Uber's self-driving cars to "talk" to pedestrians: Here's how
Uber has filed a patent for flashing lights and signs on the outside of its self-driving cars to communicate with pedestrians and cyclists. The patent illustrates flashing arrows that would appear on side-view mirrors, a projector that would display a virtual crosswalk in front of the car, and a "virtual driver" who would pop-up in the windshield to point pedestrians in the right direction.
Uber's self-driving cars want to adequately replace clear driver communication
This comes as a replacement for how drivers communicate with pedestrians today, where more often than not a little wave of the hand, a nod, or some eye contact suffices. Through these "intention outputs" on Uber's self-driving cars, people will better know when the autonomous vehicle is about to change lanes, set off, pull to a stop, and so on.
This is by no means the final implementation
One of the images on the patent, which hasn't been approved yet, shows a "please proceed to cross" sign on the front grill of Uber's self-driving car. Product Designer Sean Chin said, "While we don't have a final implementation, what we're considering is what is a new language we can create to give people that information."
Want to communicate the intentions of the self-driving car: Uber
With this, Uber's end goal is not to instruct pedestrians on what to do, but to communicate the intentions of the car. "If we can instead say the car is slowing down, then all actors in the area, whether they're pedestrians or cyclists pulling up along the side, can all interpret the vehicle state and make their own individual decisions," Chin said.
The patent aims at road safety
The patent aims at safer situations on the road, especially for cyclists and pedestrians, as working out the intentions of a self-driving car can be quite a task, if not spelled out clearly.
