Winter is not only high season for, for example, skiing and skating, but also for stone throwing.
A stone shot in the windshield is not only annoying, but can also interfere with the view through the windshield and lead to the need to replace it.
Now a new invention may mean that these problems become a thing of the past, reports Carmoses.
Should help avoid stone chips
It is Mercedes that has filed a patent application for a system that will help avoid rockfalls using lidar.
Lidar is a system similar to radar, and determines the distance and direction of various objects. Unlike radar, lidar uses light waves instead of radio waves.
Early detection of an approaching rock that is about to leave a jack in the windshield is extremely difficult, and this is what the system is meant to help the driver with.
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The system combines the lidar sensors, which are already on advanced self-driving cars, with a microphone.
The system must be able to detect if small, unknown objects are approaching the car, or identify through the microphone that the car in front is driving through a patch of gravel.
If this happens, the system will prompt the driver to either change lanes or reduce speed to increase the distance to the vehicle in front, thus reducing the risk of rockfall.
The patent for the system has been submitted to the European Patent Office. Whether the technology will be in our cars in a few years remains to be seen.
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