Google has received a patent for a way of reducing injuries in pedestrians involved in accidents with self-driving cars.
The San Jose Mercury reports that the company has applied for and been granted a patent for any crash to “glue” the pedestrian to the vehicle.
“The adhesive layer may be a very sticky material and operate in a manner similar to flypaper, or double-sided duct tape,” according to the patent.
Google, in its patent application, says that robot cars will probably hit pedestrians until technology allowing them to avoid all accidents is perfected.
Normally, when a car hits a pedestrian, they are carried along with the car until it stops, at which point they are generally thrown clear and receive further injuries.
An adhesive coating that holds the pedestrian on to the car is proposed as the solution to this.
In Google’s patent, the adhesive would be covered with a thin, egg shell-like layer that would shatter to expose the adhesive in the event of an accident.
The adhesive would have to be “releasable”, according to the patent, so the pedestrian could be removed after the accident.
