One day, your mobile phone might save you from being knocked down by vehicles while crossing the road. Carmaker General Motors has revealed that it is working on a smart phone application that will let cyclists and pedestrians automatically warn a driver once they get close.
According to GM, the system is based on Wi-Fi Direct, a computer networking standard that allows smartphones to swap information without needing a wireless hotspot to connect them.
GM researchers said the system can integrate with ''other sensor-based object detection and driver alert systems already available on production vehicles'' to alert drivers within a second when they approach a cyclist or pedestrian with a smartphone loaded with the wireless technology.
It is already working on a downloadable app for high-risk road users such as bike-based couriers and roadwork crews.
"This new wireless capability could warn drivers about pedestrians who might be stepping into the roadway from behind a parked vehicle, or bicyclists who are riding in the car's blind spot,'' the Age quoted Nady Boules, the director of GM Global R 'n' D's Electrical and Control Systems Research Lab, as saying.
The Wi-Fi Direct standard allows for devices to be able to 'see' each other from distances of up to 200 metres away.
Advertisement
Source-ANI