Ford tech to de-stress drivers
2012-06-27 12:11
MORE TIME FOR COFFEE AND DOUGHNUTS: Ford’s new "traffic-jam assist" will have drivers relaxing with coffee and a doughnut instead of glaring angrily at crawling traffic ahead… at least that’s the general idea.
Ford is developing two technologies to reduce the stress on drivers - and to further mangle the English language.
They're called (horribly, though other automakers also use such titles) "traffic jam assist" (which one could argue means "making traffic jams worse") and what is claimed to be an advanced version of the already available "active park assist" (which could mean anything from binning open-space litter to helping old ladies to sit down).
Ford said simulations had shown that, if 25% of vehicles were equipped to automatically follow traffic, journey times could be reduced by 37.5% and delays by 20%.
Traffic data company Inrix says Americans waste more than 11 hours in traffic annually.
STRESS-RELIEVING TECH
Ford says its traffic-jam assist (we've added, assistingly, the required hyphen) will use radar and cameras to help vehicles go with the traffic flow and help with the steering by staying in traffic lanes.
The system has the potential to follow traffic and maintain lane position… provided you’re in an area with no pedestrians, cyclists or animals and with clearly lane markings.
Ford's more immediate "parking assist" project (already working for a number of competitiors) will take over and complete the often stressful "parallel parking" manoeuvre by detecting a suitably large space and reversing the host into it with the driver merely controllilng the speed and not the steering (only works with an auto box).
Ford said its parking aid could be introduced in 2013.
Watch the video below:
