Ford's New Radar Technology Based On Open Source

zakkie writes "Ford is releasing new safety-enhancing radar equipment for its 2010 Taurus sedan. The radar itself is based on F22 fighter radar, but interestingly, it's claimed that the software is built from open source. What that may mean, in the vague, waffling context of the article, is unclear, but it's interesting simply because they've gone to the effort of stating it in those words. Clearly, 'open source' is being thought of outside the IT world as a good thing, and that surely is itself a good thing. The purpose of the radar device is to help 'avoid crashes by sounding an alarm and flashing red lights when the driver gets too close to another car.'"

Comments

Is it "green" too?

[donutello]

Sounds a lot like buzzword bingo to me.

17mpg?

[Manfre]

"The Taurus 2010 will average 17mpg in the city and 25mpg on the motorway, on a par with the competition"

Is this sedan competing with SUVs and trucks?

Cause more accidents than it prevents?

[LoverOfJoy]

Is it just me or does this sound like it might create more accidents than it prevents?

Sometimes I recognize that I need to do a correction (speed up, slow down, watch out for some other car driving recklessly, etc.) and my wife recognizes that need at the same time and makes a loud gasp. At those moments I find myself more distracted and occasionally make a stupid mistake (like pressing the brake harder than I need to). I worry that a loud noise and lights may make drivers panic and make poor decisions in response.

Re:Cause more accidents than it prevents?

[mysidia]

Yes, that was dumb. But it would have been a lot smarter if it just sounded an alarm to alert the driver.

Or if instead of imposing breaking, it prevented a stopped bus from accelerating if there was something directly in front of it.

The problem inherent is not the safety sensor, but the 'action' wired to the safety sensor.

It's a bad idea for a safety device to FORCE a vehicle to do something that might be unsafe in some situations (such as slam the breaks), the decision should be left to the driver if possible.

At least until the technology is a lot better and can determine the speed of the vehicle ahead, whether there's a vehicle near the rear, and whether there's anyone standing up the on the bus that might be injured, and act more intelligently...

e.g. forced slowing to minimize the probability damage incurred to the vehicle ahead, the vehicle behind, and the bus itself, based on physics modelling of expected collision based on measurements taken.

That is, until onboard computers are smart enough to actually drive the vehicle, they shouldn't be allowed to preempt the operator and make decisions that are likely to be bad in any common situation.

Re:So give me the source

[ceoyoyo]

Because the GPL is the only open source license.

Re:Useless in the city

[Concerned Onlooker]

In the real world people who drive like that cause the accidents that clog freeways and streets for hours. Leave for your destination 5 minutes earlier. Don't drive like an ass.

Re:Detection

[causality]

The purpose of the radar device is to help 'avoid crashes by sounding an alarm and flashing red lights when the driver gets too close to another car.

Hell with that. Can they invent a car that pulls over, stops, kills the engine, and locks the wheels/transmission and ignition for 15 minutes when the driver gets too close to another car? Preferably with an alarm that cannot easily be shut off. That'd make me feel safer on the roads. No, really, the whole problem with driving is that the nuisances which endanger others often happen with impunity. If by "too close to another car" they mean "tailgaters" then this would be better than they deserve. If by that phrase they mean people who don't know how to safely perform a lane change, those are worse than tailgaters.

Re:Tailgate alarm

[nitehawk214]

The braking distance isn't the problem during tailgating. It is the reaction time of the tailgater. Even if the tailgating car has a significantly better stopping time, it wont make a difference if the driver does not hit the breaks within a second or two.

"Based on a F22 radar"

[chord.wav]

For values of "based" near to zero.

This is just marketing to make feel the buyer like Maverick in the danger zone. OTOH I guess it is just what a large segment of American consumers want. The closer the car is to a military vehicle, the better.

Re:Detection

[RightSaidFred99]

Some people can drive safely at over the speed limit, others can't. I'm fine with speed limits and the risk of overrunning them, but don't get all preachy and pretend speeding is some great wrong.

Re:Detection

[beav007]

If you can't brake safely for an emergency situation from 100mph, then it wasn't safe to be doing 100mph.

Re:Detection

[Jedi Alec]

Some people can drive safely at over the speed limit, others can't. I'm fine with speed limits and the risk of overrunning them, but don't get all preachy and pretend speeding is some great wrong.

Yup, and some people can judge when it's safe to run a red light and some can't, but the fact that *some* people do run the red light means I have to watch every last fucking one of them to make sure I don't end up crushed in their windshield.

As a society we agree on certain rules, but in the case of something as dangerous as participating in traffic, all it takes is a really small percentage of jackasses who feel they're somehow superior drivers and break those rules for the rest of us that don't happen to have steel bars all around us to have to watch over our shoulders all the time. By breaking those rules, no matter how justified you may feel about doing so, you're also demonstrating to people observing you "that there's really nothing wrong with doing so". Next thing you know, that 18 year old kid in his ricer who *can't* judge distances and velocities properly has a new hood ornament.

I have one of these systems

[L4t3r4lu5]

I have it in every car I drive.

Fully automated front-view distance estimation with warning system for when I am too close, and a reactive system to being the car to a halt in an emergency. It even has the ability to activate the hazard lights when appropriate