This is one of the funky ideas going around, and I actually like it. The prototype vibrating warning system for cars will actually vibrate and ‘hopefully’ wake you up from dozing off and flying out of your car while you’re asleep. Hopefully this new system can keep you awake from those wild rides.

From the Yales School of Engineering, this vibrating project joins flashing side mirrors (Audi) and “stay awake, have a coffee break” (Mercedes) as the latest in driver safety systems, protects drivers by vibrating cellphone-sized motors in the seat.

There are twenty motors arranged in a rectangle, to be precise, and they vibrate in different ways and configurations depending on what’s happening outside the vehicle. Say a car is approaching from the left-hand side, for example, and then the left array of motors, on your left cheek, would vibrate angrily, warning you of danger.

[via Gizmag]