Slashdot Mirror
Ambulances In Sweden Will Be Able To Hijack Car Radios During Emergencies (digitaltrends.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Digital Trends: The Swedish government wants to make it impossible to be caught off guard by a speeding ambulance. Sure, their sirens are loud -- but soon they'll be able to take over your car's radio. Swedish students at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have developed a way for emergency vehicles to transit radio signals to warn other vehicles of an approaching truck. It's called the EVAM System, according to Phys.org, and it's designed to send a signal over a specific FM radio band that'll interrupt music or radio and display a test message over the system's tuner display -- so long as the car is equipped with a Radio Data System (RDS). The number of crashes caused by muted sirens is on the rise, Florian Curinga, one of the students working on the project, said. That's because of improved sound insulation in cars. Emergency vehicles in Stockholm will begin testing the system this year. The EVAM System can also predict how far in advance the message needs to be broadcast, depending on traffic speed, according to Phys.org. It may also be helpful in warning drivers about upcoming accidents, the students added. EVAM will work on two-thirds of all vehicles on the road, Curinga said. All drivers need to do is have their radio systems turned on. If a message is broadcast then, they'll see it -- and hear it -- from the tuner.
Haven't listened to the radio in years, it used to be tape, then CDs, now it's a USB stick. I'm far from alone in this.
So they're going to spend $$$$$ for something of marginal use. Unless they can take over my USB, in which case I'm screaming bloody murder.
This thread has been hijacked by a frist post!
you can buy one of those devices on a Chinese website for $20 with free shipping so that someone can broadcast a message to the car behind them that they need to stop tailgating.
Young and keen, only PULL OVER.
ATTENTION, PULL OVER.
You can dance...
That's a promise.
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
They have something like this in Germany to announce traffic backups. It's annoying as fuck.
Perfect way to distract a driver with something they've never seen before, just as they need to not be distracted.
An FM radio signal is broadcast? It silences nearby car radios and displays a message in the cars? What could possibly go wrong. I can't see any potential problems with this plan. No, nosiree.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
So this is just another application of RDS? This is just using an existing system for the purpose that it was designed, with the slight modification that it is installed on an ambulance?
Film at 11.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Emergency workers have been hijacking sound waves with sirens... the nerve!
love is just extroverted narcissism
Clever, to develop this when the world starts to turn off FM to get the wavelength for digital... where this won't work...
Oh well...
And direct it generally forward (instead of omni) and with more bass?
In addition, install hydraulics in the ambulance so they can jump and hop. And some gold plated spinner rims. All that always seems to get attention. Arm the ambulance driver with a military grade pistol he can point out the window at others sideways, and they will have no problem getting people out of the way. Might even pick up a few they wouldn't have otherwise.
Oh the fun I can have with this!
Now I can tell other drivers exactly what I think of their driving skills over their radio; because you know this is going to be hacked in like an hour after the first one is sold.
Careful what you play over that radio. If it's sudden and noisy, a jumpy driver might swerve and actually cause an accident.
"Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
This sounds like a waste of money and likely not that effective. What could work, perhaps, is if you put a dashcam on the ambo and use plate recognition for those assholes who don't make way and simply forward the videos to the police for the application of a heavy fine. Do it enough times and not only would you generate revenue, but those who have to pay the tickets will either learn expensive lessons or not be able to afford a car anymore. Win-win!
Even though it's for a good reason, I cringe every time I hear something about 'taking over' what's mine, bought and paid for. The root cause of this is bad driving habits, not lack of communication. If a driver doesn't notice the flashing lights and siren they aren't operating the damn vehicle properly, IMO.
So, the article claims that 'number of crashes due to muted sirens (because of sound insulation) is on the rise'. That's a claim with no numbers behind it, what is this increase in accidents per year - 10? or 10,000? In the latter case, I can see a justification for this research with the (unfortunately not too safe) assumption that people do use their radios often. However it just as likely to be the first case of trivial increase, which might as well be due to higher traffic!, but is used to justify an expensive study for some PhDs.
Just wait until the RF crew figures this out and starts rickrolling motorists.
Personally, I'd just broadcast one of those 10 hour loop of trololo.
Some of the tunnels here in Australia and I am sure in other places around the world have been able to hijack FM Radio Signals for warnings/emergencies, for some time now. How is this any different? A Mobile Tunnel Transmitter that broadcasts to the cars nearby doesn't sound all that ground breaking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_transmitter
Raspberry pi, no additional hardware required. $35.00USD out the door. OOOOOhhhhhhhhhhh your a government?! I meant to say 3500000/ each. My mistake.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
not a long term awnser the way tech is going and in cars. perhaps a local alert for cells and onboard displays in cars much like ambers and such.
Some one will figure out how it's done and broadcast zombie warnings or personal advertisements as you drive by.
With a cheap FM transmitter from ebay or Amazon and an MP3 of siren sounds (Audacity), I can tune to any station and play a siren. The broadcast will overwhelm stations for a 200 meter radius.
Just because it can be done does not mean that it should, however. The FCC would definitely be angry at anyone who tried it in the U.S.
Good timing, now that FM will be switched off within a few years almost everywhere. Have they started developing a DAB+ version already? Otherwise, they may as well cancel the project.
A very similar system (also using RDS) was trialed in the Netherlands in 2008, and is in common use these days.
I've heard it in action once or twice, and it works well. Coming up on an intersection, the alert came long before I could see the ambulance approaching (it was obscured by buildings).
It's called the EVAM System, according to Phys.org, and it's designed to send a signal over a specific FM radio band that'll interrupt music or radio and display a test message over the system's tuner display -- so long as the car is equipped with a Radio Data System (RDS).
A message on the display? If you are looking at the display while driving, you are doing it wrong. This should be an audio message like regular TDS traffic announcements, not something shown on the display.
You can consider the display an option once cars come with factory installed heads up displays.
How can you not see the blue lights of an ambulance, if you regularly check your mirror? (As you should, when driving - like every ten seconds at the most.)
They will be hijacked, much like planes are, by muslims to announce the call to prayer 5 times a day. Migrants welcome!
How quaint :)
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
I hope they are not going for patent on the idea. I got prior art as I presented this same idea back in 1991 as a presentation to a class. This is rather simple idea as well, Authorized Vehicle Interruption System. The thing that was funny was no one I presented the idea to believed it would be allowed by governments because it could be hacked pretty easily as the RF frequencies are not encrypted.
Anyways, It is always fun to see an idea you had like 20+ years ago start to be implemented. I bet this idea has been around since the Car Radio has been invented. The idea is simple enough.
I can program myself out of a Hello World Contest!!
I listen to my Poison cassettes on headphones with my killer Walkman rig. No one stops the 80s when the Cutlass Supreme is prowling!
Equip them with a rotating car-skewering spiked ram instead.
As of 2004, there were ~530,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Sweden (Encyclopedia of Deafness and Hearing Disorders, p.197.)
So basically 5% of the population isn't going to hear the radio announcements, even if they have their radio on. Which they probably don't, or it's tuned to Sirius Satellite or plugged into their iPod/iPhone.
About as useful as touch screens for amputees whose prosthetic hands can't capacitively couple with trackpads or iPhones...
Good luck with this! I don't even have radios in my cars! :-)
it takes a while to work out where an ambulance is coming from without this system, so to have the sound of a siren in Dolby stereo throughout your car will confuse you like mad.... here is a much better idea.... why not have a little + sign pop up on your satnav so you can see what street it is on, and tell you that there is an ambulance in x metres :). Ps, fm radio is being phased out, dab is in :)
Where can I get one for MY car?!
br> This would be a great tool to clear the idiots out my way, avoiding STUPID drivers!!!
Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
You know thanx to the rds system in sweden you can listen to bluetooth usb or whatever you want but it will be interrupted for traffick messages via the radio.
You kan disable it easy if you wanted to but most people dont becus it is kind of useful to get relevant information about the road that you are driving on.