Calling All Cars
The Age
Saturday January 12, 2008
ROADS of the future will be clogged with electronic chatter rather than gridlocked traffic if research from General Motors becomes reality.
The US car maker is developing a system called V2V that allows cars to talk with each other as they travel down the road.Combining satellite navigation with clever radio transmitters, a driver making an emergency stop will automatically let cars within a 400-metre radius know that they also need to slow down. And if they don't slow down, the car will automatically do it for them.V2V is one of several technological innovations announced by GM chief executive Rick Wagoner at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest festival of everything geek, held each year in Las Vegas.Something that's closer on the radar - V2V is still years away from rolling out cheaply in GM cars - is a system that will put a stop to car thieves.Mr Wagoner revealed that GM's OnStar - an in-car telematics system that lets GM know if you've been in an accident or the car is stolen - will later this year be able to bring a car to a gradual halt if police request it.Holden Assist Ultra, a similar service to OnStar launched late last year for its VE Commodore and Ute and the luxury WM Statesman and Caprice sedans, already has this function.Mr Wagoner also touched on the self-driving vehicle, a concept he said was "still a ways off"."Some day, you could do your email, eat breakfast, apply your make-up, read the newspaper, watch a video . . . all while commuting to work."A morning commute on some of Melbourne's busy arterial roads should show Mr Wagoner that the future - albeit without the self-driving wizardry - is already here.-- BARRY PARK
© 2008 The Age
