Have you ever been driving behind a car only to have them suddenly swerve to the left or right? We’re sure most drivers have encountered something like that and it’s not because the driver in front is drunk, but it could be that they suddenly spotted debris on the road that had to be avoided, like a broken off car part, rubbish, road kill, a pot hole, and so on. This can be very dangerous to drivers at either side and at the back who might not know what the heck just happened, but that’s a problem that Motorola is interested in solving. In a recent patent by Motorola, it talks about how cars will come equipped with sensors and cameras that will be able to snap photos of the obstacle and relay it to other drivers, warning them of what’s to come.
According to the patent’s description, “An inter-vehicle alert system controls the camera to initiate capturing video data which includes the video data. A method of operation modulates a radar signal to include at least a portion of the video data captured in response to detecting an obstruction, and transmits the radar signal to a second vehicle via an antenna array oriented at the moving vehicle’s rear.” It’s actually interesting that Motorola is the one who patented it, not Google who might be working on it with their Google X team, or the team behind the self-driving car, but either way it is a pretty cool idea, don’t you think?