Watching the Road
The Limited and SHO models of the 2010 Ford Taurus, which reached showrooms in July, feature an optional collision-warning system that has the first electronically scanned radar system to be built into a car. Manufactured by Delphi, the radar constantly switches between two fields of view: one that extends through 90° out to a distance of 60 meters (good for detecting objects coming in from the side, such as pedestrians) and one that extend across 20° out to a distance of 174 meters (for detecting targets directly in the vehicle’s path). Previous automotive radar systems used multiple beams or required mechanical switching to achieve two fields of view, but the Delphi radar uses an antenna array, which relies on constructive and destructive interference of radio waves to shape the beam.

Product: 2010 Ford Taurus
Cost: $32,000-$38,000
Source: www.delphi.com/4safe
Companies: Ford Motor Company, Delphi
Other products in this section:
From Battle Stations to Fire Stations
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google
Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.