Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!dptg!att!shuxd!attdso!rolls!mtuxo!mtgzy!rlf
From: rlf@mtgzy.att.com (r.l.fletcher)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Car electronics projects
Summary: No Royalties, sorry.
Message-ID: <5374@mtgzy.att.com>
Date: 21 Jul 89 14:28:08 GMT
References: <768@xroads.UUCP> <20556@cup.portal.com> <1170@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM>
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T, Middletown NJ
Lines: 57

In article <1170@snjsn1.SJ.ATE.SLB.COM>, greg@bilbo (Greg Wageman) writes:
> 
> Here's one answer I've thought about building: a scrolling LED
> character display (like those advertising displays in the woodgrain
> box you see in some stores) which takes voice input from the driver
> and displays messages out the rear window.  The display would fit into
> the rear shelf, and face upwards.  A piece of optically clear glass at
> a 45-degree angle reflects the messages out to the rear.  (This is to
> avoid obstructing your rear view.)
> 
> Of course, you'd need some computer hardware to do this, and the
> vocabulary would be limited, but you could preprogram some common
> phrases like "Dim your lights", "Back Off!", "Your Turn Signal Is On",
> "You Turkey (or other appropriate epithet)".
> 
> The other approach would be to limit your voice recognizer to the 26
> letters of the alphabet, space, and perhaps some punctuation, and then
> spell out your messages.  A combination of the two approaches would be
> ideal.
> 

This one has long been a pet idea of mine also, but I would actually
replace my tail-lights and permanently mount the display in place
of them. In normal use they would handle the stop and turn signals
with some appropriate characters, say << and >> for turning and 
WHOA!! for stopping. A small console mounted keyboard would handle
programming of messages (voice rec nice but expensive) and several
"canned" messages would be available at the touch of a single button.
Any braking or signal activity would over-ride the messages.

I think it would be great for all cars to have this but there are 
likely some safety related issues (distractions). You would 
probably have a dozen young studs cutting across 6 lanes of traffic
to see what the display  on the red Mustang convertible with the
pretty young lass is scrolling :-).

It is actually not hard to build, we built a huge one in college
on a wall in the electrical building. It was 12 feet long and
8 feet high. We had quite a bit of fun with it until it was shutdown.
It seems someone slipped in there after hours and wrote some lewd
messages about the Dean, and the wall faced the Deans office.
There was hell to pay the next morning. (No, I had nothing to do with it)

> If anyone actually wants to build one of these, I want credit for the
> idea and royalties.  8-)

I used to think it was my own original idea until I saw it on an
old (late sixties) Matt Helm (Dean Martin) movie. I'm sure I
saw an ad in the back of an electronics rag for plans/kit
to build one.

> 
> Longish .signature follows.  Skip now.
Ok. I'll skip it.

					Ron Fletcher
					att!mtgzy!rlf