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 […]
Every parent on the planet wants their kid to be happy and well-adjusted. That means at some point early in the kid’s life you have to give them the freedom to roam and play. The problem for parents is that giving children the freedom to go places and visit friends by themselves can be very nerve-wracking. This is especially true if you’re the sort that imagines all the horrible things that could possibly happen to a child in the world alone.
To help allay some of these fears, AT&T has announced an exclusive partnership to distribute a new product that will help parents give their kids more freedom called the FiLIP.
The device is a large and colorful smart watch that has a built-in phone and GPS functionality. The watch allows parents to set zones where the kids can roam and if the child goes outside that zone, the watch will remind them that they can’t go. All of this information is available to parents via a remote smartphone app as well. The watch also has a built-in mobile phone that connects to standard cellular networks and holds five personal contacts.
The watch can dial any of those five contacts and those numbers can also call in to talk to the child. One of the best features is the emergency button that a child can press for three seconds to automatically send out a distress message to all five contacts with their GPS location. When the emergency button is pressed, the first contact is automatically called and the watch records all sounds around it. If the first contact doesn’t answer, the other contacts will be dialed.
There’s no word on exactly when you can buy the FiLIP, but you can sign up to be notified about its launch over on their website.
Smart thermostat company Nest has revealed its second intelligent home device, the Nest Protect, a WiFi-enabled smoke and carbon monoxide detector. Aiming to do the same for home safety as the original Nest does for HVAC control, the Nest Protect tracks potential perils, warns you with both an spoken audio alert and pings to your […]
Tesla‘s Elon Musk has commented publicly on the recent Model S fire that left one car partially destroyed and the company’s stock tumbling, detailing the exact cause of the issue and arguing that the EV is still far safer than traditional gas-powered vehicles. The startup made headlines earlier this week when an owner’s car in […]
Yesterday in a city near Seattle, Washington, a Tesla Model S vehicle caught fire on the side of the road, something that took firefighters awhile to extinguish, their efforts requiring them to cut through the front of the car with a circular saw in order to get adequate access to the battery. The blaze was […]
Restrictions on using electronic devices during takeoff and landing could be lifted, after a regulatory committee told the FAA to loosen its guidelines on when gadgets like iPads, Kindles, and other hardware can be turned on. The recommendation by the Aviation Rulemaking Committee, which comes after a year-long investigation into the potential safety issues, is […]
If you’re planning on stealing anything from the London Borough of Brent, you might want to think twice—or at least hope you look good in green. The Brent Police Department has a crazy new secret weapon that covers crooks head to toe in a semipermanent emerald, ultraviolet glow. And they have no idea until it’s too late.
     |
Independent testing on crash-avoidance systems has begun for the first time in the US, with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) putting auto-braking and other technologies through their paces. The new program – which has started out testing 2013-14 model year midsize cars and SUVs – assigns one of three levels of performance to […]
Both Toyota and Nissan have issued recalls for select models they offer, with Toyota recalling a tad under 700,000 Sienna minivans and Nissan recalling over 900,000 models. In Nissan’s case, some of its cars are experiencing problems with an accelerator sensor that could fail, causing the car to stall. Toyota’s Sienna minivans, meanwhile, have an […]
Distracted driving, whether due to cell phone usage or other reasons, is a major cause of car crashes and the related fallout both in the U.S. and abroad, something that has prompted the NHTSA to propose an in-car system to automatically block cell phones. The Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, more commonly called RAW […]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
