Cognitive Cars to Drive by Themselves

Even if similar technologies have already been developed by several car manufacturers around the world, some German engineers claim they have found the key to less car accidents and deadly impacts: car-to-car communication. Basically, the scientists say the so-called cognitive cars could help drivers avoid accidents by providing warnings and notification regarding the obstacles detected on the road, allowing them to reduce speed and drive more carefully than without such a system.

"In dangerous situations, the cars can independently perform coordinated maneuvers without their drivers having to intervene," said Thomas Batz, one of the engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Information and Data Processing and Karlsruhe University was quoted as saying by United Press International in its online edition.

These cognitive vehicles are equipped with high-end technology, including integrated sensors, cameras, GPS navigation system and radar devices that provide coordinates and information gathered on the road to other cars equipped with the same car-to-car communication system.

As mentioned, similar software was designed by multiple car manufacturers, including the Japanese Honda which demonstrated it on both cars and motorcycles. However, none of these services actually reached mass-production, but this could change in the near future.

Apart from the aforementioned features, more advanced systems are capable of alerting the local authorities in case of accidents or violent impacts, as well as notifying approaching cars of existing road hazards. These services are usually based on satellite signal, similar to mobile phones, which lets cars establish wireless connection and transfer coordinates and information. In case a car accident occurs in areas without satellite signal, the system automatically scans for near vehicles and attempts to use their network-connected software to contact authorities.