"Speeding fines could be a thing of the past" proclaims Australia's Sunday Mail. All you have to do is drive a car that interfaces with street signs that "talk" to your car and "order it" to slow down. Oh, that's OK then. Well it is for the 200 or so delegates attending the Smart Demo 2005 conference on "Intelligent Transportation Systems" this Thursday and Friday in Adelaide. Our pocket-protector-wearing evil twins will be checking-out the latest electronic Nannies — I mean "active safety systems" — and discuss how they can ram them down the throats of hapless drivers — I mean, "explore the key policy and regulatory issues surrounding the implementation of these technologies." While the Geek thing doesn't scare us— much — yet — guess which automakers are participating?
Ford and Holden will showcase driverless "smart cars" at the Clipsal 500 track in Victoria Park, "for industry experts to have hands-on demonstrations." [Give that writer a raise!] Also attending will be Tom Phillips, President and CEO, Mitsubishi Motors Australia, and Andrew Kristoffy, Business Development Manager, MIB Consulting (we don't think he represents an automaker, but we suspect we've been neuralyzed).
Delegates shouldn't expect to see "civil rights" on the agenda, but they can count on plenty of "technology can solve everything" optimism and "either you're with us or you're a baby killer" sanctimoniousness. Aussie AAA Executive Director and conference chairman Lauchlan McIntosh explains the spirit of the thing: "We should not accept that we have five people killed on our roads every day when we have the technology to prevent it." Spoken like a true believer.
The future car that will 'talk' [Sunday Mail (AU)]
Related:
Australia s Ad Watchdog Outraged Over Mitsubishi Spot; This Is Highly Irregular: Hands-Free Automotive Distractions [internal]