Patent ID: 8111147

Claim:
An active material based lane-departure warning system adapted for use by an operator and with a vehicle traveling within a lane delineated by at least one lane-marking, said system comprising: at least one sensor operable to detect the location of the lane-marking relative to the vehicle; a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor, and configured to execute a warning algorithm, wherein a spatial relationship between the vehicle and lane-marking is determined, the relationship is compared to a predetermined threshold, and an activation signal is caused by the controller to be generated when the threshold is exceeded; and a warning device including an active material element operable to undergo a reversible change in property when exposed to or occluded from the activation signal, and communicatively coupled to the controller, said device and controller being cooperatively configured to generate an alert as a result of the element being activated by the signal; wherein the device includes an Magneto-Rheological Hydraulic Power Steering system, the element is Magneto-Rheological fluid housed and circulated within the MR-HPS system, and the device is configured to change the viscosity of the fluid when the signal is generated.