Research in image recognition technology lets cars pay attention to the road and react to dangerous situations while the driver is distracted. Mercedes-Benz showed off some of this research at the Frankfurt auto show with a driving simulator. A video in the simulator showed the viewpoint of the driver as it focused away from the road on distractions like a pretty girl on the sidewalk. The video also showed the car recognizing warning signals such as red traffic lights, causing the car to brake slightly or even come to a full stop, which was communicated through jolts to the car seat in the simulator. Now I know some people will complain that the driver, not the car, should be doing the driving, but I've seen enough people yakking away on cell phones or digging through the glove box in traffic to realize that technology like this can probably prevent collisions with other cars and pedestrians.

• Read also: Auto shows
• Email to a friend | Print this post