EE Times reports that Germany-based Infineon Technologies has developed a radar chip whose diminutive size and price will bring the benefits of traffic sensing radar to the automotive masses. As we've just bludgeoned you with GM's arcane accounting practices, let's do the blinding you with science bit: "Dubbed the RASIC, the first in the series, the RXN7740, is a tightly integrated front-end chip for the 76-77 GHz frequency range which includes function blocks for the oscillator, the power amplifier and four mixers for multiple antennas… The chip uses a manufacturing technology based on silicon germanium with a transit frequency of 200 GHz." Translation: "Compared to existing radar systems– that implement these functions through discrete components– its device enables designers to shrink their radar systems a quarter of the current size, while reducing system costs for the radio frequency module by more than 20 percent." Translation: there's yet another handling nanny heading your way. Strategy Analytics says seven percent of all new cars will include the technology by 2014. We reckon it's only a matter of time before the U.S. feds make it mandatory.
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Radar detectors are going to drive you crazy and won’t it be fun to pass a left lane bandit on the right and pull in front, (leaving him/her lots of room of-course) and watch them disappear in the rear view mirror as their brakes apply automatically.
One question: Where is the “off” switch?
It will mandated by the feds only if it’s shown to be effective in the real world.
Who knows how this will pan out — ABS never showed a significant effect on crash reduction; therefore it was never mandated. However, electronic stability control did show a significant effect, and so it has been mandated for all passenger vehicles by the 2012 model year. Of course, ABS is the foundation of ESC, so we’ll have both.
I would say that this is a “useful” technology for preventing fender-benders in stop-and-go, and heavy-density traffic. As long as you stay in your lane, the sensors and computers will be able to stop you from hitting the car in front in a moment of inattention.
But how is radar supposed to prevent you from hitting a deer, or hitting a car on the wrong lane on a country road? I think there’s too much optical noise in such a situation. But this kind of technology could contribute to a false sense of security.
i think the technology of watching the drivers eyes and sounding an alarm when they stray or shut to long is more use full, maybe they could combine the two— but id add a small electric shock to the steering wheel if there eyes wandered too much and the sensor could see you were tail gaiting.
Would somebody puh-LEEZE divert all the money being used to develop these electronic nannies and put it into driver training? I doubt we’ll be able to turn off all this “life-saving” technology. Maybe ESC will be defeatable on certain high-end sporty and sports cars. But I’ll bet most mainstream vehciles will leave us with no such option. I wonder if you’ll be able to just purchase a shop manual and bypass whatever electronic box controls all this crap – ABS, ESC, et al – or if too many other systems will be integrated. Oh. That’s right. That would be ILLEGAL, wouldn’t it?
the only good thing i can see with this technology is you could apply this technology to acceleration of the vehicle and create a lane or use the carpool or fast lane to make a train of cars that would follow the lead cars speed and braking. no more granny or person on the cell phone holding up traffic cause the car wouldn’t allow it.
Get over it! In ten years, we will have cars on the roads driving themselves. Most the planes have been doing this for a long time except for take off and landing. As much as I enjoy driving sometimes, I could care less about driving on the interstate. Would just as soon take a nap.