Lane Sailing For Phone Cams

Mobile phones get plenty of criticism for causing dangerous driving - but here's one that improves road safety. Boffins at DaimlerChrysler have modified a camera phone to watch carriageway markings through a car's windscreen. The unit rings when it thinks the vehicle is wandering out of its lane if, for example, the driver has dozed off.

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09th September 2004

Scientists at the firm's German research facility took the computer programme out of ordinary lane warning cameras - currently fitted to lorries - and managed to squeeze it on to a computer chip inside the Siemens handset. A special holder above the rear view mirror lets the phone continually scan the road.

The wide-eyed mobile is undergoing trials to make sure it can still see lane markings when the road is wet or as it gets dark. "That task should get easier now mobile cameras are improving," said a spokesman for Siemens. "We're delighted the devices are being used for road safety, and we think mobiles will become integrated into vehicles much more as they get new features, such as GPS." Mobile phones are already offered as optional extras with some new cars, and phone manufacturers are keen to boost the tie-in. Siemens currently borrows the model codes from Mercedes' range as names for its mobile handsets.