Nissan Blocks Smartphone Distractions With Faraday Cage Arm Rest

Let me ask you something, but I want an honest answer. Have you ever used your phone for texting or checking your social media accounts while driving? Never? I don't believe it.

According to Britain's Royal Automobile Club (RAC), the number of drivers admitting to handling their phone in the car has increased from 8 percent in 2014 to 31 percent in 2016. Drivers these days are more and more tempted to check their text messages or notifications while driving and Nissan statistics show nearly one in five drivers (18 percent) have texted behind the wheel.

So, is there a solution? Nissan has one. It's called the Nissan Signal Shield and provides optional connectivity, "giving drivers the choice between being able to contact and be contacted from the road, or creating a 'phone-free' space and time." Basically, it means "a digital detox and a drive that's free of incoming distractions."

To achieve this, the system uses a technology that's almost 200 years old – the so-called Faraday cage, an invention dating back to the 1830s. The arm rest of a vehicle is turned into a Faraday cage and when a mobile device is placed in the compartment and the lid closed, the still conceptual system creates a "silent zone," as the company calls it, blocking all of the phone's incoming and outgoing cellular, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connections.

If you want to listen to music stored on your smartphone, you will still be able to connect to the car's infotainment system through the USB or auxiliary ports. And when you want to restore your connections, you simply have to open the armrest and the phone can reconnect with the mobile network and the car's Bluetooth system.

Clever, right?

Check out the press release section below for more details.