Driverless cars come up with new black technology: cars stop when pedestrians wave

The system, called Blink, was developed by the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. The windshield and rear window of the driverless car are LED screens that can use light signals to tell the user when the car knows that pedestrians are walking nearby. For example, if the car's sensors detect a person nearby, the icon on the car will light up to simulate how a pedestrian moves, and a beeping sound will also be emitted.

When the car knows that a pedestrian is nearby, the pedestrian can raise his hand to signal to stop, at which point the icon on the car's LED screen will turn green and the car will stop. If the pedestrian puts his hand aside, the LED light will turn red and the car will continue to drive.

It looks good, but some researchers think that this system is not very practical in cities. George Philip, a doctoral candidate in engineering at the University of Nottingham in the UK, said in an interview that it is not a good idea to let pedestrians control driverless cars. If pedestrians can stop cars, the city will be more congested. Philip said: "How people interact with driverless cars is something we need to continue to study."

Google has applied for many patents for "pedestrian-autonomous car" communication. In 2015, Google was awarded a patent that envisions an autonomous car that can recognize hand signals from cyclists and respond. The car is equipped with a sensor array that can recognize cyclists. The rider can use hand gestures to tell the car whether he is going to turn left or right, and the car changes speed based on the signal received.

In 2015, Google also obtained another patent. According to the description, if a self-driving car is crossing the road without stopping, it will display text on the external display and send a warning message through the speaker to tell pedestrians whether it is safe to cross the road at this time.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.