I was encouraged by your article 'Chameleon car' (
Feature, 5 June). Personally I can't wait for the day when my intelligent car will drive me to work so that I can read the paper or catch up on some sleep.
So many of the proposed approaches seem to rely on ever more complex, expensive vision and radar systems built into the vehicle, and are still only effective at avoiding last-minute collisions.
The clear winner in the cost-effective safety stakes is surely going to be the blindlingly simple idea of inter-car communication. Just imagine if you could see the jam or accident up to five miles ahead without needing onboard the incredibly hardware-intensive Trafficmaster land-based system.
For example, a quick web search throws up ADHOC MAC, a 'protocol proposed within CarTALK200, a European research project with the purpose to design novel solutions for inter-vehicle communications'.
The beauty of this is that cars with such a system installed, probably in addition to sat-nav, can exchange position and speed information. A few statistics and you have live updating traffic information.
Julian Cooper,
Chief engineer,
Lola Cars,
Cambs
As an engineer and a motorcyclist, I am dismayed by some of the technological developments which allegedly make car driving safer. So it was with concern that I read in 'Chameleon Car' of the aims of the EU-sponsored AIDE programme.
Motorcyclists don't have an on-board mobile, CD player or sat-nav system. To check our location or route, or make a phone call, we must stop.
Modern cars, on the other hand, largely insulate drivers from the outside world. In my experience, the more detached from potential hazards drivers become the less attention they give to safely.
It seems irresponsible for engineers to spend taxpayers' money on finding ways for drivers to receive e-mails while on the road, or in developing systems that inhibit functions during a 'demanding driving situation'.
Perhaps our EU contributions would be better directed towards finding ways to remove these distractions altogether.
Nick Farrrow,
Make your point to The Engineer and take off with bmi
How to enter
Write a letter to The Engineer magazine and you could win a pair of tickets to one of bmi’s European destinations, courtesy of our friends at the airline.
Flexible and competitive
bmi asked 10,000 customers ‘what would make a great airline?’
The answer was clear: competitive fares, more choice and less time wasted at airports. So bmi acted, introducing a unique fare structure on domestic and European short-haul flights to and from London Heathrow. Thanks to three fare options — including premium economy, with benefits including lounge access and flexibility — you choose the services you want, depending on your business trip.
What’s more, bmi has streamlined the passenger process from the moment of buying the ticket, to your passage through the airport, to boarding the aircraft. You can book e-tickets online and then check in online at home, in your office, or even on the move.
Alternatively, there are self-check-in machines and priority check-in desks at the airport. You can even use bmi ‘web points’ to check in online at the airport, if that’s more convenient. All this means you can save valuable time from booking, right until your plane takes off.
The prize
Try the smart approach for yourself, courtesy of bmi. The winner of The Engineer’s Letter of the Month prize for April, as selected by the editor, will win a pair of tickets from London Heathrow to any destination on bmi’s European mainline network.
Click here for terms and conditions.
The Engineer
50 Poland Street
London
W1F 7AX
Promoted content: Does social media work for engineers – and how can you make it work for you?
So in addition to doing their own job, engineers are expected to do the marketing department´s work for them as well? Sorry, wait a minute, I know the...