7.1.3 Ensuring safety
Ensuring that a user can’t blow up the TV is of course essential. The very form and design of the TV, its power systems, circuitry and construction, protect against these risks. System settings will have restrictions, hidden to users, that prevent the software damaging the TV and protecting the user.
On a related note, TVs now often shut down automatically after periods of inactivity (to protect against screen burn), and notify viewers when they've been on for a length of time, suggesting to switch the device off.
Activity 19 Car door locks
It is common in modern cars to have central locking. This usually involves pressing a button on a key fob and sending a signal to the car from a short distance which locks or unlocks all doors simultaneously. A button on the control panel may work in a similar way to lock and unlock all the doors from inside.
- Can you identify any safety considerations for the lock-control program in the car’s microcomputer?
- What kind of information might a driver need about the door locks?
Discussion
- It might be dangerous to allow someone to unlock the doors while the car is in motion. For example, a child might press the button on the control panel, unlocking the doors, then accidentally open the door and fall out. With very small children, it might be dangerous for the child to be able to unlock any door (even when the car is stationary) without the driver knowing. Thus one safety consideration might be to ensure that it is not possible to override child-proof locks accidentally or through carelessness.
- The driver might simply need a light to tell them whether the locks are engaged or not.