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Cars now have sensors that detect cars ahead and stop ,but this technology has been around for decades wasnt there a poloroid camera that auto focused by sending out an ultrasonic pulse back in the late 70's?? How hard would it have been to adapt it to a car and and have a simple analog circuit that would stop or at least slow down the car, image all the rear end collisions that could have been avoided all these decades??
It comes down to cost. Back then power windows and air condition was considered luxury. The technology that stops the car from hitting something today is primarily radar and back in the 70’s-90’s that was expensive airplane stuff.
Ultrasound is only good for a few feet like pulling into a parking spot.
Backup cameras however have been cheap for almost a decade. That should have been mandatory years ago.
I'd imagine it's not as simple as you make it here. I don't see how you'd accomplish this with 1970's and 1980's tech without a computer making decisions based on feedback from various inputs. Also keep in mind these vehicles back then did not have ABS. What if such a situation occurred in a turn, on wet roads, and the tires lock? ABS didn't come into existence in mass until the early 90's. Huge liability and the chance the system would cause more accidents than prevent. There would need to be additional sensors and accelerometers to give the system feedback and a computer to do the necessary calculations to perform this task safely. It also would have been very expensive.
As BostonMike explains, it's all in the programming. And the liability insurance. Also the ultrasonics doesn't work well in moving air. That's why they became RADAR instead of sound based.
I'd imagine it's not as simple as you make it here. I don't see how you'd accomplish this with 1970's and 1980's tech without a computer making decisions based on feedback from various inputs. Also keep in mind these vehicles back then did not have ABS. What if such a situation occurred in a turn, on wet roads, and the tires lock? ABS didn't come into existence in mass until the early 90's. Huge liability and the chance the system would cause more accidents than prevent. There would need to be additional sensors and accelerometers to give the system feedback and a computer to do the necessary calculations to perform this task safely. It also would have been very expensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crashj007
As BostonMike explains, it's all in the programming. And the liability insurance. Also the ultrasonics doesn't work well in moving air. That's why they became RADAR instead of sound based.
i agree with these guys. while the technology was kind of available back in the 70s, it would have been quite bulky and of limited effectiveness. take electronic ignition control modules from that time. they were either fairly large, ford/chrysler, but reliable. or they were made small, GM, but had reliability issues mostly due to the inability to dissipate heat.
now imagine a crude version of todays antilock braking systems. yes they were available in large over the road trucks, but they were not reliable, they were quite bulky, and there was a point with many units that they stopped working and you had to be ready for it, usually below 20moh according to all the truck drivers i talked to.
As BostonMike explains, it's all in the programming. And the liability insurance. Also the ultrasonics doesn't work well in moving air. That's why they became RADAR instead of sound based.
Something else, sound waves can damage the hearing of a person receiving the sound. For example, I have an ultrasound-based distance measurer that I can use to measure a room (for example), and you won't believe how painful the sound pulse can be if you press the trigger when the meter is pointed in your direction.
A sonar is not the best way to integrate in automobile technology, but I imagine that it would be quite good to repel a charging dog
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