An Environmentally Aware Auto - Teaching the Car About the World Around It 2008-21-0050

Market forces are in place for widespread inclusion of features that make automobiles more aware of their surroundings, and take various degrees of action depending upon the situation, to become common in the next five to ten years. Technology is in place: digital maps with slope, curvature, and lane information; sensors and cameras found on more and more vehicles and on more and more roadways; and the demands of consumers themselves, grappling with high fuel prices, traffic congestion and high accident rates, are beginning to realize the role technology can play to make both them and the vehicle better aware of their surroundings, and how that information can contribute to both safety and fuel efficiency.