Google’s sticky bonnet

Google’s driverless cars may hardly ever cause crashes – but they can’t always avoid them. With this in mind, perhaps, the firm has patented a “sticky” technology designed to reduce the impact of collisions on pedestrians and cyclists. The idea is that if a Google car crashes into a person, an eggshell-style coating on the bonnet will crack – releasing a powerful adhesive that keeps that person held fast to the front of the vehicle: this stops them being flung back into the road, sustaining further injuries and risking being run over by another car. Google isn’t alone in trying to find ways of minimising the impact of crashes on pedestrians. Citroën and Jaguar, for instance, have come up with bonnets that pop up a few centimetres on impact, softening the…

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The Week United Kingdom (Digital) - 1 Issue, V. 1076

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