Police cars are far from what we see in sci-fi movies. They do not have really fancy gadgets and the only real hi tech addition that we saw adopted at a large scale was the addition of a laptop that is connected to the internet.
Now we will look a little further at technology that are hi tech and that we should see in the future. They would definitely change the experience that the officers have in their police cars.
Carbon Motors E7
We have to say that the E7 does not exist now but it may appear in the future. This is basically a Dodge Charger lookalike, diesel powered, a full purpose police car that can include built-to-order options like armored dashboards and front infrared cameras.
The problem is that police departments cannot actually afford to make large investments in their vehicles. Because of this, major automakers are not going to be interested in designing such a niche product, especially as different modifications would be needed based on who orders.
What is really interesting with the E7 is that it can reach 60 miles per hours in just six seconds. The top speed would be 155 miles per hour and the top price would be at around $70,000.
Carbon Motors is now looking for funding to get the money necessary to arrange large financial transactions. If this will work, in around 3 years we should see many E7 in the dotation of the police.
Project 54 Voice Command System
This is the work of researchers in the New Hampshire University. We are talking about a system that will let the police officer to use simple voice commands in order to perform various important tasks like turning sirens on, running license plates and clocking speeding cars. The software that would be used is really simple and all that it really needs is a laptop that could run Windows XP.
What is particularly interesting is that the software would only cost $500 per an agency license. It does not matter on how many vehicles it will be used. We have over 1000 vehicles that now use the system, with most operating in New Hampshire. As time passes, we should see it in many other US states.
Cameras That Automatically Recognize License Plates
ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition) is a system that practically uses cameras in order to run the license plates that are seen. The system involves 3 cameras, all with fixed positions and a focal length. The results that are offered are available close to real time, in around 20 milliseconds.
Unfortunately, the problem with this camera system is that it costs a lot, close to $25,000. This means that it will be hard to implement. However, it is currently available in various police cars in Arizona, New Jersey, Texas and California.
StarChase GPS Launcher
While this system is behind schedule in terms of development, it is still interesting and should be implemented in the future. We refer to a system that can stop a high speed pursuit because of the car being able to launch sticky GPS trackers to vehicles that are fleeing. While it is not that difficult to stop and take it off, the system does offer enough time for the police department to react fast to what happened and arrange roadblocks. Tests will soon be done in regions that show many police chases.
Rumbler Intersection Clearing System
Statistics show that police officers start to have problems with cars that simply do not get out of the way when they hear the siren. The Rumbler was created in Chicago with the purpose of making intersection clearing a lot simpler. Everything revolves around using different sound waves and tests showed that the police officers managed to clear intersections much faster when they used the Rumbler for only 10 seconds. The price for the system is very low, just $600, so if future tests will be great, the system will surely be implemented in many police cars.
