Smarter speed bump using non-Newtonian liquid

http://www.badennova.es/badennova-en/index.php/gallery/video

by chr1 • 9 years ago

244 161 9 years ago

naraniano4• 9 years ago

Being Spanish, I know someone will stab those with a knife or a screwdriver the first day they are installed. That someone might even be me.

I mean I'm happy they are proud of their invention but, please. Don't make me laugh.

iaw• 9 years ago

I was actually thinking it's a brilliant application but no where near durable enough to be practical.

ricardobeat• 9 years ago

How many public lighting bulbs and metro card readers have you broken recently? Those are all more fragile than this.

naraniano4• 9 years ago

None, because nobody hates lighting bulbs or metro card readers, while every driver hates speed bumps.

Well, maybe not all drivers, but one driver who hates that damn speed bump that he has to drive over every day is enough to make that baby bleed. :)

I'm just being realistic. I've lived in an impoverished area all of my life and I know how things here work. I'm saying what I honestly believe would happen with these.

Jyaif• 9 years ago

And that's why we can't have nice things.

_nalply• 9 years ago

Add a fine mesh and connect the mesh to electricity like a cattle fence. Insert screwdriver and... ZORCH! Muahaha.

gruez2• 9 years ago

what screwdriver are you using that has conductive handles?

dsfyu404ed5• 9 years ago

x2.

Put one in a rural area and eventually someone will come along and shoot it.

That's what happens to absurdly low speed limits and moronically placed stop signs. I don't see why a speed bump would be any different.

Xylakant3• 9 years ago

This is going to be fun. Some people will learn that it's soft at slow speeds and will assume it's always soft and severely damage their cars.

TeMPOraL2• 9 years ago

No tears shed by me. Speed limits are to be obeyed, not ignored.

naraniano4• 9 years ago

Let's see if you shed a tear when a car breaks and city hall (this is, all the citizens, including you) has to pay for it.

chrisper• 9 years ago

Are you always driving exactly 5 MPH in a garage?

jmdocherty• 9 years ago

This a really interesting idea. The problem of stabbing/puncturing can be solved by moving the liquid lower in the ground and having a floating more robust layer above. I imagine it would be particularly useful in places like outside hospitals where ambulances would prefer a smooth ride if possible. However, I'm sure we used to make a liquid with similar properties when we were children out of cornflower (?) and water.

LeifCarrotson• 9 years ago

I'm sure they will make it pretty durable. A reasonable method of construction would be like a tire, with steel mesh under thick, tough rubber.

And it's corn starch, not corn flower, and water. About a 2:1 ratio.

mkl• 9 years ago

In many countries it's called "cornflour" or "corn flour".

jfk13• 9 years ago

American "corn starch" = British "cornflour". E.g. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_starch.

maxerickson2• 9 years ago

Cornstarch.

It is processed to isolate the starch.

DanBC• 9 years ago

I'm sure we used to make a liquid with similar properties when we were children out of cornflower (?) and water.

lots of people call this oobleck, and there are a gajillion of youtube videos about it.

fencepost• 9 years ago

Increased expense and fragility to reduce the impact of going over speed bumps that (if properly designed) already have less impact when drivers are at out below the desired speed? Seems to me that there are likely more durable me cost effective ways to spend that money, such as making sure that bumps actually are properly sized /shaped for their target speeds.

This seems like an interesting concept that's worth the effort and expense only for very niche applications.

hirsin• 9 years ago

A student startup built something similar for potholes, which i think is a better use of the tech (1). Essentially road repair crews could carry a couple bags of the fluid and drop the bag into a pothole, where it would confirm to the shape of the hole while stiffening on impact from the tires. Unsurprisingly this was invented in Cleveland.

1. http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-04/bouncy-thic...

amenod• 9 years ago

Unsurprisingly this was invented in Cleveland.

For us uninitiated - why? Quality if the roads there?

astrobase_go• 9 years ago

the roads in and around the cleveland metro area have high traffic loads; undergo long periods of fluctuating cold temperatures during the winter; and get nailed periodically by lake-effect snow and ice.

as such, they experience lots of freezing and thawing, experience high traffic from lots of tractor trailers and snow plows, and get coated with de-icing materials (salt, or more recently sand-based grit in some areas). synergistically, these conditions are extremely rough on paved roads, so potholes are ubiquitous and painful.

blackguardx• 9 years ago

Another commentor explained how potholes form, but I'll add that Cleveland doesn't have a lot of money and tends to defer maintenance.

When I was living there, road signs saying "Steel Plate on Road" were a common sight. I remember the city fixed a water pipe and instead of re-paving the street, they just left several giant 4ft x 8ft steel plates with corresponding sign for over a year.

mcdonje• 9 years ago

Case Western Reserve University has a good engineering program.

lightbyte2• 9 years ago

Unfortunately this didn't really amount to anything and Cleveland is still plagued by endless potholes.

gambiting• 9 years ago

So....when you drive a bicycle over it, I assume you fall straight into it then?

karmakaze• 9 years ago

Immediately brings to mind the shield exercise in Dune which only the slow blade can pierce. Can't recall if it had a name.

pebers• 9 years ago

It didn't have a name, that was just how the shields worked - they opposed motion, so only slow-moving things could pierce them.

Havoc• 9 years ago

They were the result of a Holtzman generator and was an attribute inherent to shields rather than just the shield exercise. The actual slow vs fast aspect was never given a name per se.

code_duck• 9 years ago

"BIV

baden inteligente de velocidad

This Intelligent Speed Bump (BIV) is based in Non-Newtonian fluids dynamics in which particles in natural movement as liquid align when receiving an impact, thus entering into a solid state. This fluid is also biodegradable and harmless for human beings.This fluid inside the BIV is the solution to vehicles at sensible speed that will find no obstacle when driving over it.

The other essential element to achieve the BIV is the plastic covering made of a special material highly resistant to aging, wear, vandalism and unfavorable weather conditions. Our plastics are planned for recycling purposes so that we can ensure sustainability by reusing disposed plastics. BIV is a new speed bump that guarantees effectiveness at exceeding speed regardless vehicles' type or weight. The speed limitation that we set will be effective for every user at the road.

Installations is a fast and simple procedure by screwing up the metal plates onto the pavement in 15 minutes.

This Intelligent Speed Bump is registered and patented worldwide with the aim of improving road traffic and road safety: - Reduces the possibility of traffic accidents and fatigue caused to shock absorbers. - Reduces pollution, fuel consumption and noise pollution caused by continuous bumping

Currently BIV is available for indoor activities: Parking lots, Garage and Covered areas."

sebleon• 9 years ago

Very cool!!

Out of curiosity, why is it only available indoors?

batbomb• 9 years ago

first guess: They haven't gotten UV protection right just yet.

sparrish• 9 years ago

My guess is their nemesis, the snowplow.

buro9• 9 years ago

My guess was speeding laden trucks.

It looks like a great MVP, and within car parks would guarantee an almost predictable max load weight.

jinfiesto• 9 years ago

I think it's only available indoors because it's secretly filled with mayonnaise (non-newtonian fluid.) But on a serious note, it's plausible that whatever they've filled the bump with degrades under temperature conditions outside of what you'd find indoors.

alkonaut• 9 years ago

Maybe the non-Newtonian fluid isn't very fluid at all under certain temperatures?

gerad• 9 years ago

It's all fun and games until somebody drains your speed bump.

l0b0• 9 years ago

I wonder how the mixture and covering will stand up to millions of crossings, at all kinds of temperatures? Does the covering turn brittle, like most materials after cooling, heating, stretching and being exposed to sunlight? Does the mixture remain uniform over time and at different temperatures, so slow drivers don't get a surprise? Can it withstand the sideways force when someone suddenly brakes while passing it? Will it withstand the rare passing of an extremely heavy vehicle, like a tank or special transport? Is it easily sabotaged?

Balgair• 9 years ago

Putting these in Ann Arbor or Tuscon would be the best test. How does it fair in freeze/unfreeze daily cycling like in Michigan? Hows the rubber stuff work in Tuscon where you really can fry an egg on the sidewalk? What's the cost benefit to cash pinched cities, the maintenance, etc? What happens when bored teens try to drain it or inflate it with bottle-rockets? Does the goop damage paint? ETC.

I feel this is a Silicon Valley 'Problem' where everyone else has much tougher/different ones than the Redwood City slogan of 'Climate Best By Government Test.'

exabrial• 9 years ago

Does it allow emergency vehicles to proceed quickly? :/ That's my main criticism of speed bumps

maxerickson2• 9 years ago

They are rarely placed where the prudent maximum speed is much above the posted speed.

I guess if there is a patient in fragile condition in the back of an ambulance that would be an issue.

sandworm101• 9 years ago

Come to my city. Many limits are based on non-safety things like road noise and antiquated notions re saving fuel.

Speed bumps are common in places like huge parking lots where reasonbable varies wildly throughout the day.

Bumps are also used to bring traffic down well below the posted limits.

dfox• 9 years ago

I think that that is exactly the reason why this will not get used. Many speedbumps are actually designed in a way that they are imperceptible when you go sufficiently fast (80km/h is usual)

calebm• 9 years ago

Sounds like expert-level trolling ;)

dsfyu404ed5• 9 years ago

Your typical E-series based ambulance will laugh at speed bumps at pretty much any speed. Whether you want to be not wearing a seatbelt when that happens is a different story.

bfung3• 9 years ago

Can someone enlighten me on why we need a smarter speed bump?

If cars going too fast are going to be damaged either way, there's no benefits on that end.

If the motivation is that cars can go slightly faster overall over the bump to reduce traffic... then don't put a bump there!?!?

Slow traffic will still be slow?

azinman2• 9 years ago

It’s so that when you go the appropriate speed you don’t feel the bump.

allannienhuis• 9 years ago

Which can reduce damage of delicate loads, like ambulances. I expect it would reduce wear-and-tear on suspension of heavy vehicles too.

bfung3• 9 years ago

I wonder if that would make people drive progressively faster over a stretch of road until they notice the bump.

Or more common, people will speed towards the bump and again, brake right before it.

freditup• 9 years ago

Speed bumps can be painful for those with back injuries (and likely other injuries). An elderly relative of mine would have to get out of vehicles at curbs or speed bumps and get back in the car on the other side. A smarter speed bump could presumably reduce this pain as long as one goes over the speed bump at a slow speed.

masklinn• 9 years ago

Can someone enlighten me on why we need a smarter speed bump?

So that there is only a "bump" if you're above the limit, that would be less annoying (and potentially damaging for low-clearance cars) for people who follow the rules.

jacquesm• 9 years ago

Well, let me give you one reason why: Last year I got launched by a speedbump on my bicycle and broke my leg in six places. I could have really done without that given the fact that I wasn't exceeding the speedlimit and wasn't driving a car.

bfung3• 9 years ago

I believe only in Russia does a speedbump launch someone and in America, you only launch yourself off speedbumps.

Apologies if joking about it is too soon =P

Unsure how this fluid bump would affect bikes - maybe it has too much traction and you get launched over the handles at certain speeds?

rconti• 9 years ago

Because speed bump design varies greatly; many are very hard on your vehicle to go over at very low speeds, the size/shape of the bump has nothing to do with the speed limit, it seems. Often I need to go 5mph over a speed bump in a 25mph zone. It's bad for everyone. Wear and tear, noise pollution, brake dust+emissions pollution from speeding up and slowing down, etc.

Sometimes there are big long speed bumps that are actually MORE comfortable to take at higher-than-legal speeds. And it's encouraged an arms race in vehicles in the US; it undoubtedly influences people to buy bigger/heavier/taller vehicles with longer-travel suspension.

lloeki• 9 years ago

Some square speed bumps have a square form factor, wedge shaped sides over here so that if you aim with the bump right in the middle of the car, sufficiently wide-tracked wheels are on each side, negating the bump, presumably for emergency vehicles and buses to not be concerned with the bump.

Obviously obnoxious SUVs and the like are impervious to this, obliviously driving over. Conversely, a chat with my local mechanic turned up an issue with unprotected engine underside (like with most cheap to mid-range cars) means there's a sufficiently higher chance to rip the oil drain plug, meaning slightly increased tow-in rates with each new speed bump. Nasty, although more recent cars have undersides now in an effort to reduce drag and improve compliance with emission regulations.

celticninja3• 9 years ago

If this encourages everyone to drive at a similar speed then it will improve traffic throughput overall. hard braking by someone speeding can have a wave effect miles down the road.

dottrap• 9 years ago

Badenova posted the first video on the page in 2010.

It's been 7 years. Anybody know how adoption has been?

KGIII• 9 years ago

I don't have a direct answer for you. I can try to shine some light on it. I'm retired but worked in a related field. As such, I was expected to keep up with tech such as this and to be able to model the results of this - I modeled traffic at a fine level, ideally.

Since retiring, I've kept my interests up and have paid even more attention to the coming tech. I signed a non-compete, but I still have my interests.

This is the first I've heard of it. I've never heard of it and know of no usage in the industry. And yes, even parking garages sometimes get modeled during the design phase.

So, make of that what you will. I've not only not heard of this product, I've not even heard of this technology being proposed. This may mean that I just missed it.

chr1• 9 years ago

Another interesting way of making speed bumps smarter is changing their form: two long smooth triangles so that the slope is fairly small. Amsterdam has many speed bumps of this type, and they are fairly smooth at slow speeds.

runeks• 9 years ago

From the first video:

“Whether you respect the speed limit or not, your car will suffer from a speed bump regardless.”

Can anyone confirm this? I would assume the suspension can handle speed bumps fine at low speeds. That’s what it feels like from inside the car anyway.

Couldn’t it be argued that, as we approach a speed of 0 mph, there exists a speed at which no damage is done to the car whatsoever? And, if we place speed bumps accordingly, there is no need for this technology — particularly considering the difference in cost and maintenance?

TomMarius3• 9 years ago

You still have to brake (brake pads and discs suffer for no reason), gear down (transmission suffers) and potentially move off at a low speed (clutch suffers, your wallet suffers if you go over them frequently). Even at minimal speeds (less than 20 km/h), speed bumps feel very unpleasant and I really don't like sounds my car is doing while riding over them.

ygra• 9 years ago

Shouldn't speed bumps be designed that you move over them at the speed allowed there, e.g. 30 km/h? So theoretically there wouldn't be a slowdown, unless you're already going faster than allowed.

At least I haven't seen speed bumps in 50 km/h roads just to slow people down.

agumonkey3• 9 years ago

There are so many geometries (by design or error) .. but I remember that those that are more like a lifted platform with low angles are the one I like the most. I do slow down but I don't have to fear shocks. win win

dsfyu404ed5• 9 years ago

Wear ant ear from normal operation are different than damage from running out of up-travel at high speed.

King-Aaron• 9 years ago

Not to mention going over a speed bump unevenly can put uneven loads on ball joints and other suspension components other than just the shock absorbers.

Tie rod ends, bushings, etc can all wear out from uneven suspension load.

ojosilva• 9 years ago

And also more emissions are released into the atmosphere due to an interruption acceleration cycle that resembles that of a traffic jam. But then I'm not sure even if a viscous speed bump would help there. We need tech that will eliminate the need for speed bumps - of any kind - and speeding tickets.

Torkel2• 9 years ago

Speaking to a founder to a competing company (https://www.edeva.se/en/) I found out that there has been many attempts at solving the problems of speed bumps:

- Everybody gets bumped, not only high speed vehicles - Emergency vehicles need to slow down - Bus drivers and others can get back problems from speed bumps

Most solutions break down because the forces and the wear and tear is so tremendous. The solution from Edeva seemed clever to me because the swing a trap door down so the bump comes from the solid ground and not from a moving part.

I'm curious how this liquid solution handles emergency vehicles and the wear+tear. A mechanical solution is good but very expensive. A liquid solution seems like it could be made cheaper.

ChuckMcM2• 9 years ago

I've always wondered what it would look like to tie one of those roadside speed monitoring trailers (they have a sign telling you the speed limit, and your speed) which were in contact with a 'speed bump' filled with hydraulic fluid. The faster you go over the limit, the harder and taller the speed bump :-)

If you did this with a camera system you could avoid penalizing emergency vehicles.

lucb1e• 9 years ago

If you did this with a camera

Yeah I've always felt like speed cameras should have been the "disruptive technology" for speed bumps but we're lagging behind for some reason, instead choosing to penalize everyone using the road.

How often are speed bumps not doable at the speed the street allows, e.g. having to go 15-20kmh over the bump in a 30 zone, or more extreme, 5kmh in a 50 zone when they want you to watch out for drunk pedestrians during events when said pedestrians aren't there (or drunk) yet/anymore...

KozmoNau74• 9 years ago

The main issue is that everything movable or deformable is going to get absolutely wrecked by vehicles, in short order.

Even old-fashioned speed bumps get severe ridges worn into them by vehicles that go too fast. They need to be repaired after a year or two. And even if that doesn't happen, they experience severe forces from wheels, every single day.

You (and the non-newtonian bump mentioned in the article) suggest basically a rubber bag filled with fluid. Instead of getting ridges worn into them, they're going to get punctured and destroyed.

There's a reason the system mentioned in the article is only shown in parking garages. It only works indoors (because of UV), and it only works at relatively low speeds, where the forces are lower, and the risk of undercarriage hits is very small.

I hate speed bumps, but it's extremely hard to find a workable alternative. Personally, I prefer chicanes.

j_s• 9 years ago

Or a significantly more expensive (and correspondingly reliable) infrastructure investment in two traffic lights, where speeding past the first one triggers the second. Also requires: two intersections; cameras and/or law enforcement to enforce an actual penalty.

Cthulhu_• 9 years ago

Speed cameras, they earn themselves back easily. If they add warnings that there will be a speed camera it'll have the same slowing effect as speed bumps. Doesn't need to be a real camera even.

lightbyte2• 9 years ago

That sounds like a great way to kill someone.

TeMPOraL2• 9 years ago

Not easy to find a video of how it works on the site, but here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRHphB-YqN8

Here are three problems I see:

- it has electronics and actuated parts - will be a maintenance issue

- it can be overridden remotely - yet another thing in the city to hack for fun or profit

- there's a distance between speed measuring zone and the bump zone that's big enough the device might react confusingly in dense traffic

LoSboccacc• 9 years ago

the live edge looks like can ding a rim of a poorly inflated tire.

Torkel2• 9 years ago

Here's some additional information on Edeva's first export order:

https://www.highways.today/2017/09/08/dynamic-speed-bumps-cr...

David saw a surge in web-traffic and traced it back to this HN thread, and then pinged me about this :)

kruczek• 9 years ago

Regarding bus drivers: I've seen speed bumps which don't cover whole width of the road - they are just wide enough so that cars can't avoid them, but buses (which are wider) can pass them freely. Obviously this assumes that buses and other large vehicles are not the ones speeding.

edwhitesell• 9 years ago

The biggest hurdle to speedbump placement for speeders in residential areas is emergency service response times (ISO response times and such).

Now, if you had a speed bump that could become perfectly smooth when emergency vehicles are approaching, but have some other slowing effect for normal traffic, that would be interesting.

agumonkey3• 9 years ago

Question I asked myself for years, why not use the idea in car bumpers. Maybe not fully loaded with fluids but non newtonian approach to shock absorption.

yjftsjthsd-h• 9 years ago

I would speculate that it's precisely because you don't want a car to be rigid on impact.

agumonkey3• 9 years ago

You want a controled response curve. Something that gradually stiffens so the objects get slowed down as much as possible

vacri• 9 years ago

More trouble than it's worth. The current style of lightweight rubber or plastic bumper is already elastic for small collisions and absorbs some energy from larger ones, deforming as it goes. Replacing that with a comparitively complex sac of non-newtonian fluid will be more expensive to manufacture, more liable to vandalism, heavier, harder to repair, so on and so forth.

It's also potentially able to make a big mess from a small accident that a regular bumper would shake off. Jam an iron bar into a regular bumper and you'll scuff it. Jam it into a non-newtonian sac, and you might rupture it.

jv22222• 9 years ago

I don't think that could work in th UK or Ireland... because bored kids would have too much fun cutting it open.

Klathmon• 9 years ago

Would a hinged hardcover solve that problem?

PoachedSausage• 9 years ago

Or cover it with chainmaille.

aerovistae• 9 years ago

i mean, the real problem I feel like is that there are people walking too, and this is kind of a major trip hazard for the elderly and disabled, and/or pretty much everyone. "I'll just step here and WHOA WHAT HAPPENED WHY IS IT JELLY?!"

I suspect this was a problem that didn't need to be solved.

snaily• 9 years ago

A similar idea (Custard-Filled Speed Bumps) dates from 2001 at the Half Bakery: http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Custard-Filled_20Speed_20Bump... - are there any earlier sightings?

george_ciobanu• 9 years ago

Did nobody notice the lady at 00:40 and the bizarre gestures she is asked to do during the demonstration?

danfking• 9 years ago

I had to scroll all the way down just to see if anyone else had noticed. I want to know what the marketing team were on when they did that vid.

PMan74• 9 years ago

The whole idea of having the pretty lady in the tight top to demo the product itself is what threw me. Such a throwback.

free_everybody• 9 years ago

Cool idea, but knowing my part of the world, people would LOVE to pop these. Lol.

smilekzs2• 9 years ago

Purely out of curiousity: Is it physically possible for a sufficiently smart active suspension system defeat a conventional (i.e. solid bump on the road) speed bump?

grzm• 9 years ago

Taken a step further, could LIDAR/RADAR systems detect speed bumps and inform the suspension system?

URSpider94• 9 years ago

Watch the Bose suspension videos; they include a car vaulting over road obstacles.

AstralStorm• 9 years ago

Unless you're driving a truck, suspension doesn't have enough distance to switch to soft and nullify the bump for bumps of reasonable size.

That if it wasn't super hard to change suspension properties on the fly.

mikeytown2• 9 years ago

I'd bet these trucks defeat it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophy_Truck

saagarjha• 9 years ago

If I remember correctly I saw a Bose demo where they were able to roll their car over speed bumps and it would stay completely level. I’m not sure if that completely negated their impact, but it looked like it from the video.

ghgr• 9 years ago

Indeed, here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KPYIaks1UY

KozmoNau74• 9 years ago

It only worked so well because they rigged the tests. The suspension was tuned for exactly each demonstration, it wouldn't work under normal mixed conditions. The system was also extremely heavy and used a boatload of power for the actuators.

A well-setup conventional suspension system works nearly as well for anything you would encounter in the real world, and it's a lot less expensive. Even Citroën (the kings of hydropneumatic active suspension) will be going with traditional suspension only from their next generation C5, despite being stalwarts of active suspension tech since the 1950s.

Having driven a C3 through southern Germany on vacation recently, I see their point. That silly little car was significantly more comfortable than my older, larger Peugeot sedan, and more comfortable than even the 1st-gen C5 my parents drive.

Conventional suspension tech has come a long, long way.

julius• 9 years ago

Mercedes has a neat solution for speed bumps as well.

"Two cameras located at the top of the windscreen scan the streets and setup the suspension to absorb the bumps."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsMfHg6jIE

jablan• 9 years ago

Neat meaning "does not have to slow down and can keep on killing pedestrians"?

honestoHeminway2• 9 years ago

Despots of this world know how to drive in style.

mrguyorama• 9 years ago

Speed bumps are hell on cars even when they are going slowly. This can reduce the wear on the suspension and ride components without removing the "Go slower" motivation of the bump

KozmoNau74• 9 years ago

The Citroën C6 and the current generation C5 with hydropneumatic suspension senses the bump with the front wheels and sets up the rear suspension to absorb the bump almost completely.

Slightly more low-tech, but it works amazingly well in practice.

rbanffy• 9 years ago

Would it last the couple years a rigid speed bump does? Do we really have a problem with rigid speed bumps anyway?

alex_duf• 9 years ago

I stopped watching the video when they put a sexy lady dipping a finger in the liquid.

Seriously it's 2017, you're trying to sell technology and you still objectify women.

ainiriand• 9 years ago

Welcome to Spain, my friend. Wait until you see what we do to animals.

blkhawk• 9 years ago

So you are one of these "current year" people?

Also I want to point out that your assumption of gender from pure appearance is abhorrent.

mplewis• 9 years ago

Please don't concern troll.

ShannonAlther• 9 years ago

Devil's advocate: maybe she's one of the designers and happened to volunteer because she likes being a face. I think it's unusual that they'd go this route, and maybe it would sell better if the model was a man in a suit, but if this is the way to go then I'm not holding it against them.

Icedcool• 9 years ago

Grow up, and quit attempting to apply and project your moralism and sexism to other cultures.

rexreed• 9 years ago

That's cause this video is from 2010. Yes, this is SEVEN YEARS old proposed technology. Read the comments - this didn't go anywhere. Even with the creepy model.

2_listerine_pls• 9 years ago

you still objectify women

I would rather live in a world where women are still an attraction.

euyyn• 9 years ago

Men are an attraction to about half the population of this world.

ivix• 9 years ago

She looks kind of average really. Yes she is wearing makeup. Is that a problem?

Would you like to perhaps list the types of appearance that you deem permissible?

amelius• 9 years ago

Reminds me of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2XQ97XHjVw

takk309• 9 years ago

This just looks like a solution for a problem that does not exist. Speed bump geometry can satisfy the need for a smooth ride at slow speeds. There are three general types of traffic calming devices that would get slotted into the "speed bump" category: 1) traditional speed bumps, 2) speed humps, and 3) speed tables. I won't bother explaining a traditional speed bump as many of us are already familiar with them. A speed hump is generally longer, in the direction of travel, than a speed bump but not so long that a normal passenger vehicle will have both axles on the hump at the same time. A speed table is long enough, again in the direction of travel, that both axles of a passenger vehicle will be on top of the table. With both humps and tables the transition can be designed for a given effect. A sudden transition will be more severe to motorists, while a long, gradual transition can make the hump or table comfortable for the motorist. With all of these traffic calming options emergency vehicles are a concern. However, traffic calming measures like these should not be placed on roadways that will be frequently traveled by emergency vehicles. These traffic calming measures should be placed on low-volume, low-speed local roads.

dahart2• 9 years ago

I look forward to the problem of speed bumps disappearing when self driving cars take over. In the mean time, I know everyone hates it, but automated camera based speeding ticket systems would be cheaper and more effective than non-Newtonian speed bumps. We're also at a point in technology where cars could easily know the local speed limit and enforce it themselves.

drzaiusapelord• 9 years ago

I think its a little naive to expect these cars not to be modified for a speed advantage. The same way I can get stuck behind a pickup that's clearly not giving the emissions from its factory settings due to its owner's modifications and most likely illegal ones but with very little political will to stop. Or how people speed nowadays without consequences.

Automated cars will have the same issues. We'll see a 3rd party mod and chip market immediately. "Go 20% over the limit" and "cut through alleys" and "aggressively pass and change lanes" or "ride the shoulder in heavy traffic" mods will be everywhere.

Heck, we're kinda there now. Recently Google maps asked me to use an alley as a through street, which I found a little off-putting. Alleys aren't designed for thru traffic, have cars and people backing in and out, have children playing basketball, etc.

dahart2• 9 years ago

Emissions is a problem that could go away with technology as well.

But speed advantage over other cars on the road is a mostly emotional desire that matters to human drivers. Cars with speed advantage are marketed as such right now. I do think that marketing will disappear when cars go driverless.

And don't forget we are in this case talking about people illegally speeding. You are not legally entitled to use your speed advantage to drive at twice the speed limit in a neighborhood with a school zone, even if there's a smoky pickup in front of you. And yet, if we don't put speed bumps in the way, some people will choose to do so anyway, putting others at risk. A kid in my neighborhood was killed just a couple of weeks ago by someone speeding, and there are several speed bumps near me that were installed immediately after children were hit.

davesque• 9 years ago

Interesting but how is this really better than just laying down a few extra layers of asphalt to create a traditional speed bump?

Also, I feel like there's a risk here that the average person will have trouble understanding how such an unusual speed bump works. Therefore, it may end up causing damage to more cars.

m-p-3• 9 years ago

The idea isn't bad, but like most new car tech it doesn't consider the harsher climates from northern countries.

Cold and snow are tough problems to solve when implementing those.

Smarter speed bump using non-Newtonian liquid

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