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Toyota Patents Winking, Laughing, Crying Car

Posted by simoniker on from the international-sign-of-the-finger dept.

theodp writes "If the patent system ain't broke, don't fix it: The NY Times/IHT reports that four inventors working for Toyota in Japan have won a patent for a car that they say can help drivers communicate better by glaring angrily at another car cutting through traffic, as well as appear to cry, laugh, wink or just look around." The article goes on to describe "...a car with an antenna that wags, an adjustable body height, headlights that vary in intensity and hood slits and ornamentation designed to look like eyebrows, eyelids and tears."

11 of 484 comments (clear)

  1. Doesn't this increase the danger? by Gentoo+Fan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you spend a few extra split seconds looking in the mirror at another car's "expression" then you are spending less time looking ahead of you.

    1. Re:Doesn't this increase the danger? by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "If you spend a few extra split seconds looking in the mirror at another car's "expression" then you are spending less time looking ahead of you."

      And looking in the rear view mirror at the driver behind you is going to take less time some how?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:Doesn't this increase the danger? by LincolnQ · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Doesn't this increase the danger?

      Well, possibly, but if someone is trying to communicate with you, it may be the best way anyway. Think about it. Would you rather they flash the lights, honk the horn or wave? You will spend more brain cycles trying to parse these messages. Generally, an interface that uses ingrained brain 'hardware' to communicate is usually better than teaching everyone that signal X means Y.

      You may remember that we had that article on Facetop last week, where you can use your existing hand-eye coordination 'hardware' to drive the pointer. That sounds like really stellar UI. This is similar in that it would use humanlike social cues to communicate. (Then again... social cues? I must be new here.)

      The only problem I'm seeing is that the facial expressions that a car can make are probably nothing like actual social cues, and that they would not be similar enough to trigger expression recognition code in your brain. Who knows.

    3. Re:Doesn't this increase the danger? by lawpoop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      One might argue, that, as humans are hardwired to quickly asses human facial expressions, we might spend less time looking in the rear-view mirror if cars had them. I think it would be at least worth a scientific study.

      --
      Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
      -- Pablo Picasso
  2. Most needed expressions... by meganthom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Forget anger and letting people merge in front of you... Here's what I want my car to be able to express:

    1) Oops!
    2) New to area.
    3) I'm completely lost.
    4) Medical emergency.
    5) Learner

    How many times are we angry with people who just happen to be dealing with one of the above and who we would easily forgive if we knew as much?

    --
    Live free or die
  3. Yeah, whatever.... by hot_Karls_bad_cavern · · Score: 5, Insightful

    how about increasing fuel efficiency? (yes, even more.

    or making them safer (fundementally instead of bigger and heavier)

    or better communication integration for the ever-pressed-to-the-ear cell phones

    or better collision avoidance systems

    or making headlights that can be "ub3r" that don't blind everyone on the road

    Yeah, making sure the car has emotions and becomes more distracting is a stellar idea. Yesh.

    1. Re:Yeah, whatever.... by CrankyFool · · Score: 3, Insightful
      > how about increasing fuel efficiency? (yes, even more or making them safer (fundementally instead of bigger and heavier)

      These are the Japanese we're talking about here, not the American auto industry. Their cars are the most gas-efficient mass-produced cars you can get in the US. They're making some larger SUVs, but only because that's what Americans want to buy. You can still buy a high-efficiency Civic.

      >or better communication integration for the ever-pressed-to-the-ear cell phones

      Have you seen the Acura's Bluetooth integration?

      >or better collision avoidance systems

      So we can have every slashdotter bitch about how that takes away from their control and they can't trust an automated system to do their avoidance for them?

      >or making headlights that can be "ub3r" that don't blind everyone on the road

      Yeah, what's up with that? We want lights that put out tons of visible light and throw it out far, but that won't blind anyone who looks at them. Is that so hard?

  4. Closely related by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For a while now I've been meaning to build an LED display for the back of my car so I can flash messages like GET OUT FROM UP MY ASS and plain old FUCK YOU! to whoever's tailgating me.

    --
    Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
  5. Re:What I want to know by tambo · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I suspect the primary claim of this patent reads: "A method of substantially increasing the frequency of auto accidents by adding distraction to the road, comprising..."

    Seriously, what an awful idea. Yes, let's pay attention to the emotions of the cars around us. Because even after the advent of cellphones, food from drive-throughs, stereos, GPS devices, and in-car LCD screens - we're still paying WAY too much attention to our driving situation.

    - David Stein

    --
    Computer over. Virus = very yes.
  6. Re:What I want to know by Rei · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I disagree. At least it'll mean you're paying attention to the vehicles on the road.

    Cars are already designed to try to clue you in to what the driver is thinking - for example, brake lights, turn signals, horns, etc. Communication of intent between drivers is critical while on the road. Now, some of this is more what the driver "feels" than what they are planning, but I doubt it would *hurt*. The more attention you pay to what's on the road ahead of you, the better.

    --
    SILENCE BLATHERING TOADIES! We are your new masters.
  7. Tailgaters by pclminion · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I usually handle tailgaters by slowing down to about half the speed limit, and continuing to slow down until they either get the point and back off, or get fed up and blow past me.

    Seriously, the danger from tailgating is that they might rear-end you (duh). If you slowly reduce your speed this greatly reduces the risk of a high-speed read end collision while simultaneously giving them a great incentive to stop tailgating. They're doing it because they think it'll get them to their destination faster. I simply make it clear to them that they'll NEVER get there if they insist on tailgating me.

    In my experience, most people get the hint and back off.