Thai
Elite Member
Link:
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1858277,00.html
Toyota puts eyes in back of drivers' heads
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Friday August 25, 2006
The Guardian
The Toyota factory in Tsutsumi, Japan.
A hi-tech safety device developed by Toyota means accident-prone motorists will no longer be able to use the excuse that they don't have eyes in the back of their head.
The Japanese carmaker claimed today to have pioneered the first system in the world to warn drivers of possible collisions from behind.
A radar fitted in the rear bumper detects approaching vehicles and, if a crash appears imminent, alerts the driver by setting off hazard lights, said Toyota, the world's second biggest carmaker after General Motors in the US.
If a crash occurs, sensors detect the position of the driver's and front passenger's heads and automatically move their headrests to reduce the risk of whiplash.
"We are determined in our pursuit to develop vehicles that will have zero traffic accidents," Toyota's president, Katsuaki Watanabe, told reporters.
The anti-crash device will be installed in the luxury Lexus LS, due to go on sale in Japan next month. The firm has yet to decide when it will be available in the US and has no immediate plans to sell it in Europe.
The vogue for environmentally friendly vehicles is matched by a concern for safety among carmakers in Japan, which has a higher rate of road accidents than the US and Europe, due in part to the narrow streets.
Toyota also unveiled a safety feature that detects pedestrians and other objects ahead with a stereo camera which works by night as well as day. If the camera spots a pedestrian the seatbelt tightens as a signal to the driver to brake. If they fail to do so the car slows down automatically.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1858277,00.html
Toyota puts eyes in back of drivers' heads
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Friday August 25, 2006
The Guardian
The Toyota factory in Tsutsumi, Japan.
A hi-tech safety device developed by Toyota means accident-prone motorists will no longer be able to use the excuse that they don't have eyes in the back of their head.
The Japanese carmaker claimed today to have pioneered the first system in the world to warn drivers of possible collisions from behind.
A radar fitted in the rear bumper detects approaching vehicles and, if a crash appears imminent, alerts the driver by setting off hazard lights, said Toyota, the world's second biggest carmaker after General Motors in the US.
If a crash occurs, sensors detect the position of the driver's and front passenger's heads and automatically move their headrests to reduce the risk of whiplash.
"We are determined in our pursuit to develop vehicles that will have zero traffic accidents," Toyota's president, Katsuaki Watanabe, told reporters.
The anti-crash device will be installed in the luxury Lexus LS, due to go on sale in Japan next month. The firm has yet to decide when it will be available in the US and has no immediate plans to sell it in Europe.
The vogue for environmentally friendly vehicles is matched by a concern for safety among carmakers in Japan, which has a higher rate of road accidents than the US and Europe, due in part to the narrow streets.
Toyota also unveiled a safety feature that detects pedestrians and other objects ahead with a stereo camera which works by night as well as day. If the camera spots a pedestrian the seatbelt tightens as a signal to the driver to brake. If they fail to do so the car slows down automatically.
