In addition to working on autonomous driving technology that is supposed to help prevent crashes and improve the safety of vehicle occupants, Google is trying to come up with a solution that would address the issue of pedestrian safety, as well.
The driverless car prototypes that Google is testing are equipped with sophisticated technology that allows them to monitor their surroundings, including other vehicles, helping them avoid collisions with each other. But, neither Google’s, nor other autonomous driving technologies that are currently being tested are capable of monitoring the movement of pedestrians and avoiding hitting them.
This issue is exactly what the search engine giant is trying to address now. According to a report from the Washington Post, the Silicon Valley company has received a patent for a system that would allow self-driving vehicles to communicate with pedestrians, which is supposed to help pedestrians feel safe around autonomous cars and avoid being hit by them.
The technology that Google has patented is aimed at allowing autonomous vehicles to inform pedestrians of their intentions, so that pedestrians can know how to behave and what actions to take when approaching a car that drives itself.
It’s a system that involves a series of screens mounted on several places across a self-driving car, displaying various messages that convey what the car intends to do and issuing alerts for pedestrians, letting them know if it’s safe for them to cross the street or if they should wait until the car performs its intended maneuver.
The car’s screens are supposed to display signs like “safe to cross”, “stop”, or “coming through”, after detecting a pedestrian around the car. There will also be a possibility for the screens to show stop signs or other traffic signs, instead of text.
The signs would be shown on screens mounted on a car’s doors, the front and the rear bumper, the roof, or the hood, lighting up and flashing so that they can be easily noticed by pedestrians. Along with the visual messages, the system is supposed to be able to issue some types of audio alerts through external speakers, as well, or even vocalize the messages displayed on the screen.
Given that driverless cars are operated by an autonomous driving software, there is no way for pedestrians to know what the car is about to do and whether it intends to slow down, accelerate, or continue moving at the same speed, come to a complete stop, yield, or perhaps making a u-turn. This could create all kinds of safety issues, such as pedestrians crossing a street in front of an autonomous car which does not intend to stop or slow down, resulting in a collision. That’s why Google’s patent could be essential for ensuring pedestrian safety in a future where all cars are operated by a computer, without a human sitting behind the wheel.