Google says its driverless cars will be many times safer than humans, dramatically cutting the millions of road deaths seen every year.
But that doesn’t mean they’ll never hit someone: at times accidents may be unavoidable, or a pedestrian could leap out in front of a vehicle.
But fear not: Google has patented a design for a sticky layer on the front of a car that would protect pedestrians when they are hit.
The patent, which was granted this week, acts like flypaper: instead of bodies bouncing off a car and resulting in further injury when they are hit, they would stay stuck to the vehicle until it can slow down and stop.
“In the event of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian, injury to the pedestrian is often caused not only by the initial impact of the vehicle and the pedestrian, but also by the ensuing secondary impact between the pedestrian and the road surface or other object,” the patent reads.
“The adhesive bonds the pedestrian to the vehicle so that the pedestrian remains with the vehicle until it stops, and is not thrown from the vehicle.”
The adhesive layer would cover the whole front of the car, but would itself be underneath a special coating only activated in the event of a collision, preventing bugs, leaves and avian deposits from becoming stuck to the car.