E-Paper
EU cars to install anti-crash radars
From mid-2005, car makers and users in European Union will be allowed to install short-range radars to help prevent collisions.
From mid-2005, car makers and users in the European Union (EU) will be allowed to install short-range radars to help prevent collisions, reports Xinhua.
The radar technology -- that will automatically apply a car's brakes if a likely collision is detected -- can be used following a decision by the European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the EU, says a press release.
With the decision, the European Commission provides a sound legal basis for an EU-wide market for short-range radar technology.
The decision allocates a specific radio frequency band to short-range radar devices and is the result of a two-year drive by the EC to bring the technology to Europe's roads.
The EC aims to halve the number of road accident victims by 2010.
"Short-range radar can save lives. This innovative technology, developed by industry partly with the help of EU-funded research, will reduce the frequency, severity and cost of road accidents. Today's decision opens radio bands to short-range radar while preventing radio interference to other essential users of these frequencies," European commissioner for information society and media, Viviane Reding was quoted as saying.
The use of short-range radar made possible by the EC is the first large-scale application of the ultra-wide band in Europe. The ultra-wide band is a low-power wireless technology that reuses spectrums already employed by other radio services.
