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car hood airbags protect pedestrians from bad drivers

future tech | strange and wonderful

Toyoda Gosei

When I think of airbags, I picture them inside the car. But what if we equipped cars with outer airbags to protect pedestrians?

That’s exactly what Toyoda Gosei (an offshoot of Toyota) has done with these prototypes: they’ve equipped cars with camera and radar sensors to detect pedestrians and (presumably) activate the outer airbags to protect anyone within range of the car…

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June 6th, 2008 4 comments stumble it! author: karen

avalanche airbag looks stupid, saves lives

strange and wonderful

LifeBag Avalanche Vest

You’re sure to make a fashion statement walking down the street wearing one of these. The Snowpulse Life Bag is a special backpack that’s designed to protect hikers in the event of an avalanche.

While it may look ridiculous, I suppose that it’s actually a really good idea if you happen to spend a lot of time walking in the mountains…

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October 27th, 2007 2 comments stumble it! author: technabob

avurt im-5 says don’t stand so close to me

gadgets | strange and wonderful

Avurt IM-5

While this strange pink device might look like some sort of modern hair dryer, it’s not. In fact, the Avurt IM-5 is all about keeping people out of your face, not in it.

You see, the IM-5 is actually a high-tech update to the old can of pepper spray…

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October 3rd, 2007 post a comment stumble it! author: technabob

clarion driveeye records car crashes automatically

digital imaging | gadgets

Clarion DriveEye Digital Accident Camera

This new gadget out of Japan could save you lots of time and money if you ever get into a car wreck. It’s a little camera that mounts on your car’s windshield records vehicular accidents.

The Clarion DriveEye camera automatically senses emergency braking and captures video before, during and after an accident…

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July 23rd, 2007 2 comments stumble it! author: technabob

the license plate frame that could save lives

gadgets

SuddenStop License Plate Safety Device

How many times have you been driving down the road, when some dufus in front of you slams on their brakes to take an “important” phone call or yell at the kids? If only that guy would install one of these on his car.

The SuddenStop is a high-tech license plate frame with motion sensors built into it…

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July 17th, 2007 1 comment stumble it! author: technabob

nasa’s great space coaster

strange and wonderful

NASA Launchpad Roller Coaster

NASA is thinking about a new technology to save the lives of astronauts if something goes wrong at launch time. The proposed new emergency escape system is actually based on those vertical drop roller-coasters that have popped up at amusement parks around the country…

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February 24th, 2007 post a comment stumble it! author: technabob

perps to get a cheap thrill during patdowns

strange and wonderful

RoboGlove Metal Detector

Police officers in England now have a strange new trick up their sleeves in the war against crime. The Roboglove is a special glove that police can wear when patting down suspects that contains a miniature metal detector.
The battery-operated glove vibrates to alert officers when it comes across knives, guns or other metal objects on a suspect…

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February 21st, 2007 post a comment stumble it! author: technabob

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