Hasta La Gadget!

Weaving is both an art and a learned skill. Given the fact that I cannot weave anything decent to save my life, I have utmost respect for weavers who know their craft, like Nigerian artisan Ojo Obaniyi from Ibadan.

Ojo is so good at weaving that he’s taken on the ultimate challenge for weavers: covering an entire car with wicker.

Images © Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye

Did he succeed? I think it’s pretty obvious that he did. It’s a huge feat for the likes of you and me, but it was probably easy as pie for Ojo, who’s been in the weaving business for the past 20 years.

Aside from covering every inch of the exterior of his Volkswagen pickup truck with raffia palm cane, he’s also weaved wicker into the interior seats, dashboard, and steering wheel of the vehicle.

Ojo explains: “I wanted to prove a point that it is not only the educated elite that can make positive changes in society. we, the artisans also have talents to effect a change and make a positive impact in the society. that is why I decided that I too must do something that will make people to recognize me and know me across the whole world and by extension prove to the world that African and indeed the entire black race have very talented people.”

I think he succeeded in doing that and more with this amazing project.

[via designboom]

Audi makes some pretty sleek cars, and their designs are often cutting edge, especially when you check out their new ideas about lighting technology. I’ll admit that most cars that I’ve had needed better lighting, especially when you’re driving along dark country roads, far away from the freeway.

Audi is thinking about doing away with traditional taillights and replacing them with form-fitting OLED lights instead.

These cool looking organic lights would cover the entire width of the trunk, and potentially cover the entire body of the vehicle. The lights will swarm as the car accelerates, and the red lights will flow towards the direction in which the car is turning. Using the brake causes the lights to gather in pools.

This seems like a smart idea, but I can already imagine the costs of replacing the lights if someone rear-ends you. Also, I think it will take some time before this kind of display becomes legal. It could definitely be seen as a distraction to other drivers if not executed properly.

[via Geek & Hype]

I recently had the opportunity to take a tour of Ford’s modern truck assembly plant in Dearborn, MI. While the plant’s robotics and just-in-time manufacturing facility are truly impressive, one of the things I had no idea about was that the factory is also home to the world’s largest living roof.

Atop Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant is a whopping 10.4 acre garden, covering the roof of the 454,000 square foot building. Tens of thousands of plants grow atop the industrial facility below, as it cranks out as many as 60 Ford F-150 trucks per hour.

The roof is planted with a tough, drought-resistant plant called sedum, which helps insulate the building beneath, reducing heating and cooling costs, as well as to help improve air quality. It also collects and filters storm water, helping to reduce storm water flow back into the adjacent Rouge River, and improving water quality.

Plants live in a four-layer mat system which keeps them nourished and healthy. While you might think that a roof covered with plants and water wouldn’t be durable, it’s actually expected to last twice as long as a regular roof.

If you’d like to see the world’s largest living roof up close and personal, visit the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. I’d suggest a visit during the spring or summer, when the plants are at their most green. After all, Michigan isn’t exactly a green haven in the middle of January.

Long road trips can be boring for passengers and drivers. There are a number of connected devices that you can take with you in the car to help pass the time or at least allow you to listen to music or audio books if you’re driving. Audi has announced an interesting new feature that will be available on the 2013 A3.

Audi will offer optional 4G LTE wireless connectivity inside the vehicle – powered by second-generation Gobi multi-mode 3G/4G LTE chipsets. The specific chipset inside the vehicle is the QUALCOMM MDM9251. Audi unveiled the new feature at CES 2013 and promises peak data rates approaching 100 Mb per second.

The new 4G LTE connectivity will provide drivers with a range of Audi connect services along with an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot support. The 4G LTE connectivity will allow passengers to listen to Internet radio stations, use web services, and the connectivity will power an augmented-reality navigation system presenting street-level visual imagery that is streamed to the vehicle. While it sounds cool, it also sounds like one more reason to distract people without enough sense to pay attention to the road when driving.

On December 20, Toyota announced that it will show off its advanced active safety research vehicle on January 7, one day before the CES 2013 tech event. To get enthusiasts ready, the company has just released a sneak-peek of the car with promises of more to come during the press event it has scheduled for Monday. You can check out the video after the jump.

The vehicle is designed to “explore the use of autonomous technologies and high-level driver assistance systems” that pertain to Toyota’s Integrated Safety Management Concept. The video is little more than a 5-second tease, but gives us a nice glimpse of the vehicle in all its decked-out charm driving down the road.

Judging by the looks of things, the vehicle is adorned with an autonomous driving system, congruent with the company’s plans to show off that autonomous technology next week. The equipment allows the car to be aware of its surroundings, such as the guard rail seen in the video, and operate accordingly. The vehicle upon which the contraptions are perched is the Lexus LS 600h.

More details will be available on Monday, when Lexus’s Vice President and General Manager Mark Templin will introduce the technology, research, and other information we can’t wait to hear. We’ll be covering CES 2013 next week, and will certainly keep an eye out for the latest information on Toyota’s system. Be sure to check back regularly for the latest updates.

Toyota releases sneak-peek of the Lexus advanced active safety research vehicle is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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