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First smart cards, now smart cars

By Reuters
Johannesburg, 17 Jun 1999

Reuters reports that researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nissan are working closely to develop a smart car that will help drivers avoid causing accidents.

The car will be able to tell if a driver is going to turn, change lanes, speed up, slow down or pass another car. If the driver`s intended action could lead to an accident, the car will activate a warning system or override the move.

Tests of the smart car using a driving simulator have shown that it is 95% accurate in predicting a driver`s move 12 seconds in advance.

The system is based on driving behaviour which the researchers say can be divided into chains of sub-actions which include preparatory moves. It monitors the driver`s behaviour patterns to predict the next move.

This system will be able to calculate the probability of particular actions after a driver has gone through a brief training session consisting of certain maneuvers.

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