Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/11/03/a-pillar-eh.html
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Someone pointed out in the comments of the original article, that this has been done before:
The article’s focus should probably have been on the use of inexpensive electronics store parts, not the"problem solving" itself.
Since most 14 year olds I encounter wouldn’t even be aware the problem exists, this still gets an extraordinary badge from me…
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Of course, it relies on the driver’s head being in the right position. Might be better to use an LCD display built into the pillar instead of a projector. Doesn’t the F-35 or some plane use a display so the pilot can see through the floor? Finally, every time I see one of these inventions, cynical me wonders how much help they had from parents in the background.
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Yes, the F-35 uses the DAS system to give the pilot almost 4π steradians of vision. Some call the effect the “Wonderwoman Jet”
This blind-spot avoidance feature should go in every Prius. Making a left turn is an exercise in being blinded by the driver side A-post, especially because of the sharp slope.
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This isn’t really the blind spot that worries me, or vexes most drivers. The ones (there are two) that are more of an issue are those that are outside of the view of the side view mirrors. These require the driver to turn her head to ensure there is no other vehicle behind/next to her. And when the driver does the head turn, she is taking her attention, however briefly, away from the direction in which the vehicle is traveling.
Those small convex mirrors attached to the side views work quite well, if you know how to use them.
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As do Blind Spot Information Systems - a camera/sensor and an orange light in the car. Blind spot monitor - Wikipedia
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The version GM demoed a while back used eye tracking cameras to adjust the perspective.
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What year car do you drive? Modern cars have huge a pillar blindspots to meet rollover standards and hold side airbags. They can be a big problem particularly for pedestrian and cyclist safety but can also make non 90 degree intersections difficult to navigate.
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Of course you need a very powerful projector with high dynamic range to make this work in both broad daylight and night. A flat display is much more likely to work well, but hard to integrate for a science project.
Indeed. I totaled a car because a teen driver did not check their blind spot on a dark and (almost) empty road and made a U turn in front of me (from the far right lane).
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I’m feeling particularly cynical about how much this will help after 2 drivers managed to almost hit me this month as a pedestrian by starting moving while I was directly in front of them.
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probably a lot. still cool. cool parents who help their kids in these ways often raise cool offspring.
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It’s a very clever idea buuuut…
As a driver of an older vehicle, I see this as yet another high-tech feature which will ultimately fail and add to maintenance costs.
It IS a cool idea, though.
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this seems like one of those things that works better in a 2d photo online than in real life. you just move your head slightly and you’ll be seeing a double image rather than a fill in of the “blind spot.” (although as someone pointed out above, the pillar isnt really even a true blind spot)
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It’s a particular kind of blind spot, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a dangerous one–and these articles suggest that it’s particularly dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists, the people least well equipped to deal with a visit from 1.5 tons of rolling Detroit steel.
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The A Pillar In my 2018 Volvo wagon is so big that it has obscured entire cars from my vision. The a pillar is indeed a blind spot in some cars
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Volvo’s safety concept car had suicide doors?!?
Sure. So long as they don’t claim to have done everything themselves. Not saying she did, but I’d think it happens a lot.
Said every white male who promotes the “bootstraps” myth, though. 
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