Car computing systems could alert emergency services of a crash

Cars equipped with in-car computer systems could become so advanced that they can call the emergency services if they are involved in a crash, reports The BBC.

The prediction came at a symposium which considered the changes that small, smart processors in cars could bring.

"The car is probably going to be the most compute-intensive possession that we will have," explained Steve Wainwright, European manager at Freescale Semiconductor which makes chips that go inside car control systems.

He said that average cars will have between 25 and 30 electronic control units onboard already. The high-end cars, said Mr Wainwright, probably have closer to 80. The news might tempt people into selling a car and investing in one of the high-spec cars that makes driving such a breeze.

"All of us who feel we are better drivers now than we were 10 years ago, that's probably because we are getting more help than we realise," added Mr Wainwright.

It was Paul Burnley, an analyst from automotive market research company SBD, who made the prediction that cars could be the first to react after a crash.

"More advanced systems will be capable of sending data from distributed sensors in the car to the emergency services," he said. "Perhaps letting them analyse this and build a profile of the crash and evaluate the risk of serious injury to the occupants."

 

Tom Pitney, Dartford, Peugeot 307

Stephen Wilson, London, AUDI A5 COUPE