Hasta La Gadget!

Road safety continues to be a major concern for both researchers and car makers alike. Yesterday saw yet another real-world trial kicking off, this time on a much grander scale. A total of 3,000 vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan are taking part in a 12-month project run by the state’s Transportation Research Institute. The vehicles have Dedicated Short Range Communications and video recording facilities, which means the cars can communicate with each other, traffic signals, and share data to a central platform — which in turn issues warnings when high risk situations, or if traffic problems occur. Of course, this trial will also create a massive data set, which researchers will be able to plunder, and help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) better determine the viability of such systems. So while it’s unlikely to lead to self driving cars just yet, it’s a step in the right direction.

Filed under: Transportation

University of Michigan connects 3,000 cars for year-long safety pilot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The name Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G has no typo in it, although one would expect Neo to appear suddenly and pummel Agent Typo into oblivion if this were the perfect world. One of the smaller carriers Stateside, US Cellular, has just announced the availability of the Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G which will arrive in brick-and-mortar stores later this Friday. Sporting a QWERTY keyboard for easy and fast typing, the Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G will run on the 4G LTE network, and it will cost you a rather affordable $179 after a $100 mail-in rebate, while those living in areas where 4G LTE service is available, it is even cheaper at $129 after a $100 mail-in rebate. Now this is an interesting way to achieve a higher level of adoption among users, I guess.

Features of the Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G include the slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a front-facing camera, a 4″ touchscreen display, Google Play access, a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with camcorder capability. Now that the name Galaxy Metrix has arrived in the market, we look forward to the Galaxy Legend and Galaxy Velvet devices which were registered at the same time as the Galaxy Metrix back in April. Give the Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G a miss if you are part of the 46.8% who feel that you do not need 4G connectivity in your life. [Press Release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: US Cellular announces Samsung Galaxy S3 pre-orders for June 12th, Samsung Galaxy S3 will be headed to five carriers in June,

I guess the word “portable” is used extremely liberally here – especially since portable does not mean you are able to just pick it off the ground and pop it into your pocket. I am referring to the Portable Encapsulator, where it does what it promised – to be able to trap bullets. Initial observations have proved to be nothing short but positive, where it has been said that a few hundred rounds have been shot into this bullet trap without a single bullet going through the test unit. Just how is this made possible?

Well, the clever implementation of a five-high stack of patented Dura-Bloc ballistic rubber does the trick, where the Dura-Block is capable of capturing rounds with a minimum velocity of 600fps, going all the way to 308/7.62. These blocks are sufficiently large to be engaged by the average shooter at just about any range. You should not be able to miss your shot if you are a professional considering the rather generous 24′ x 45′ size makes. Ricochet, spatter and lead dust will not be able to stand up to the Portable Encapsulator, that’s for sure.

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There’s no shortage of great, well-designed headphones—but if you have a small face and are slight of build, finding a pair that doesn’t give you a terrible headache after a few songs can be difficult. Earbuds are light and easy, but then you’re left with all that ambiant noise. And many other headphones geared toward the female customer look more like they were designed for someone’s kid sister. Alas! More »

Since we are all about High Definition at the movies and in our living rooms these days, why not check out a historical landing made by NASA’s Curiosity Rover which was recorded in High Definition? Compiled from the probe’s MARDI descent camera, what you see above has been touted to be the best quality landing video to date, where it allows you to have a glimpse at what it feels like to ride alongside the Curiosity Rover right down to the Red Planet’s surface. Just to benefit those who do not have a decent Internet connection, the video above begins with the jettisoning of Curiosity’s heat shield, before Curiosity hovers around for a while under its parachute, prior to landing on Mount Sharp while taking in the breathtaking view of craters as well as the lower reaches of its final target. Folks suffering from vertigo might want to prepare an air sickness back as Curiosity dives lower, while the engines kick in to assist in its powered descent sequence. Interesting watch, don’t you think so?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Curiosity’s first Mars track marks , NASA reveals mission to study Mars’ core,