The NYPD is one of the most well-financed police departments in the world. Demonstrating just how much money the department had, they’re showing off their new “smart car” prototype which they hop will become the next-generation patrol car. Infrared sensor-scanners and cameras all around the vehicle can do things like record and check license plates against a database in real time, capture videos which can be livestreamed to headquarters, and much more.
To the untrained eye, it looks like almost any other New York Police Department cruiser combing the city’s streets—but this squad car has just as much brains as it does brawn. It is the department’s prototype “smart car,” outfitted with the latest gadgets in public safety. It has two infrared monitors mounted on the trunk that record any numbers it sees—such as license plates and addresses. It has surveillance cameras and air sensors capable of sending real-time information to police headquarters. The NYPD says it is the cruiser of the very near future.
