LATEST NEWS: "Drivaware Releases Preliminary Consumer Survey on Driver Blind Spot Awareness"

Study shows cell phone use decreases driver likelihood to check vehicle's blind spots

Basic Auto Safety Facts

Plus the Economic Benefits of the LaneFX Blind Spot Exposure System

1. According to the US government's Department of Transportation, 1 out of 25 collisions on America's highways is due to improper lane change / lane merge. That's 630,000 accidents annually and almost 2% of which are fatal. The estimated annual insurance cost of these collisions $2.3B not accounting for economic loss. There are no specific statistics on whether these numbers improve by use of conventional convex blind spot mirrors or even by the driver setting the side mirrors wide.
2. Second, consider the driver awareness benefit. By eliminating the average of 2 seconds of a complete head turn / blind spot check, LaneFX can afford you over 205ft of advance emergency stopping/maneuvering distance. This could be a life-saving or accident avoidance distance.
3. Thirdly, let's approach this from a competitive landscape: The blind spot detection segment has just recently begun heating up at the OEM and teir-1supplier level. University of Michigan's Center for Automotive Research (CAR) study of emerging technologies, automotive executives from around the world have predestined a 10% market penetration of blind spot detection systems by MY06. So far this figure has been lagging a bit, but there is evidence of momentum building up in this area. Volvo has recently announced their blind spot detection system called BLIS and Audi has launch its Lane Assists passive system on its brand new Q7 SUV. As matter of fact, Volvo's VP of marketing in the BLIS systems' media preview indicated that that "blind spot problem solution is the number of asked for feature by Volvo owners." Volvo in this detection system chose to use pattern/image recognition technology as their chosen horse for this race. Raytheon and Valeo-Sylvania, two heavy hitters in the teir-1 supplier arena have joined forces to develop a sonar-based detection system under contract with one auto OEM. In both instances Volvo and other system are passive detection systems. Here's what's public from Volvo's own press release: "Because the system is camera based, it not work in the rain, snow, fog, or at night." When Automotive Week and Auto Blog test drove the BLIS system, they encountered a disproportionate number of false positives when driving by a row of parked cars or in the left-most lane on the highway against a concrete divider wall." K. Malhas, inventor of LaneFX expressed his opinion on this design approach as follows: "It's difficult for to understand why the one automotive manufacturer that has coined its existence on occupant safety would release a system that does not appear to have been well-though out." But it actually gets worse from there, estimated price for the system is $1,200 that's over 800% the suggested retail price of a complete LaneFX package and, according to Volvo if the its alert mechanism - a small orange light on the inside of the A-pillar - becomes "too annoying" to the driver, the driver has a switch to turn it off! Unbelievable!

The Blind Spot Problem is Becoming Quite Pervasive

Growing Demand for a Practical Solution Seen With Consumers, OEMs and Tier 1 Supplier Community.

The advanced Blind Spot Detection solutions market is now emerging with industry indications of considerable upside, starting with MY06 and MY07 vehicle line-ups.

At Drivaware, we have dedicated considerable product development resources to create, develop and production-ready three innovative Blind Spot Detection systems. While other companies are focused on producing car gadgets, we are focused on the efficiency of the system in terms of driver awareness. Two of these solutions are entirely original innovations, never seen before in the automotive marketplace. More broadly however, each Drivaware Blind Spot Detection solution has a compelling first-to-market advantage in its respective technology.

What You Can't See in Your Mirrors Can Hurt You

The blue car's driver sees the green car through his mirrors but cannot see the red car without turning to check his blind spot. Blind spots, in the context of driving an automobile, are the areas of the road that cannot be seen while looking forward or through either the rear-view or side mirrors. Blind spots can be eliminated by overlapping side and rear-view mirrors, or checked by turning one's head briefly, or by adding another mirror with a larger field of view. Detection of vehicles or other objects in blind spots may also be aided by systems such as video cameras or distance sensors, though these are not common in automobiles sold to the general public.

Gadget Gifts: The Must-Have Gadgets of 2006 Holida Season

Looking for great tech gear? Check out these magnificent seven.

Santa isn't the only one who's been making a list and checking it twice. Over the last year hundreds of gizmos have passed through Chez Freak, but only a handful inspire sincere gadget lust.

These devices all share certain traits: They serve a real need (read: not yet another iPod accessory). They're innovative. Most important, they're simple to use. Plug them in, turn them on, and they work. The way it should be.

iRobot Dirt Dog
Meet man's new best friend. iRobot's Dirt Dog is a sweeper designed for use in basements and garages. Just push the "Clean" button and stand back. It scuttles about picking up wood shavings, loose screws, and other weekend workshop detritus. The $130 price is worth howling about, too.

MusicGremlin
With the Wi-Fi-enabled MusicGremlin, you can download songs from any hotspot and then legally swap them with your buddies online. Sure, navigating through songs could be easier, and $300 (plus $15 a month for the music service) is pricey for a device with only 8GB of storage. But being able to download virtually any song, anytime, anywhere, is wicked cool.

Pure Digital Point and Shoot Camcorder
This pocket-size digital videocam lets you capture 30 minutes of decent-looking video in its 512MB of flash memory and then transfer the clips to your PC via a clever USB "arm" that swings out from the base of the unit. The camera's built-in software allows you to manage videos, e-mail downsized clips to friends, or share your masterpieces on Google Video with just a few clicks. The features are bare-bones--only 2X zoom, 640-by-480 clips, and minimal playback options on a 1.5-inch LCD--but then again, so is the $130 price.

PowerSquid Surge3000 Calimari
Even I find it odd how excited I am about this $80 power strip. Yes, it really looks like a squid: Six tentaclelike plugs extend to handle power bricks without blocking other sockets, and its surge protection (up to 3240 joules) keeps your pricey gear from getting fried. Two plugs even light up so you can find them in the dark. It's ideal for geeks with too many gadgets and nowhere to plug them.

Sony Reader
This device redefines the electronic book. Sony's glare-free screen and E Ink technology are amazing, the unit is push-button easy to use, and its 7-by-5-inch size strikes the perfect compromise between a PDA and a laptop. The $350 Reader can hold around 80 books in its 64MB of memory, and more when you add a Sony Memory Stick or an SD Card. Sony launched with about 10,000 titles in its proprietary e-book format (the unit also reads text, Acrobat, and Word files). Pricing and availability of titles will vary, but the gizmo itself is terrific. (For details, see our review.)

Zvox 325
One wire--that's all the Zvox 325 ($349) needs to produce booming audio from your TV, MP3 player, or DVD machine. Just plug in this VCR-size speaker unit and connect it to the device's headphone jack. Two knobs let you control volume and switch from stereo to surprisingly good surround sound. It's simplicity itself.

PicoCricket
I got this robotics kit for my 7-year-old daughter, but soon I was fighting her for it. PicoCricket ($250) combines Lego pieces and fuzzy pipe cleaners with sophisticated light, motion, and sound sensors. Kids build their own toys and then program them to respond to stimuli by dragging and dropping "PicoBlocks"--brightly colored shapes that represent different chunks of object-oriented code. So, for example, you can build a flower that plays music when the sun rises, or a birthday cake that lights up when you touch it. You'll need about 30 minutes with Pico's quick-start guide to master the basics, but far longer before you're willing to let your kids have at it.

A Merry Geekmas to all, and to all a good night.

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Car-Savvy Gift Ideas for Drivers & Commuters