14-Year-Old Pennsylvania Girl Finds Solution for Blind Spots In Cars

Blind spots have always been a problem for drivers. A cyclist or a pedestrian may think that the driver of a car sees them but actually if they overlap the blind spots of the car, the driver won't be able to see them. Most of the traffic accidents today are caused by this situation.

A lot of new cars now have blind-spot detection called Blind Spot Information System. The sensor device detects other vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists that the driver can't see and warn the driver. These warnings can be visual, audible or vibrational.

SEE ALSO: 11 NOTABLE WOMEN SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE WON NOBEL PRIZES IN THEIR FIELDS

Now, a 14-year-old girl Alaina Gassler from West Grove, Pennsylvania has a new invention that can be used inside of the cars for the blind spots. She participated in the Broadcom MASTERS(Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars) competition for middle schoolers organized by the Society for the Science and the Public.

Her project was called "Improving Automobile Safety by Removing Blind Spots." 

With her own words, she explained the project; "I did that by having a camera behind the a-pillar of a car and the camera sent the video to a projector that projected the image onto the pillar essentially making it invisible and making the driver see behind it."

She only used a camera, a projector, a 3D printer to print a special part to help focus the projector at close ranges and a retro-reflective fabric to fix the issues with projecting the image on the interior frame because the image was blurry for other passengers in the car except for the driver.

Alaina Gassler took the top place in the nationwide competition and she won the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize for her excellent project.

What do you think? Women are becoming more visible and effective in science, and we love it!