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Google has patented a new sticky coating for the front of its driverless cars which it says could reduce the extent of pedestrian injury during a collision.
During an incident, pedestrians would become glued to the bonnet of the car – rather than bounce off it – which can potentially cause further injury.
The patent explains that the adhesive layer – that would be added to the bonnet, front bumper and front side panels – would be covered by a protective layer.
Upon impact, the protective layer would be broken to expose the sticky layer that would grip the person to the car until it stopped moving.
Google has been testing autonomous car technology in California, racking up hundreds of thousands of miles so far, as well as designing their own ‘bubble’ car to run the software involved.
Other firms, including Elon Musk’s Tesla as well as Audi, BMW and Volvo are also experimenting with the technology.
Earlier this year, a collision involving a self-driving car and a bus was reported in California, with the on-board computer in the Google car declared to be at fault for the first time.
