Volvo has submitted an interesting patent filing with the European Patent Office that proposes supplementing a vehicle’s regular turn-signal operation by activating or deactivating the indicators when a driver fails to do so correctly. Additionally, the intelligent indicators can change blinking frequency and other operational modes based on vehicle speed and angle.
Automatic Indicators That Thinks Ahead
Volvo describes a system that makes driver intentions clearer and corrects mistakes such as:
- Indicating too early and too long before turning
- Waiting too long to activate the turn signals for a turn
- Failing to indicate altogether
- Activating the wrong turn signal
The Swedish automaker says the system will come with a toggle to switch it on or off. When switched on, the vehicle will utilize a series of sensors to monitor driving behavior and correct some of the above-mentioned mistakes by activating or deactivating the indicators as necessary.
It says that the blinking frequency will be adjusted based on vehicle speed and/or angle. It also states that the system will be able to monitor other drivers and, based on their indicator usage, adapt the Volvo’s reactions when in autonomous driving modes. The driver will be able to override or cancel any action that has been taken by the system, or switch it off.
Adapting Signals to Match Driver Intentions
Driver behavior isn’t easy to predict, and Volvo’s system will have to be intelligently programmed and take into account many factors to avoid false activation or failure to activate the turn signals. We don’t know how the system would predict a too-late activation of a turn signal if it doesn’t know the driver’s intentions, unless it can collect, for example, navigation data.
If the navigation system has been activated to guide the driver to a specific destination, and they seem to be following the prompts, it would be useful if the vehicle could activate the turn signal based on the next planned turn. A detailed explanation is not given about the system’s ability to change the blinking frequency, or in what conditions that might be deemed necessary, perhaps in poor visibility or at high speeds.
