Objective: This paper describes an experiment directed toward refinement and initial field testing of two potential countermeasures for the problem of rear-end (RE) crashes. The countermeasures consist of "imminent warning" signals intended to direct the following driver's visual glance to the lead vehicle as it brakes rapidly to a stop and for a short time thereafter.
Background: RE crashes are the most frequently occurring type of light vehicle crash, making up at least 25% of all crashes.
Method: A preliminary experiment was conducted to facilitate improvement of the attention-getting capability of an alternating pair of lamps. In the main experiment, an oscillating narrow beam lamp (a promising candidate from a previous experiment) and an improved alternating pair (improved as compared with that in a previous experiment) were compared with ordinary rear lighting. Seventy-two drivers were purposely distracted by in-vehicle tasks as the lead (surrogate) vehicle braked hard.
Results: Results showed improvements of 0.25 to 0.35 s in brake activation times for the two enhanced configurations as compared with ordinary rear lighting.
Conclusion: The two enhanced lighting configurations show promise in reducing the number and severity of RE crashes.
Application: The methods and results of this study can be applied to the future design and evaluation of automotive rear-end lighting designed to reduce RE crashes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1518/001872006778606831 | DOI Listing |
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, P. R. China.
Wirelessly driven flexible actuators are crucial to the development of flexible robotic crawling. However, great challenges still remain for the crawling of flexible actuators in complex environments. Herein, we reported a wireless flexible actuator synergistically driven by wireless power transmission (WPT) technology and near-infrared (NIR) light, which consists of a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-graphene oxide (PDMS-GO) composite layer, eutectic gallium-indium alloy (EGaIn), a PDMS layer, and a polyimide (PI) layer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Dermatol Res
January 2025
Department of Dermatology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 860 1St Avenue, Suite 8B, Philadelphia, PA, 19406, USA.
UV-A exposure is a major risk factor for melanoma, nonmelanoma skin cancer, photoaging, and exacerbation of photodermatoses. Since people spend considerable time in cars daily, inadequate UV-A attenuation by car windows can significantly contribute to the onset or exacerbation of these skin diseases. Given recent market trends in the automobile industry and known impact of car windows on cumulative lifelong UV damage to the skin, there is a need to comparatively evaluate UV transmission across windows in electric vehicles (EV), hybrid vehicles (HV), and gas vehicles (GV) as well as variability based on year of manufacture and mileage to inform car manufacturers and consumers of the potential for UV exposure to the skin based on vehicle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlgal Res
June 2024
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Università di Verona, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy.
The green alga (formerly ) is a primary source of astaxanthin, a ketocarotenoid with high antioxidant activity and several industrial applications. Here, the highly repetitive genome was reconstructed by exploiting next-generation sequencing integrated with Hi-C scaffolding, obtaining a 151 Mb genome assembly in 32 scaffolds at a near-chromosome level with high continuity. Surprisingly, the distribution of the single-nucleotide-polymorphisms identified demonstrates a diploid configuration for the genome, further validated by Sanger sequencing of heterozygous regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Omega
December 2024
Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
Silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells, as one of the most promising passivated contact solar cell technologies of the next generation, have the advantages of high conversion efficiency, high open-circuit voltage, low-temperature coefficient, and no potential-induced degradation. For the single-side rear-emitter SHJ solar cells, the n-type carrier selective layer, which serves as the light-incident side, plays a pivotal role in determining the performance of heterojunction devices. Consequently, a superior n-doped layer should exhibit high optical transmittance and minimal optical absorption, along with a substantial effective doping level to guarantee the formation of dark conductivity (σ) and electron-transport capacity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Comput Biol
December 2024
Department of Mathematics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Symmetry breaking, which is ubiquitous in biological cells, functionally enables directed cell movement and organized embryogenesis. Prior to movement, cells break symmetry to form a well-defined cell front and rear in a process called polarization. In developing and regenerating tissues, collective cell movement requires the coordination of the polarity of the migration machineries of neighboring cells.
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