Intel Working on Black Box for Smart Cars

(PhysOrg.com) -- Intel revealed their aircraft-style black box last week at their research showcase in Santa Clara, California. The device can send video footage of driver's behavior during an accident to the police and insurance company.

An electrical car is being developed by Intel Researchers that will record information about the vehicle's speed, steering and braking as well as record video footage from outside and inside the vehicle. The information would then be sent to the police and insurance company in the event of an accident. This would make it easier for insurance companies to determine who caused the accident and who’s at fault.

Intel has been talking to car manufactures about designing cars that would be connected to the internet all the time using various wireless technologies. Other safety features include:

• On-board camera system that can recognize street signs and take over control of the car if the motorist drives down the street the wrong way up a one-way street.

• Sensors will monitor road conditions and be able to detect pot holes in the road and report their location to road maintenance establishment.

• Track all surrounding vehicles and alert the driver if they get too close to another vehicle or try to change lanes when another vehicle is in their blind spot.

• Motorist will also be able to use their mobile phone to lock or un-lock their car, turn on the alarm and even start the engine, all remotely.

At the research showcase held by Intel in Santa Clara, California, Justin Ratner, the director of Intel Laboratories and chief technology officer, said: "We are looking at a whole range of enhancements that will improve the driving experience, safety and security of vehicles.”

"The intelligent vehicle is what we are talking about here. Once a car is connected, more or less on a continuous basis, all sorts of interesting possibilities present themselves.”

"With vision systems on cars, it is perfectly reasonable for a car on its own to see the sign that says 'wrong way' or 'do not enter' and bring the vehicle to a halt at the side of the road so we don't have these senseless accidents where someone has failed to recognize a sign.”

Intel has begun talking to highway maintenance departments about using sensors in their smart cars to report the GPS coordinates of pot holes in the road to the maintenance department.

Insurance companies would also welcome this new technology as it would help them speed up the claim process and reimburse insurers for the damages.

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