Apr 26

Scientists Steer Car With Their Eyes

Posted in: robot, Robots Robotics, science, Today's Chili
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Scientists in Germany have developed computer software that lets them steer a car with their eyes, ScienceDaily reports.
eyeDriver, the prototype software application, was designed by computer scientists at Freie Universitat Berlin in collaboration with SensoMotoric Instruments, the report said. The program collects the driver’s eye movements using SMI’s HED4, an upgraded bicycle helmet, and then converts them into control signals for the steering wheel.
The helmet itself contains two cameras and an infrared LED, and hooks into a laptop computer. One camera points forward, while the other films the eye’s movements; the infrared light supports the eye camera, according to the report.
So far, the software only works with the steering; the car’s throttle and brakes aren’t yet controllable in this manner.
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Apr 26

Car Review: Ford Fiesta Takes Sync to the Next Level

Posted in: Ford, sync, Today's Chili

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Ford’s on a roll. The subcompact 2011 Ford Fiesta is a treat to drive. It gets 40 mpg on the highway. And it kicks off an enhanced version of Ford Sync that gives you more neat and free features including turn-by-turn navigation – rudimentary but still free.

Ford faces three related challenges: Convincing Americans to pay a premium ($14,000 base, approaching $20,000 nicely equipped) for a subcompact car; convincing Americans a Ford-branded car is as good as a Honda or Toyota; and convincing us this Fiesta is better than its namesakes of the 1980s-1990s.

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Apr 15

Toshiba Delivers Massive HDD for the Car

Posted in: hard drive, navigation, storage, Today's Chili, Toshiba

TOSHIBA-AUTO.jpgGive your car an upgrade: Toshiba just announced a 200GB hard disk drive for the car, the largest automotive-grade drive on the market. Known by the poetic name of MK2060GSC, this 4,200-rpm SATA drive provides vehicle-systems manufacturers with high-capacity storage for telematics, navigation, and entertainment systems.

Toshiba has already shipped 14 million automotive-grade HDDs worldwide, and had 75 percent of the global market in 2009. With more classes of auto offering in-dash infotainment systems, that number should only increase.

With the MK2060GSC, Toshiba is delivering a 78 percent improvement on internal transfer rates, a seek time of 12 milliseconds, and quiet operation. It will be commercially available in the third quarter.

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Apr 14

NASA, GM to Launch Robot into Space

Posted in: NASA, robot, Robots Robotics, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili

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Remember Robonaut 2, the GM and NASA-developed humanoid robot?

It’s going for a little ride.

NASA has announced it plans to launch the first human-like robot to space later this year, where it will live permanently on the International Space Station.
GM’s 300-pound Robonaut 2, or R2, is capable of working alongside humans at GM manufacturing plants, and was also engineered to work alongside astronauts in space.
R2 will launch on space shuttle Discovery mission STS-133, which is currently scheduled for December. GM said in a statement that it plans to monitor how the robot operates in weightlessness.
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Apr 09

Computer-Controlled Audi to Climb Pikes Peak

Posted in: gps, robot, Robots Robotics, Today's Chili
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Stanford University researchers are developing in-car technology that could improve driver safety, and in extreme cases, even allow regular cars to drive on their own.
The latest example is a GPS-equipped Audi TTS coupe, dubbed Shelley after Michelle Mouton, the first woman to win at Pikes Peak. The self-driving Audi will soon face the 4,721-foot high, 12.4-mile International Hill Climb–quite a big jump from the modest automatic parallel parking systems available today, as the Associated Press reports.
“What we’re trying to do is create an autonomous race car, an autonomous rally car, so a car that can drive itself up to the very limits of handling,” said Christian Gerdes, a Stanford engineering professor and director of Standford’s Center for Automotive Research, in the report.
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Apr 08

GPS Angel Protects You from Speed Traps

Posted in: gps, navigation, Today's Chili

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Finally, a GPS device that does what the others don’t: It warns drivers about red light cameras and speed traps. Unlike a radar detector, this is completely legal.

The GPS Angel sits on your dashboard and monitors your car’s position via GPS. When you approach an area it knows contains a red light camera or speed camera, it gives off a warning. You can update the stored locations anytime by connecting it to your computer and downloading current information from the Web site.

With a SiRF Star III GPS chip inside, it should be just as reliable as any GPS navigation system. It even lets you create your own alert areas for places where you know there’s a problem. The $129 list price is a little high, but so is the cost of a ticket.

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Apr 08

NY Auto Show Best of the Best Cars: Hyundai Equus

Posted in: Today's Chili

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Here are the five best cars of the 2010 New York International Auto Show, which runs through April 12. The most significant new car is the Hyundai Equus, a premium luxury car meant to match the Lexus LS 460 but with a price $10,000-$15,000 less. Hyundai shook the car world two years ago at the New York show with the $38,000 Hyundai Genesis, which some writers (me included) likened to an LS 460 at half the price. Hyundai stretched the Genesis chassis half a foot to make it three inches longer not shorter than the LS 460. Most every luxury offered in a Lexus (or Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series), you’ll find offered in the Hyundai Equus from active cruise control to massaging seats (front and right rear).

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Apr 08

NY Auto Show Best Cars: BMW 5 Series

Posted in: Today's Chili

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The world badly needs the sixth generation of the BMW 5 Series, which got its U.S. introduction at the New York International Auto Show. Without the new BMW 5 Series, competitors wouldn’t be able to run ads saying “brakes faster than a BMW 5 Series” … “more shoulder room in back than a 5 Series” … “tighter turning radius” and so forth. Everybody’s better than BMW in one facet. The BMW 5 Series is the benchmark for mid-size luxury-sport sedans and the 2011 model continues the sporty handling flair of a BMW 3 Series while picking up as much room inside of the last-generation BMW 7 Series, especially in formerly cramped rear seat. BMW worked out some of the design quirks on the 2003-2009 model and it may be the handsomest BMW sedan you can buy today. With prices starting in the low 50s (most likely decreasing compared to 2009s with similar content), this is not the car for everyone. But it will be the benchmark. 

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Apr 08

NY Auto Show Best Cars: Chevrolet Cruze Eco

Posted in: Today's Chili

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If GM is to make a comeback, it needs more good cars even if they’re not Corvette-sexy. One such comeback car would be the Chevrolet Cruze Eco that was unveiled at the 2010 New York International Auto Show. The Cruze Eco should get 40 mpg in highway driving from a gasoline engine that isn’t a hybrid. Chevy picked up a bit here and there: less wind resistance, high efficiency / low rolling resistance tires, a smaller 1.4-liter engine with a mild turbocharger, and lighter components. It’s a nice step from the Chevrolet Cobalt it replaces.

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Apr 06

Apple iPad Gets In-Car Install

Posted in: Apple, ipad, Today's Chili
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Well, this sure didn’t take long. An employee of SoundMan Car Audio in Santa Clarita, CA has completed what is probably the world’s first iPad in-car installation.
The vehicle in question, a Toyota Tacoma pickup, features the iPad front and center in the dashboard, and sends audio to a high-end, six-channel McIntosh amp powering the speaker system, as Autoblog reports.
Other key pieces include an Audison BitOne processor, an Onkyo ND-S1, and a “special iPod dock” that pulls digital signal from the iPad and sends it to the BitOne via an optical output, the report said. Six-minute unboxing and installation video after the break.
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