Hasta La Gadget!

A team of scientists at Oxford University, led by Professor Paul Newman, has developed a new self-driving car system that that is supposedly much more advanced than the one being developed by Google. The self-driving car system will be able to be implemented into existing cars. The car that the team test drove was a Nissan Leaf electric car, and it was tested on the private roads of Oxford University.

The driverless car was able to navigate through difficult weather conditions, like snow and rain. It yielded for pedestrians, and navigated efficiently through traffic jams. The car was able to reach speeds of up to 40 MPH. The system uses 3D laser scanning linked with a computer storage that creates maps of its surroundings and saves them. The new system is accurate to a few centimeters, whereas GPS navigation systems are only accurate to a few meters. The car is then able to recognize where it is with a laser scanner on the front of the car combined with the data saved in its storage system. The Oxford team plans on working on an updating feature that allows these self-driving cars to be able to download information when they pass one another on the road. They also plan on implementing a feature that allows these cars to download data directly from the internet through a 3G or 4G data connection.

The system informs drivers when it’s going to take over. If the driver wants to allow it, all they have to do is press the green button on the display screen. However, if the car system believes that automatic driving may be a risk, like in conditions where it can’t verify its location, it will ask the driver to take over.

Dr. Martin Spring from Lancaster University, who also co-authored a paper about the potential of driverless cars, commented on the innovation this new system can bring. With this new technology, he believes that cars will look very different in the future. Cars may have an interior that is just a small room where drivers can do what they want until they reach their destination. Dr. Spring also commented on how things like streetlights could go obsolete. That’s something I have to disagree with him on. I believe he forgot that people still like to walk places, and they’re going to need those streetlights to find their way around.

Professor Newman said that there is “no obvious legal barrier to using it on the roads” as long as there is a licensed driver in the driver’s seat. The system currently costs around 5000 pounds, or $7760.50, but Newman says that his team is working on reducing that number to only 100 pounds ($155.21). Can you imagine having your car chauffeur you around town? It’s an exciting advancement in technology, one that Newman believes will be implemented in around 15 years.

[via The Guardian]

Oxford University tests out their new self-driving car system is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Knighthood, schmighthood. Apple’s British design head has just picked up a golden Blue Peter badge. The show, which has been running on UK TV for over 50 years, even had their gift reciprocated, with Sir Jonathan Ive offering up a solid aluminum Blue Peter badge (above) that took over 10 hours to craft. Ive can count himself in good company, joining other luminaries like JK Rowling and David Beckham. The segment will air during a gadget special tomorrow, but you can watch the exchange between kids TV and Apple design right after the break.

Filed under: Misc, Apple

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Via: TNW

Source: BBC

Ready for a new radar system? The UK could be, if a new study is deemed a success. Thales, a French aerospace company which manufactures traditional radar systems, has received funding from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board to study the feasibility of using TV signals to locate planes and choppers through a technology called “passive radar.” According to the BBC, the system would monitor the timing of TV signals reflected from aircraft, which would enable equipment to display an exact location, while measuring the Doppler effect would provide speed and direction information.

Though it’s not based on GPS, the new system would reportedly be more accurate and efficient than what’s in use today, while also serving to free up spectrum that could be used for an upcoming 5G network. Unconvinced frequent fliers need not worry, however — the country’s existing radar infrastructure would remain intact throughout the test period, and air traffic control officials won’t be switching to the new system unless it’s sanctioned, which, considering the significance of such a move, could take some time.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Alt

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Via: TechWeekEurope

Source: BBC

For all the dimensions that Doctor Who has explored on TV, the third has been a rarity — there was an early 3D experiment in 1993 for the series’ 30th anniversary, a 2010 trailer, and that’s that. For the show’s 50th birthday, the company is willing to make a return trip through a two-part 3D special. Most of what’s in store for the unique event is being kept secret, although we imagine we’ll see plenty of Sonic Screwdriver action. We’ll have to see how closely the special’s broadcast date aligns with the official anniversary in November; hopefully, it’s far enough into the future that Whovians can prepare with a little TV shopping.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: BBC (1), (2)

Thinking about injecting an identification chip in your pooch? If you live in the southern part of the UK, you won’t have a choice. Come 2016, English and Welsh authorities will require all of the country’s pups to have embedded microchips, so they can be returned to their owners if ever they run astray. The United Kingdom’s Environment Department says some 60 percent of the country’s 8 million dogs already have the tags, but beginning in three years, owners who don’t spring for the device could be forced to pay fines of up to £500 (about $780). Cat microchipping will remain optional, since felines are less likely to wander outdoors. And “World’s Cutest Dog” fans need not worry about their precious Boo getting the forced implant — the famed Pomeranian (pictured above) is based in San Francisco, some 5,000 miles from the Queen’s needle.

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Source: AP (Huffington Post)