Accident-avoiding cars on way in six months - EU

Sci-fi radar which can detect imminent car crashes – and apply your brakes - should be available within six months, the European Commission announced today.

A two-year search for the necessary ultrawide band radio frequency has resulted in a system which, say the experts, has the potential to halve the numbers of road accident casualties in Europe by 2010.

Now the pressure is on car makers to install the necessary technology in cars to pick up the short-range radar signals being made available for the anti-crash breakthrough.

Accident-avoiding vehicles are becoming a reality thanks to a revolution in the regulation of shortwave radio frequencies.

All radio frequencies are already used, so the challenge was to find a way to enable short-range radar devices to operate in existing frequency bands without interfering with other vital signals running mobile telephones, weather satellites, police radars and radio telescopes.

The answer was Ultrawide Band, a low-power wireless technology that re-uses spectrum already used by other radio services.

“Short-range radar can save lives,” said Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding.

“This innovative technology, developed by industry partly with the help of EU-funded research, will reduce the frequency, severity and cost of road accidents.

“Today’s decision opens radio bands to short-range radar while preventing radio interference to other essential users of these frequencies.”

She went on: “The Commission is providing a sound legal basis for an EU-wide market for short-range radar technology – I hope the automotive industry will make full use of this opportunity.”