Re: Impact safety (was Re: Fuel cells)

Freeman Craig Presson (dhr@iname.com)
Mon, 07 Jun 1999 18:34:00 -0500

On 7 Jun 99, Eugene Leitl wrote:

> mass drivers). Perhaps we should be driving in foam bubbles.

Showing my age dep't: this compellingly reminded me of a cartoon by R. Crumb. The caption will suffice as a description: "It's fun to collide in allmeat cars!"

Perhaps a collision-avoidance system could also control an advanced acceleration control subsystem (varying the number, type, and position of charges that fire depending on the momentary acceleration vector on the passenger compartment). A nice cybernetics/mechanics problem. Definite design goal: protect the control system to the same extent as the passengers' wetware.

It also puts some constraints on overall vehicle design, but along the same lines as what Volvo and others are already doing. It's also limited in what it can do with side collisions unless you're willing to reshape cars pretty radically (spherical cars, anyone? multi-vehicle collision modelling on a pool table?)

"Out yonder!" said the redneck extropian ...