In the future, your car may be able to smile, cry, grimace, or show other emotions to the drivers and other vehicles around you. This is a vision according to new inventors from Japan, who have received a patent on technology to allow cars, ships, motorcycles and other vehicles to emote.
This technology is being used to enhance the communication abilities of vehicles so that drivers can send more complex signals to the other drivers around them on the road. Today, you can only honk your horn, or tap your brake lights, flash your headlights or use your turn signals, and these signals are rather one-dimensional. It's difficult to show a wide range of emotional expression, such as thanking another driver for letting you enter the lane, or expressing disapproval at another driver who inappropriately cuts in front of you.
The channels for this communication are being selected due to the human affinity for naturally understanding facial expressions and body language. Humans are hard-wired to understand certain facial expressions, and even when machines mimic those facial expressions, the intent or emotion is still communicated quite clearly to human observers. In other words, an expression or display of body language doesn't have to come from another human being in order to be meaningful to the observer. So, a car can appear angry just as a robot can display emotions.
I believe this technology holds the promise for being far more than just entertainment, by the way. I think this could help drivers get along better on the roads and share their judgments about each other's driving habits in a way that makes driving less frustrating, less stressful, and less troublesome for everyone involved. Because today, it's too easy to jump to strong negative conclusions about someone honking their horn or flashing their headlights, when in fact they may mean something far less intimidating. With the appropriate technology, they will finally be able to display those other emotions and get the point across that they intended. With this vehicle technology, there's simply less opportunity for drivers to misinterpret each others' intentions.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, July 26, 2004
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