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New Car Sensor System Simulates Birds-Eye View

narramissic writes "Remember when you had to turn around in your seat to parallel park? Ok, maybe you still do, but if you drive a Nissan, those days may soon be behind you. The company's 'Around View Monitor system' displays a virtual bird's-eye view of the car and what's around it. Video from four small video cameras with wide-angle lenses — two mounted on the underside of the wing mirrors, one at the front under the grill and one at the rear under the license plate — is displayed on the navigation system monitor so that it appears to be a view from above the car and sonar sensors at each corner of the vehicle provide an audible warning when it is coming close to an object or person. And as if that weren't enough... the system also projects the car's future course based on the current direction of the wheels."

8 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Third person driving! by Tremegorn · · Score: 3, Funny

    The safety benefits of such a system are immense, but; Does this mean driving down the highway is going to be like playing some strange version of Grand Turismo?

    1. Re:Third person driving! by aichpvee · · Score: 2, Funny

      Top down, so it's going to be more like the old Grand Theft Autos. Does the navigation system keep track of your points for running over joggers?

      --
      The Farewell Tour II
    2. Re:Third person driving! by Cuppa+'Joe'+Black · · Score: 2, Funny

      No. Frogger.

      --
      Technically, murder-suicide does not violate the golden rule.
  2. if you live in the USA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...soon you won't need your own cameras on the car, Homeland Security can just let you know where you are and what's around you (where you're going... who you are with... what you ate for lunch... what you last read... etc)

    This would be funny if it wasn't true - federal police are now being given access to military satellites.

  3. Re:camera to low by aix+tom · · Score: 4, Funny

    That is called "Windows"

    Unfortunately one big evil software Company has dibs on the concept.

  4. Re:Saving lives by tjstork · · Score: 3, Funny

    Or you could teach people how to actually drive those behemoths, assuming they have a real reason for doing so (no, hauling the crotch-spawn around in an SUV doesn't count).

    You just wait until you have kids. Then I will laugh at you, as you try and contort a couple of car seats into some tiny japmobile. And, if you never have kids, then I'll still laugh at you, because you have eliminated your genetic destiny.

    --
    This is my sig.
  5. Re:camera to low by Glonoinha · · Score: 4, Funny

    So what you are saying is - if you rely solely on Windows, you are probably going to crash on a regular basis, and more frequently on some hardware than others?

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    Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
  6. Re:Saving lives by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Or you could stop being a fat american and drive a medium sized car ( eg: ford mondeo, renault megane, etc )