SKIRMISHER

Nissan will begin testing its “intelligent transportation system” in October on the public roads of Kanagawa in the south of Tokyo, which will include 10,000 drivers in a 30-month experiment.

Nissan will install roadside beacons that will “talk” to passing vehicles and either frighten drivers with alerts on possible horrible accidents ahead, or nag them for driving too slow or too fast. Sometimes, it might even tell them of traffic congestion.

The experiment will test several functions including a “vehicle alert” which tells drivers that another vehicle is moving too fast at a blind intersection. In this situation a voice message warns the driver: “Car approaching from left (or right)”.

When drivers are travelling above the speed limit a “speed alert” will be issued. In a school zone a warning sign appears on the navigation screen and a voice warning states: “School ahead. Watch your speed.”

The system also includes “dynamic route finder” which informs drivers of the quickest route to their destination using data collected from other vehicles. Drivers will be able to synchronise their cellphone with a car’s navigation system in order to relay information about their journey to a central command system.

Something tells me Nissan will be using a female voice just to make the system’s “nagging” aspect in character. And speaking of female voices, maybe it would be cool if Nissan would include advanced options like verbal abuse, domination, and a Jenna Jameson Purring In A Horny Mood hot button — knowing that both high-ranking corporate executives and the Japanese everyman are usually very demanding when it comes to these steeply luxurious preferences.

The project is seen as viable in Japan because more than 50% of cars are already equipped with navigational gadgets such as satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, compared with fewer than 10% in the US and Europe. It remains a deeply philosophical question, though, if such a system will ever find application in places like Timbuktu or Baghdad. But keep on hoping.

via NEW SCIENTIST

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