A bit of the rage could be taken off of the road if the wheels keep turning at Samsung and the company's transparent big truck prototype rolls out on the ole highways and byways.
It's bad enough getting stuck behind diesel-propelled truck that creeps out of a rest and slowly accelerates to the speed limit. But getting behind one can be hazardous, as their rear ends can eclipse the view of things ahead in the road.
Samsung notes that many of Argentina's roadway incidents, which are among the highest in the world, occur on two-lane road and during attempts to overtake slower vehicles. So Samsung has said, in so many words, wouldn't it be good if we could look through lorries.
"With this in mind, Samsung developed a technology for trucks that seeks to enrich the lives of people through innovation," says Samsung on its Samsung Tomorrow blog. "But more than that, this time the goal is more ambitious: to save lives."
To address this issue, the company has worked out a prototype, "Safety Truck," that entails slapping digital displays onto the butts of big trucks and displaying feeds from camera's positioned at the front of the massive transport vehicles.
"This allows drivers to have a better view when deciding whether it is safe to overtake," says Samsung. "Another advantage of the Safety Truck is that it may reduce the risk of accidents caused by sudden braking or animals crossing the road."
Samsung says it can confirm that its Safety Truck idea works and has the potential to save a lot of lives, despite the fact that the original prototype is no longer functional.
"The next step is to perform the corresponding tests in order to comply with the existing national protocols and obtain the necessary permits and approvals," says Samsung. "For this, Samsung is working together with safe driving NGOs and the government."
It's unclear just how far Samsung intends to take the project. It could hand it off to other hardware manufacturers, as it has done with other innovations, or it may carry it all the way to market.
Sang Woo Kim, executive vice president and head of Corporate Affairs in Europe, has restated Samsung's case in an editorial entitled "Why Technology Can Be a Catalyst for Social Good." All of Samsung's innovations have been derived from truly understanding what people want, according to Kim.
"We want to connect and partner with people everywhere to learn and share knowledge," Kim stated. "And, we want to use our global network and huge investment in innovation - of more than $40 million a day - to unleash technology's possibilities for social good around the world."
