Fancy having a vehicle that has some sort of built-in “spider sense”, so to speak? Well, that’s what happens with this new prototype which is being developed in Germany that enables doors to resist being opened whenever it senses an oncoming hazard. Who else but BMW to pioneer this project with Michael Graf and his team at the Technical University of Munich relying on ultrasonic sensors to detect approaching hazards? Initial testing have yielded some rather positive results, and they’re optimistic of rolling out vehicles incorporating such technology within a year. Co-developer BMW has yet to determine whether they will include this system in their future cars, or perhaps even license it to other manufacturers as another cash flow pipeline. Hopefully this will be integrated across the board – at least cyclists need not be that cautious anymore when cycling past stationary cars with people inside.
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