GPS Mobile ITS
* First hybrid car * Safety systems on trial * We test new tech...
GPS Mobile ITS: now there's a name for a system that tells you little about what it does!
In fact, it is designed to reduce impacts with pedestrians using data sent by global positioning satellites (GPS).
The satellites track the car and any pedestrians carrying GPS-equipped mobile phones, which are set to become more popular in coming years.
Correlating the two, it then flashes a warning on the sat-nav screen whenever a GPS-equipped pedestrian is near a blind junction.
In the future it is hoped the system will calculate the pedestrian's direction and speed of travel and correlate it with the car's, so that it can decide when to send a warning.
Otherwise, of course, the risk is that the system will be constantly flashing warnings in built-up areas and the driver will then ignore them.
Full testing of the system is set to begin in 2008, but an on-sale date has not been released and could be some way off.
