Kit cars are nothing new, companies have been producing reproductions of vehicles that are no longer made and original designs for years. A new kit car is being teased that will make its official debut at the Montreal International Auto Show next year. The car is called the Tomahawk and promises supercar style and performance […]
In time for this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan is, for the first time, showing the North American audience its brand new line of sports-level performance cars. From an ultra powerful sportscar to a highly advanced compact, these three new cars take years of NISMO motorsports experience and puts them on the racetrack or […]
Honda has been using VTEC technology in its naturally aspirated engines for a long time to help improve performance and efficiency. The company has now announced the introduction of three new VTEC Turbo engines as part of its Earth Dreams Technology range. The engines are available in 1.0L, 1.5L, and 2.0L displacements. Honda says that […]
Jeep has announced a new special edition of its venerable and very popular Wrangler. The new special edition is called the Wrangler Willys Wheeler Edition and is intended to highlight the Jeep brand’s Willys ties. The special edition is based on the Wrangler Sport and has a number of additional goodies to improve its off-road […]
Honda has just unveiled the latest refresh of its Civic Coupe and Civic Si Coupe models at the 2013 Special Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. Compared to last year’s models, the new cars sport a slightly modified look as well as boosted performance that should give fans of the line something to […]
Nissan is set to reveal a new coupe that is rumored to resemble the company’s 2011 Esflow concept car. Codenamed Z35, the new coupe is aimed at twentysomethings, Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer told Motor Trend. It will compete with the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ. The Z35 will debut at the 2013 Tokyo […]
Although a number of companies, which include Google, are setting their eyes forward to the future with fully or partially self-driving automobiles, car manufacturers still have their feet planted firmly on the ground of present-day concerns, which, of course, includes road safety. Responding to the need for safer driving and car technologies, Toyota has developed […]
So many people end up in car accidents every year. One of the common reasons was because the driver wasn’t paying enough attention. Some apparently can’t let go of their smartphones when they’re on the road, while others are too busy tinkering with their radios, or putting on makeup.
What drivers have to realize is that they have the obligation to be responsible on the road, because it’s not only their lives that they’re putting in harm’s way. Pedestrians, cyclists, other drivers and passengers of other cars are all put in danger because of one reckless driver’s actions.
With this in mind, Emotiv and the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia came up with what’s probably the world’s first “concentration-dependent” car. It comes with an EPOC neuroheadset developed by Emotiv that connects with custom software that’s installed on the car.
The headset measures the electrical activity in the driver’s brain to gauge their level of concentration. When the driver is distracted, the car automatically slows down to about 9mph to remind the driver to focus on the road. Aside from that, the car will only run at its full capacity when the system determines that the driver is truly concentrating on driving.
Pat Walker, who is RAC’s executive general manager, says: “The impact of inattention is now comparable to the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by speed and drink driving, which are all contributors to Western Australia consistently having the worst fatality rate of any Australian state. Nationally, it is estimated inattention was a factor in 46 percent of fatal crashes.”
I think this is a great idea and has the potential to change how people drive. What do you think?
[via C|NET]
Now that Nissan’s partially automated Leaf has the proverbial green light to traverse some of Japan’s roadways, we figured we’d place our lives in the hands of various computer systems in order to have one whisk us around a test track at CEATEC. This year’s autonomous Leaf demo was a step up from last year, with our test vehicle trained to not only stay between the lines, but also pause and evaluate the situation when faced with a fellow car.
An on-site representative informed us that off-the-shelf PC components are being used to calculate its motions at the moment, and yes, it’s a Windows-based system underneath (for now, anyway). A suite of prohibitively expensive lasers keep the car from veering outside of its lane, while onboard processing determines whether a stopped or slowed vehicle is passable or not. The company has tested the automated Leaf at speeds as high as 70 kilometers per hour, but we barely broke 15 on the track. Speaking of which, you can catch a bit of footage from our ride just after the break.
Mat Smith and Richard Lai contributed to this report. %Gallery-slideshow99622%
Filed under: Transportation
One of the things buyers of electric vehicles need to be able to use their vehicle is a charging station at home. Charging stations can range from an extension cord and a standard wall outlet up to more powerful 240 V level II charging systems. A company named ClipperCreek is unveiled a new electric vehicle […]
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