Nissan developing pedestrian warning system

Many of the safety considerations associated with carrying a cell phone are well-documented: having a phone on you allows you to stay in touch in an emergency, or even be tracked and found when tragedy strikes. Now a new benefit may be right around the corner — will your cell phone be able to protect you from roadside accidents?

Nissan’s Intelligent Transportation Systems is an ongoing project using GPS data to help improve warning systems built into the company’s automobiles. The latest bit of research involves scanning the surrounding area for signals emitted by a 3G cell phone, and then relaying that data back to the car’s automated safety system. The driver would receive a warning, which, theoretically, would help cut down on accidents caused by blind spots or inattention.

So, if you’re walking behind a parked car or bus stop, the oncoming car will see you, even if the driver does not. It’s almost like see-through vision.

Nissan is trying to figure out what kinds of data would help reduce car-vs-pedestrian accidents, including things like direction, movement, and speed.