Škoda Found a Good Use for Big Grilles and Robots: Pedestrian Safety

Rather than subject us to useless grilles on its EVs, Škoda is experimenting with color-coded warnings that show when it's safe or dangerous to use the crosswalk. The Czech carmaker has built a crude prototype for now that hardly seems as cool as the renders, but the company says the device could be integrated on the Škoda Enyaq iV within a couple of years. That EV is built on the same platform as the Volkswagen ID.4, and while the VW doesn't suffer from a big grille, the technology would nonetheless be useful on the German EV, which is sold in the U.S. where pedestrian injuries and deaths are increasing at an alarming rate. The robot is known as the IPA2X, and it was designed to help kids, seniors, and people with disabilities cross roads safely. The 6.5-foot robot will be tall enough to look over rows of parked cars to detect oncoming traffic, and will be able to "talk" with modern cars, alerting drivers to the presence of pedestrians.