God knows we should all be driving slower, but we’re only human. Even the threat of a fine can’t stop us. So to counteract this self-destructive streak of ours, Hyundai is working on a car that automatically slows itself down in the face of speed cameras.
A Hyundai spokesman offered some insight into this awesome little bit of tech at a recent launch event in Seoul for the Hyundai Genesis (which, unfortunately, will not be coming with the camera-detecting software):
It knows there is a speed camera there, it knows where the speed camera is and it will adopt the correct speed.
A few add-ons exist to beep furiously at you whenever they see a speed camera, but this is the first instance of a car automatically taking the wheel, so to speak. Cars like the Genesis already have automated emergency braking installed for instances like when it detects a car close ahead during cruise control. Hyundai is simply taking that ability and meshing it with the map of speed cameras in its navigation software.
Of course, this works great for places like Japan and Australia, which are legally required to disclose the location of speed cameras on a national level.
While there’s still no word on when we might be seeing this on the road (foreign or otherwise road), it’s still an awesome application of already-existing tech. And it beats the hell out of a fine. [Drive via The Verge]