The Silicon Valley tech giant has been awarded a patent for an “adhesive vehicle front end for mitigation of secondary pedestrian impact”. This would break instantaneously in the event of a crash, says the patent, “revealing the adhesive layer below, and bonding to the pedestrian”.
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The patent was filed two years ago and approved by the United States patent office this week, although a Google representative has told the Mercury News that the existence of the patent does not mean it will emerge as a feature on the next generation of Google self-driving cars.
According to commentaors, such mechanisms might become unnecessary with the development of accident-avoidance, but at present it was desirable to provide vehicles with pedestrian safety mechanisms. For example, a pedestrian who might have previously been bounced off a auto could be trapped there, obscuring the viewer of the driver as they crash into another vehicle or surface.
So instead of designing their cars with solid metal front ends, or the killer walls of steel found on every big pickup or SUV, they are proposing to make the front of their cars cushioned (their little Roush- built AVs have flexible fronts and windshields) but here, they will have a strong adhesive covered with a sort of “eggshell” coating that will crack on impact, gluing the pedestrian to the front of the auto.
The patent shows the car’s adhesive portion being revealed after coming into contact with the pedestrian.
One potential drawback to the system is that it is “similar to flypaper or double-sided duct tape”, meaning you will pick up dirt and bugs along the way. But she also points out a benefit for regular cars: having a person stuck to the hood might prevent a human driver from fleeing the scene. With a pedestrian or cyclist stuck to the front of a auto, the vehicle might have trouble moving to safety – or it might drag the human’s legs or arms under the auto, inflicting new injuries. In other words, solutions often create their own problems.
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The dream of self-driving cars might seem like a very 21 century thing, but it actually dates back much farther. “I applaud anybody for thinking, as they should, about people outside of the vehicle”.
