Google makes car that stops, looks, listens to pedestrians
Google is developing a car that will listen to its surroundings, while Microsoft want to turn your body into an antenna.
Traditionally, pedestrians who are encouraged to stop, look, and listen before crossing the road. But that may all be the stuff of the past if a new patent application by Google comes to fruition.
The tech giant want to make a car that does all the hard work for you.
They have been developing technology that allows the car to listen to its surroundings and take control of the car. So if the car approaches a pedestrian crossing, it will detect a beeping that accompanies the flashing light and bring the car to a stop.
Google claims this will help compliment the camera technology that it has been developing to help control
automated cars that drive themselves. By listening for hazards that may be out of sight of the cameras on top of the vehicle, it means the car can predict obstacles that lie around the next corner.
They claim the system will be able to identify where the crossing is and determine the direction that pedestrians are walking from the sound they make.
It also raises the prospect of having a system that can spot other hazards, such as overtaking cars.
Google also has a proposal that may help overcome any fears that our cities will become full of beeping traffic lights and talking road signs.
It claims that the traditional beeping used on pedestrian crossings could be replaced by the call of a cuckoo or chirp of a bird.
