Car Catcher Nets May Help End Chases
April 08 2008 / by Accel Rose
Category: Transportation Year: General Rating: 2 Hot
All those live car chases we see on television may be coming to an end. A company called Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation that specializes in pop-up safety nets for all sorts of vehicles (cars, trucks, planes, UAV’s) has now developed a car catcher that can safely stop cars moving at speeds up to 50 mph. Check out the demonstration video:
I can easily see such devices built into LA highways, perhaps at narrow on- and off-ramps, or used sporadically at strategic locations all across the town. They would also work great as a non-lethal form of ambush in war zones – although shooting out or puncturing tires is probably a more effective way to go.
Combined with increasingly popular automobile kill switches that can remotely disconnect an engine from its fuel supply, devices like these nets have the potential to make the roads quite a bit safer, as well as to deter a good amount of auto theft.
Of course, one possible counter to that is to simply train robots to steal cars instead, or simply hack the car systems.
Comment Thread (1 Response)
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I’m not sure how many cars that are being chased by police are driving only 50 mph. I’m sure they’ll increase the strength soon, but until then it doesn’t sound very plausible. Although the kill switched definitely could have potential in those situations.
Posted by: Austra Zubkovs April 09, 2008
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