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posted by janrinok on Sunday November 03 2019, @04:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the now-why-didn't-I-think-of-that? dept.

Submitted via IRC for soylent_yellow

14-Year-Old Genius Solves Blind Spots

Using some relatively inexpensive and readily available technology you can find at any well-stocked electronics store, Alaina Gassler, a 14-year-old inventor from West Grove, Pennsylvania, came up with a clever way to eliminate the blind spot created by the thick pillars on the side of a car's windshield.

Gassler's actually too young to have a driver's license in most states and has never experienced the frustration of trying to see around those pillars while driving, but that didn't stop her from tackling a problem that automakers have largely ignored. Her solution involves installing an outward-facing webcam on the outside of a vehicle's windshield pillar, and then projecting a live feed from that camera onto the inside of that pillar. Custom 3D-printed parts allowed her to perfectly align the projected image so that it seamlessly blends with what a driver sees through the passenger window and the windshield, essentially making the pillar invisible.

Her invention was part of a project called "Improving Automobile Safety by Removing Blind Spots," which Gassler presented at this year's Society for Science and the Public's Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars) science and engineering competition. (It's basically a next-level science fair minus the cheesy papier-mâché volcanoes.) Her ingenuity was enough to earn her the competition's top honor, the Samueli Foundation Prize, which also netted Gassler $25,000.

A YouTube video of this invention in use is available.


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  • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Sunday November 03 2019, @05:06AM (3 children)

    by Sulla (5173) on Sunday November 03 2019, @05:06AM (#915221) Journal

    The fix has had a solution for a long time but the problem has always been cost and not what could be done to fix it. Unless she also invented a cheaper folding LCD for the pillar that doesn't interupt the airbag.

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  • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Sunday November 03 2019, @07:37PM (2 children)

    by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Sunday November 03 2019, @07:37PM (#915420) Journal

    Yeah, that also lot of GorillaGlass III to try and protect the things.

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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 04 2019, @06:05AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 04 2019, @06:05AM (#915630)
      You seriously suggesting gorilla glass when pillar airbags have been mentioned?
      • (Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Monday November 04 2019, @10:11PM

        by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 04 2019, @10:11PM (#915976) Journal

        Not particularly, but they do need protection. Every grocery run hauling bags out of the car or horny teenager is going to be banging the heck out of these.

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