (Thought Control) by boy_afraid · · Score: 1

    What about the movie, "The Minority Report"??? This sounds like what we are coming to. In the movie John Anderton uses a pair of gloves, which cover the three fingers (middle, index, and thumb) that each have a light emitter at the end. With the have of his hand(s) in multiple configurations he can control an entire system.

    But, what if we skip the buttons, gestures, voice control, and whatnot, and head straight to oblivian and work on thought control. Thought Control (TC) is in its infancy , but once we get there, there is no end to what we can control, from the television (even if we can still call it that) to our cars as we drive (even if the cars even need us to direct them by then, which should be controlled by a central system that handles traffic and does away with traffic jams and congestion).

    Another development is pupil control. Some sort of system monitors the pupil and takes action based on what the user is looking at. We already have that (military helicopters and the disabled) and will soon push the barrier for person computers.

    I say we stand back and wait to see what the future holds, it's going to be a crazy ride.

  89. Nice by MoogMan · · Score: 1

    I just hope they dont forget the "stick two fingers up to beep the horn" gesture!

    Oh the possibilities...

  90. car dancing by kartracer_66 · · Score: 1

    Oh great, how am I supposed to car dance to my technolicious music on the way home from work. Half the fun is having uptight soccer moms stare while you jam to Slyver or some such nonsense. Fortunately my cars tend to be so old that it will be another 50 years before I drive anything with this level of innovation.

  91. Flip em off = EMP burst takes em out. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now that is the gesture controlled device I want in MY car!

  92. Hate to be politically incorrect but... by rnturn · · Score: 1

    ... but have you ever found yourself driving next to deaf folks signing while they're driving? Neither their hands or their eyes are engaged in the act of driving. But I guess it's legal. (I've encountered this a couple of times and just slow down and give myself enough space to slow down or swerve in case I need to avoid wreckage.)

    Imagine the typical big city commuter trying to control their car phone, mobile fax machine, stereo, and all the other electronic toys they need while they're getting to work. This has got to be the best ever promotional tool for public transportation.

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  93. Theramin Mood Mobile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Honda: She wants me. I can tell by the way she keeps flicking her sun roof.

  94. simplifying road rage by v1 · · Score: 1

    So now when someone cuts you off and you give them the bird, your car can automatically honk the horn too. All too easy!

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    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  95. Agh, don't drive with the top down by hesiod · · Score: 1

    So, if I have a convertible and I put the top down, I wonder if trees/clouds, tall buildings, or any combination thereof could be seen as a gesture by the computer? Not too darn likely, I know, but what if...

  96. Only one gesture belongs on the roads by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    The 'flying finger'.. and if you have to ask.. :)

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    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  97. On a more serious note... by Treacle+Treatment · · Score: 0

    I always love these jesture articles. It's funny seeing what people say will happen when the finger is given. I wonder if having one of those operations where the brain is split, left from right, would help users be able to talk on the phone and drive at the same time. :)

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    TT
  98. where's my gesture control by Gandalf1957 · · Score: 1

    Cool - been looking for the gesture control on every car I've had - saves having to wind down the window........

  99. Motorcyclists have fewer accidents by Moderation+abuser · · Score: 1

    Obviously, motorcycles are rather more likely to kill you when you do have an accident, but the accident rate for motorcyclists is around half that for car drivers per mile travelled. In the UK anyway.

    Why? The motorcyclist's full attention is on the road, no radio, no mobile phones, no chatting to passengers, no screaming children, no lipstick, no coffee.

    That and the fact that you *know* you're going to die if you hit something. It concentrates the mind.

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    Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
  100. I already have something to control auto periph.. by spike+it · · Score: 1

    Yup. It's called a passenger. :)

  101. Voice control by Pseudonymus+Bosch · · Score: 1

    I am expecting for voice control. For example, to keep the motor going, you make "vroom" noises. The louder you vroom, the faster the engine goes.

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    Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
    GW Bu
  102. Tom Clancy had this... by smartfart · · Score: 1
    The characters in Net Force used hand gestures to control computers. Apparently they were originally designed for use with games and VR, and caught on for everything else.

    While on the subject of Clancy:

    I really like Clancy's stuff, but occasionally there are technical errors made. Once such ball drop was to define security by obscurity as knowing full well what services were running on a box, but being able to do nothing about it. I think this was in one of the Net Force books.

    Yes, I know that Clancy didn't actually write the Net Force books, but he's made blunders in the Ryan series :-/

  103. Grand Gestures by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

    Who is this interstellar gas cloud gesturing too, and what is it ordering?

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    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  104. Re:NOT the problem with cell phones in cars, dammi by Ian+Bicking · · Score: 1

    While generally I would agree that cell phones are intrinsically unsafe in cars, there have been times when I felt that my using a cell phone made my driving more safe. On long-distance drives, or when I'm otherwise getting sleepy while driving, it's far better to be slightly distracted by the cell phone (but awake) than to be drifting off. So it's not all bad.

  105. So did voice recognition dry up and blow away? by Clockwork+Apple · · Score: 1

    I thought everyone agreed that voice command was going to be best in these kinds of situations.

    I mean I really dont see what the need is when buttons, sliders and knobs have done just fine. Once VoiceWare is perfected we should be just about set. I dont see any appeal here at all.

    Next thing you know they will be wanting us to watch an animated hand that makes responce gestures to tell you the fucking check engine light is flashing at you. Just more Tech for the sake of Tech.

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    "Doctor, it's not the voices I hear in MY head, but the voices I hear in YOUR head that really frighten me."
  106. Woot Woot! by shplorb · · Score: 1

    I get the feeling that this system was invented by ravers just so they can continue to do their crazy dancing while they drive.

    The plus side of it for them is that they can use to to flash their lights and stuff, thereby simulating the experience of being at a rave.

    But then, what would I know? I'm just saying this because I watched a video of a rave yesterday and I was freaked out by some of the people. (I also loved the visualisers they had running behind the DJ's) I should go to one sometime.

  107. Domo Arigato.... by wolrahnaes · · Score: 1

    When reading this, did anyone else think of that Volkswagen commercial with the guy 'dancing' in his car to the tune of 'Mr. Roboto'

    Turns out he wasn't caught up in the music, he was just trying to change the damn radio station...

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    I used to get high on life, but I developed a tolerance. Now I need something stronger.