IBM's Patent-Pending Traffic Lights Stop Car Engines

theodp writes "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't let your engine idle. The USPTO has just published IBM's patent application for a 'System and Method for Controlling Vehicle Engine Running State at Busy Intersections for Increased Fuel Consumption Efficiency.' Here's how Big Blue explains the invention: 'The present disclosure is directed to a method for managing engines in response to a traffic signal. The method may comprise establishing communications with participating vehicles; responding to a stop status indicated by the traffic signal, further comprising: receiving a position data from each participating vehicles; determining a queue of participating vehicles stopped at the traffic signal; determining a remaining duration of the stop status; sending a stop-engine notification to the list of participating vehicles stopped at the traffic signal when the remaining duration is greater than a threshold of time; responding to a proceed status indicated by the traffic signal, further comprising: sending a start-engine notification to a first vehicle in the queue; calculating an optimal time for an engine of a second vehicle in the queue to start; and sending the start-engine notification to the second vehicle at the optimal time.' IBM notes that 'traffic signals may include, but are not limited to, traffic lights at intersections, railway crossing signals, or other devices for indicating correct moments to stop and to proceed.'"

Comments

Re:Sounds good.

[Kohath]

Screw you. It's For The Earth. When it's For The Earth, you will obey the authorities.

But what if I don't want my car to shut off at a stop light.

If you know what's good for you, you'll learn to say you want it.

Re:The only computer in my vehicle is ME

[ickleberry]

i agree, this is better than the 'mere humans should not be allowed to drive' attitude that proponents of government regulation are pushing.

a simpler system would be to just put an electric motor in the car and be done with it, failing that there are already cars around that switch off while standing still.

Some of these people pushing for more government control and regulation are trying to basically put DRM into the car - trying to make your own property that you paid thousands for obey the government instead of you.

*Mandatory GPS speed limiters
*Mandatory driverless cars
*Pervasive ANPR systems
*GPS/tag based road charging
*Banning of motorcycles

All this shit is bad news and its all thought up by people who prefer their life to be boring and clinical. Sure if these people had their way things would be safer, maybe there would even be a tiny bit less pollution but fuck it, would life even be worth living with those guys controlling it?

And...

[fyngyrz]

...what about the car that has a weak battery? You had to jump it to go off to work, and now the traffic light has shut it off for you. It's not going to restart without a jump. Sure, that's going to help you improve the traffic patterns, all right. If the people behind you don't get out and kill you first, of course.

Sorry IBM, this one is just plain stupid.

Besides, electric cars will probably drive all these smoggers off the road within ten years. This'll never overcome the inertia of implementation in IC cars before the factories that make them, no longer do so. Just look at how far behind car manufacturers are with heat-IR vision, GPS, collision avoidance... working systems are *decades* old, and the number of cars today that implement them is simply pitiful. And when you do find something, for example GPS, the GPS is old, old, old. The auto industry is *very* slow to do anything.

One thing I am pretty sure of is that I'm done buying smoggers. I suspect a lot of other people have made the same determination. My family's current vehicles should last us until the time where decent electrics are available at sensible prices. Current generation vehicles have decent longevity, so with just a little luck, no chance of IBM ever shutting me down. :)