How safe is your car?
New Herbie 2.0 out to keep you safe
With almost 27,000 road accidents happening each day in the U.S alone, a group of students from Shanghai Singapore International School have come up with a new car design in hopes of creating safer roads. The electric car, equipped with many safety features, aims to lower the number of accidents happening each day. Pedestrians, passengers and drivers are all exposed to the dangers of cars. In the U.S over 130,000 pedestrians and bicyclist were involved in car accidents in 2012, creating a total cost of over $30 billion for the country. Majority of these accidents were caused by blind spots in cars and the lack of safety equipment and features for the pedestrians and bicyclist.
Three students from Shanghai Singapore International School have designed a new, safe and environmentally friendly vehicle to battle the increasing number of road accidents. Here are some of the car’s features:
Electric Powered
The design of the car began with the difficult decision of what fuel the automobile would be running on. Automobiles are one of the largest contributors to air pollution; with such bad air quality, human and animal lives will be greatly affected, leading to the need for alternate forms of fuel. We decided that electric cars would be the greatest way to decrease air pollution caused by carbon monoxide released by cars running on gas and diesel. Electricity is a renewable form of energy that can be drawn out from the use of solar panels, windmills, etc; making it one of the best forms of fuel to run our car.
External Airbags
Airbags placed in the interior of the car help protect the driver and passengers in it, however, those involved in the accident from outside of the vehicle aren’t well protected. The use of external airbags would help decrease the energy of the impact by almost 30% making a huge difference in a life and death situation. Airbags would be strategically placed to protect the car from large impacts and also any pedestrians from getting hurt badly. We plan to reduce the impact on pedestrians by placing external airbags along the top hood and the side of the car in hopes of protecting the pedestrians’ heads from the impact. Volvo is already implementing external airbags in some models, helping save many lives in the event of an accident.
Fire Safety
In the event of a car fire, Herbie 2.0 is fitted with dry chemical fire extinguishers to stop the fire as soon as possible. As there are many different types of fire extinguishers for different types of fires, the decision to use a dry chemical extinguisher is due to the many possible type of fires that may happen in a car. It would not be wise to use a water-based fire extinguished in the case of a electrical fire caused by battery failure. Carbon dioxide based extinguishers were also not acceptable as the victims in the car would not be able to breathe with too much carbon dioxide trapped in the car. This lead to the final decision to use dry chemical extinguishers that is suitable for most types of fires. Vents will be installed in the roof of the car and will open in the case of a fire in order to create room for ventilation. Sensors in the vehicles main computer that detects fires will activate these vents.
Car Sensors
The car will be fitted with state of the art sensors that help predict and warn drivers before an accident is about to happen. The sensor detects the speed of vehicles around its surrounding over a period of time. This helps it calculate if an oncoming car is about to collide, activating the external airbags, which would help decrease the force of impact. The sensor also automatically slows the car down or brakes if it detects a chance of collision with a car ahead. Creating a lower chance of road accidents, stopping one before it happens. On impact, if a human-like leg form (an object that resembles the shape of a leg) is detected, airbags around the windshield wipers would be deployed, airbags strategically placed in order to prevent any head injuries upon collision with a pedestrian.
Car Body
To create a lower center of gravity in order to improve the car’s balance and better handling, the car’s batteries are placed flat at the base of the car while each motor is placed next to each wheel. This allows the weight to be balanced all around, lowering the chance of the car losing control or lifting off the ground.
When asked about the vehicle, Jerriel Ho, one of the designers in the team, stated that the inspiration for the car came from movie about a living car, Herbie. They decided to use the name Herbie as the car has functions that help make decisions on its own. Although the final car design is still in the works, the team of three are currently pitching their model to car manufacturers to help make the idea of the Herbie 2.0 come true.
New Herbie 2.0 out to keep you safe
With almost 27,000 road accidents happening each day in the U.S alone, a group of students from Shanghai Singapore International School have come up with a new car design in hopes of creating safer roads. The electric car, equipped with many safety features, aims to lower the number of accidents happening each day. Pedestrians, passengers and drivers are all exposed to the dangers of cars. In the U.S over 130,000 pedestrians and bicyclist were involved in car accidents in 2012, creating a total cost of over $30 billion for the country. Majority of these accidents were caused by blind spots in cars and the lack of safety equipment and features for the pedestrians and bicyclist.
Three students from Shanghai Singapore International School have designed a new, safe and environmentally friendly vehicle to battle the increasing number of road accidents. Here are some of the car’s features:
Electric Powered
The design of the car began with the difficult decision of what fuel the automobile would be running on. Automobiles are one of the largest contributors to air pollution; with such bad air quality, human and animal lives will be greatly affected, leading to the need for alternate forms of fuel. We decided that electric cars would be the greatest way to decrease air pollution caused by carbon monoxide released by cars running on gas and diesel. Electricity is a renewable form of energy that can be drawn out from the use of solar panels, windmills, etc; making it one of the best forms of fuel to run our car.
External Airbags
Airbags placed in the interior of the car help protect the driver and passengers in it, however, those involved in the accident from outside of the vehicle aren’t well protected. The use of external airbags would help decrease the energy of the impact by almost 30% making a huge difference in a life and death situation. Airbags would be strategically placed to protect the car from large impacts and also any pedestrians from getting hurt badly. We plan to reduce the impact on pedestrians by placing external airbags along the top hood and the side of the car in hopes of protecting the pedestrians’ heads from the impact. Volvo is already implementing external airbags in some models, helping save many lives in the event of an accident.
Fire Safety
In the event of a car fire, Herbie 2.0 is fitted with dry chemical fire extinguishers to stop the fire as soon as possible. As there are many different types of fire extinguishers for different types of fires, the decision to use a dry chemical extinguisher is due to the many possible type of fires that may happen in a car. It would not be wise to use a water-based fire extinguished in the case of a electrical fire caused by battery failure. Carbon dioxide based extinguishers were also not acceptable as the victims in the car would not be able to breathe with too much carbon dioxide trapped in the car. This lead to the final decision to use dry chemical extinguishers that is suitable for most types of fires. Vents will be installed in the roof of the car and will open in the case of a fire in order to create room for ventilation. Sensors in the vehicles main computer that detects fires will activate these vents.
Car Sensors
The car will be fitted with state of the art sensors that help predict and warn drivers before an accident is about to happen. The sensor detects the speed of vehicles around its surrounding over a period of time. This helps it calculate if an oncoming car is about to collide, activating the external airbags, which would help decrease the force of impact. The sensor also automatically slows the car down or brakes if it detects a chance of collision with a car ahead. Creating a lower chance of road accidents, stopping one before it happens. On impact, if a human-like leg form (an object that resembles the shape of a leg) is detected, airbags around the windshield wipers would be deployed, airbags strategically placed in order to prevent any head injuries upon collision with a pedestrian.
Car Body
To create a lower center of gravity in order to improve the car’s balance and better handling, the car’s batteries are placed flat at the base of the car while each motor is placed next to each wheel. This allows the weight to be balanced all around, lowering the chance of the car losing control or lifting off the ground.
When asked about the vehicle, Jerriel Ho, one of the designers in the team, stated that the inspiration for the car came from movie about a living car, Herbie. They decided to use the name Herbie as the car has functions that help make decisions on its own. Although the final car design is still in the works, the team of three are currently pitching their model to car manufacturers to help make the idea of the Herbie 2.0 come true.