Google patents adhesive layer that sticks pedestrians to the hood of self-driving cars during accidents
- 8 years ago
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA — Google has patented a new technology that can reduce injuries to pedestrians when they’re hit by self-driving cars.
An adhesive layer is added on the front end of a self-driving vehicle and protected by an eggshell-like layer, which breaks automatically in the event of an accident.
The adhesive layer is able to adhere the victim nearly instantaneously and can constrain the victim’s movements by sticking them onto the car until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
As a result, the technology reduces the chances of the victim getting thrown off the vehicle, hitting other hard surfaces, or getting hit by another car.
However, some experts worry that the technology may in fact create more harm.
“If you had a pedestrian stuck on a car that then crashed into something else, that could be worse than if the pedestrian was thrown to the side or thrown over the car. It could also be better. It's very dependent on the chaos of the situation,” Bryant Walker Smith, professor at Stanford School of Law told San Jose Mercury News.
The technology is aimed specifically at self-driving cars but Google said it can be applied on regular cars.
An adhesive layer is added on the front end of a self-driving vehicle and protected by an eggshell-like layer, which breaks automatically in the event of an accident.
The adhesive layer is able to adhere the victim nearly instantaneously and can constrain the victim’s movements by sticking them onto the car until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
As a result, the technology reduces the chances of the victim getting thrown off the vehicle, hitting other hard surfaces, or getting hit by another car.
However, some experts worry that the technology may in fact create more harm.
“If you had a pedestrian stuck on a car that then crashed into something else, that could be worse than if the pedestrian was thrown to the side or thrown over the car. It could also be better. It's very dependent on the chaos of the situation,” Bryant Walker Smith, professor at Stanford School of Law told San Jose Mercury News.
The technology is aimed specifically at self-driving cars but Google said it can be applied on regular cars.