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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Car Watch"
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(90 seconds)
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AN ALARMING DEVELOPMENT... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD CAR ALARMS GO OFF SO MUCH THAT IT ALMOST DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING ANYMORE. IN FACT, WHILE YOU'RE BEING TREATED TO THIS HIGH-DECIBEL "DETERRENT", THE OWNER MAY BE TOTALLY CLUELESS. PENN STATE RESEARCHERS BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A BETTER, TOTALLY SILENT WAY TO KEEP SOMEBODY FROM STEALING YOUR CAR: HAVE THE CARS WATCH EACH OTHER. THE COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM THAT THEY'VE DEVELOPED WOULD RELY ON SENSORS--BOTH IN THE VEHICLES, AND AT THE LOT. WHEN YOUR CAR FIRST PULLS IN, IT WOULD SEND OUT A "HELLO" SIGNAL TO THE OTHER CARS. NOW, AS PARTS OF THE NETWORK IN THAT LOT, THE CARS MONITOR EACH OTHER--CONTINUALLY SCANNING FOR EACH OTHER'S SIGNAL; IF YOUR CAR LEAVES WITHOUT SENDING OUT THE "GOODBYE" SIGNAL THAT'S GENERATED WHEN YOU UNLOCK THE DOOR, THE OTHER CARS REPORT YOU AS MISSING TO THE MAIN SENSOR. THE SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY CALLS YOU AND LETS YOU KNOW. SHOULD THE THIEF GET OUT OF THE LOT, THE SYSTEM COULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR YOUR CAR'S WHEREABOUTS, THROUGH AN EXISTING SYSTEM OF SENSORS AT INTERSECTIONS OR ALONG THE ROAD. IN EARLY TESTS, THE CAR "OWNER" WAS ALERTED BY PHONE WITHIN FOUR TO NINE SECONDS. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
