Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Does your police car really need to talk?

Now, every cop can pretend to be Knight Rider: From KXAN-Austin:
If you talk to it, it talks back, giving its driver important information, like a car's registration or a car's speed. The iForce can do this without ever being looked at.

A police officer only need ask iForce a question, and thereby not look down or away from the road while using it. iForce can give directions, shoot radar, record dashcam video, turn on the car's lights, and much more, just by being asked.

"If you're on an emergency call, you really want your focus on the road," said Lt. Patrick Cochran, Austin Police Department's police technology unit.

The system is built on an airplane cockpit platform.
The systems cost $10K per car to put in. Worth it?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just get each one of them an I-phone 4S and a bluetooth interface and save 9,500 dollars per car.

Gadfly said...

The snark of anonymous aside, I find it hard to believe that it needs to cost $10K. If it does now, somebody else will seriously cut that price soon enough, to, say $3K.

Anonymous said...

I would also be skeptical about it's voice recognition, especially when the speaker is under stress

easttexan said...

and why does Arlington need 2 drone helicopters?

Anonymous said...

Interesting but expensive gadget,,,, personally, I'd prefer a Spinner.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjae3zKZd2w&hd=1

Anonymous said...

I bet those on the other thread who were complaiining about the costs of DNA testing have no problem with this type of spending.

Hook Em Horns said...

The militarization of American law enforcement knows no limits.

A Texas PO said...

Having been on ride alongs with several cops, I can see how this system would make patrolling safer by leaving the officer's hands free to drive the car, especially in heavy traffic. But $10k? Too much. APD should wait until a cheaper system is available.

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