Imagine getting hit by a car as you cross the street, only instead of being thrown up in the air or several metres away, you literally get stuck to the hood or front fender ― like flies on flypaper ― until the vehicle safely comes to a stop.
This is not a crazy sci-fi movie invention, but a device that Google was just granted a patent for in hope of reducing pedestrian injuries in car collisions, The Verge reports. You can see graphics if you click on the link or visit the website of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
According to Google, many crash injuries are not caused by the collision itself, but when the pedestrian is thrown from the car onto the ground.
There could be some problems for other road users, mind you. Stanford School of Law professor and self-driving car expert Bryant Walker Smith told The Mercury News that a pedestrian stuck to a car will likely affect the driver’s view and could thus lead to another impact.
And what about bugs and road debris? Will they stick, too? Google envisions an exterior "eggshell" covering that would go on top of the adhesive layer and break instantaneously in the event of a crash, the patent says.