Intel Connected Cars Report Accidents, Seize Control From Drivers

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Recent word has emerged about Intel’s new Connected Cars, and though you may not think of Intel as a car company, you might have to change your mind on that one.

An Intel Connected Car, you see, has a variety of cameras and sensors located throughout the vehicle, all designed to measure, and record, your speed, braking ability, turn making, and other such driving maneuvers. In the event of an accident, all this data is uploaded to the police and to insurance companies.

Okay, so maybe Intel isn’t making cars so much as they are supplying car makers with sensor gear, but what’ll really blow your mind is the reports that the Intel Connected Car capabilities include seizing control from operators.

I’ll let Justin Ratner at Intel explain it:

“With vision systems on cars, it is perfectly reasonable for a car on its own to see the sign that says ‘wrong way’ or ‘do not enter’ and bring the vehicle to a halt at the side of the road so we don’t have these senseless accidents where someone has failed to recognise a sign.”

And how long, dare I wonder, before those “perfectly reasonable” moves include stalkers killing your car in the middle of nowhere? It’s got some exciting applications–like possibly the realization of “auto-drive” systems that let you map your route via GPS or the like and cruise there without touching the wheel–but it’s also got some really unpleasant potential too. But that’s the nature of every advance: a dual-edged sword.