timezone
02-04-2009, 03:59 PM
A new system under development will take satellite navigation to the next level, because it can pinpoint the position of a car to within one yard. However, the technology is already causing controversy because it will also allow authorities to 'track' a car's movements and its speed, bringing the possibility of automatic speeding fines.
The £36m EU project is partly funded by the UK Government. The tracking system's development is also backed by a number of different manufacturers, including beleaguered US maker GM, because the technology will, it's claimed, reduce accidents, congestion and carbon emissions. It will also make proposed 'pay as you drive' schemes feasible.
It works by emitting a pulse every half a second which is picked up by satellites and reveals the car's speed and location. Cars fitted with the device can also 'talk' to each other, and to road signs, so that congestion can be avoided, and even traffic lights changed from red to green.
The Department for Transport says it has no plans to enforce makers to use the technology, but said it will need widespread take up to be an effective traffic congestion remedy. Still, Simon Davies of watchdog Privacy International said: 'if you correlate car tracking data with mobile phone data, which can also track people, there is the potential for an almost infallible surveillance system.'
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/02042009/36/black-box-cars-closer-0.html
http://l.yimg.com/i/ng/sh/carenthu/20090402/10/1522621577-black-box-cars-closer.jpg?x=310&y=310&q=80&sig=V401MkXA1F6haLHIX1XeYQ--
The £36m EU project is partly funded by the UK Government. The tracking system's development is also backed by a number of different manufacturers, including beleaguered US maker GM, because the technology will, it's claimed, reduce accidents, congestion and carbon emissions. It will also make proposed 'pay as you drive' schemes feasible.
It works by emitting a pulse every half a second which is picked up by satellites and reveals the car's speed and location. Cars fitted with the device can also 'talk' to each other, and to road signs, so that congestion can be avoided, and even traffic lights changed from red to green.
The Department for Transport says it has no plans to enforce makers to use the technology, but said it will need widespread take up to be an effective traffic congestion remedy. Still, Simon Davies of watchdog Privacy International said: 'if you correlate car tracking data with mobile phone data, which can also track people, there is the potential for an almost infallible surveillance system.'
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/02042009/36/black-box-cars-closer-0.html
http://l.yimg.com/i/ng/sh/carenthu/20090402/10/1522621577-black-box-cars-closer.jpg?x=310&y=310&q=80&sig=V401MkXA1F6haLHIX1XeYQ--