A new semiautonomous safety system uses an onboard camera and laser rangefinder to identify hazards in a vehicle’s environment. An engineering team devised an algorithm to analyze the data and identify safe zones — avoiding, for example, barrels in a field, or other cars on a roadway. The system allows a driver to control the vehicle, only taking the wheel when the driver is about to exit a safe zone.
The team is also hoping to pare down the system to identify obstacles using a single cell phone.
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