Google applied for the patent in 2012 and which was published on Nov. 24,2015.Google has been granted a patent which describes a system that makes self-driving cars would be able to display messages to pedestrians at areas such as crosswalks. The system shows how its self-driving cars would communicate with pedestrians by using screens or a speaker system, and potentially help to avoid collisions.
The patent also outlines a speaker system that could communicate with pedestrians using alerts such as "coming through" or "safe to cross" if it is unclear who should go. There is also the suggestion of a robotic hand or eye that could make a pedestrian aware the car has "seen" them, according to The Post.
The patent appears to be similar to a system Nissan showed off last month. There are no sketches of how the system would work within the application.
Google recently announced that its self-driving cars had logged 100000miles on the open road with no accidents caused by it. But the company has yet to show how the vehicles might signal complex actions to other drivers and pedestrians. Now, a recently granted patent may provide some additional insight.
