Geoff Roy 6th June 2016

Have Samsung Discovered the Future of Road Safety?

One of the most critical areas of design developments for the HGV industry is road safety. HGVs are a big, looming presence on the roads across the world and continual strides are taken to try and ensure they are as safe as possible for drivers and other road users.

We’ve seen improvements in design of wing mirrors to alleviate blind spots and bring added safety measures for cyclists in the recent past. But one area which has continued to be of concern for the industry and road safety campaigners is in regard to visibility for other cars who may be behind a lorry on narrower roads.

Obviously, due to their size, HGVs can present somewhat restrictive views for cars trailing in behind, making it tricky to say the least for them to overtake.

I’m sure we’ve all heard of instances of single lane roads where a car wants to get past the slower moving HGV to carry on its journey, only to pull onto the other side of the road blind and be met with a vehicle heading along in the opposite direction.

Is there a solution?

Well, it would appear that there well might be.

And from a somewhat unlikely source.

Korean technology giants Samsung are claiming that they may well have an answer to the problem with an innovative new safety system. And, as with so many innovative ideas, it’s one of those that makes you wonder why it hadn’t already been invented.

The Samsung Video Wall

The premise of Samsung’s idea stems around existing technology, being put to use across the body of the HGV.

A camera is fixed to the front of the lorry’s cabin which can capture real-time images of the road ahead – all lanes in all directions.

Using wireless technology these images are then sent directly to the back of the lorry, broadcast to the trailing vehicles by way of a giant video wall affixed to the rear.

What this means, in theory at least, is that these vehicles will then have a clear view (via the video wall) of what the situation is regarding oncoming traffic. Allowing drivers’ the opportunity to know when it is safe to carry out an over-taking manoeuvre.

Also, of course, this could also benefit in regard to braking times. Drivers would be aware of a previously unseen incident in front of the lorry and be more aware of the need to take emergency brake action. This could save vital milliseconds in reaction time which could reduce serious collisions further.

The safety wall innovation has been on trial on the notoriously dangerous roads of Argentina – which has one of the highest numbers of over-taking related fatalities in the world. The theory being, one imagines, is that if it works there, it can work anywhere.

Risks?

Of course, it sounds like a brilliant idea and an ingenious use of modern technology to solve a perennial road safety issue.

That being said, there are a few things about the idea that would need to be resolved in order to make it into everyday global use.

Namely the over-reliance on technology issue. Is it really possible to put absolute faith into a wireless connection on a moving HGV? What if the signal is lost or slow, resulting in delayed images that are not a true reflection of that real time events? Road conditions change by the second and even small delays could be extremely costly.

The image may show a clear lane when, in reality, due to a delay in communication, there is now a fast approaching car in the lane ahead. And in reality, it only needs to fail once to cause a terrible accident and all faith in the system could be lost.

And if car drivers’ no longer have faith in what they are seeing, then it could be curtains for the system.

All that being said, this is a great example of cross-filtration technology in place, where innovations from one industry are brought into place for the benefit of another. And if it can be proven to work reliably, offering a chance for safer road experiences between HGVs and smaller road vehicles, then it’s an innovation certainly worth exploring further.