Boop. (Image credit: United States Patent and Trademark Office)
Google knows that its self-driving cars are going to get into accidents — maybe even accidents involving pedestrians — and so the company has patented a unique solution to minimize injuries if this happens: human flypaper. The patent, granted earlier this week, describes “an adhesive layer positioned on the front end of the vehicle” that pedestrians will simply stick to “in the event of a collision.”
“The adhesive bonds the pedestrian to the vehicle so that the pedestrian remains with the vehicle until it stops and is not thrown from the vehicle,” says the patent, adding that this prevents secondary impact between the pedestrian and the road surface or other object.” It sounds goofy, but it’s addressing a serious issue. As the patent notes, many crash injuries are not cause by the initial collision, but when the pedestrian is thrown from the car onto the ground.
Of course, driving around with a coating on your car “similar to flypaper or double-sided duct tape” means you’d pick up dirt and bugs as well as pedestrians. So, Google envisions an exterior “eggshell” covering that goes on top of the adhesive layer. This would break instantaneously in the event of a crash, says the patent, “revealing the adhesive layer below, and bonding to the pedestrian.”
