While cars have their own built-in signals for communicating—tail lights that glow when the brakes are activated, turn signals, horns—there is still an important human element filling the gaps.
How does a pedestrian, waiting to cross the road, know that a car sees them and is going to yield? The driver makes eye contact, waves their hand, or nods.
In the near future, self-driving cars will start to appear on American roads—even here in Newtown. While some will still have their owners in the driver's seat, the ultimate goal is for them to drive without any human input. In fact, Ford plans to use self-driving cars in a taxi service as early as 2021. These vehicles will need to pick up passengers on their own, with no driver.
That's why Ford is working with several other organizations, including Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and SAE International, to develop a standardized "language" self-driving cars can use to telegraph their intentions to pedestrians, and drivers sharing the road.
Ford's proposed system uses a bar of light, which moves side-to-side to indicate yielding, and blinks to indicate the vehicle is starting to move again.