Cars with Eyes: How Self-Driving Cars Will Talk to Us

By: Ashley Wicks

In today’s world, when we cross the street in front of a vehicle, we are often ushered on by the driver with a friendly wave. This assures us that the driver is aware that we are crossing and will wait for us to do so. But when cars become fully autonomous and there is no human in the driver’s seat, how will we know whether a car’s software has determined that we are about to cross the street and it is safe to proceed?

A number of solutions have been proposed by various companies. A company called Drive.AI was the first to use an external LED-display screen to communicate with humans. Since then, Uber has applied for a patent for its idea, which is to equip cars with external lights that would flash arrows and even a projector that would display a crosswalk on the street to signal that the car will wait for a pedestrian to pass in front of it. Google has also filed for a patent for its communication technology, which includes speakers to call out alerts and even a robotic hand and eyes to make a pedestrian aware that she is seen.

Communication between driverless cars and pedestrians will certainly be important in gaining the public’s trust in autonomous vehicles through positive interactions with the technology. If we can clearly understand a car’s intentions, we will be more comfortable and confident interacting with it. Any company that can successfully develop such technology will have an edge in the race to develop and market self-driving cars.