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An electromagnetic sensor system capable of automatically detecting the presence of large animals on or near roadways and alerting drivers to their presence is being tested in Colorado. So far, the system appears to be working; the only problem might be the drivers themselves. Colorado is trialing the system on a road where up to 70% of all accidents involve vehicles colliding with animals. But how does it work? Cables have been buried in the ground several feet from the road, running parallel to it. The electromagnetic field they emit has been calibrated to detect the interruptions caused by deer, elk, or other large animals passing over it. Signs positioned along the roadway then light up to alert drivers to the presence of the animals. For the trial phase, radar detectors are being used to calculate both the volume of traffic and its speed. Should the alerts be capable of convincing a significant enough portion of drivers to slow down when animals are present, the system could be rolled...
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newVideoPlayer("/gamecar_gizmodo.flv", 506, 360,""); Because the DVD players and in-car PS3s were starting to bore the kids, three students at the Berlin University of the Arts have created a video game that uses what's going on outside a car's window, incorporating it into the game. Behold CARCADE! Utilizing a webcam and a laptop, the program detects the landscape outside the window and then lets players zoom around the obstacles. The game is currently in demo form but shows off some fairly awesome technology. [ Carcade via Gizmodo ]
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newVideoPlayer("/brakenutz.flv", 506, 423,""); Let's say you're looking for a way to spice up the tail-end of pickup truck and regular truck nutz just don't do it for you. Perhaps something more tasteful and yet more flashy — literally. Enter BrakeNutz, a clear set of polycarbonate Nutz with dual-element LEDs inside. Those strategically placed lights are wired to mimic brake lights when properly installed into your cars or trucks wire harness. Guess that's one way to legally flash your nutz at someone. [ BrakeNutz ]
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Eliminating the need to stuff both car keys and a mobile phone in your pockets, Nissan has partnered with electronics maker Sharp and mobile phone company NTT Docomo to create a phone that can do everything your car keys do, plus make phone calls. The gadget may not be able to help you open packages or stab muggers in the face like a traditional key can, but it can still operate your door locks and start up your engine. It does this by tapping into Nissan's Intelligent Key system which is already in place on premium models like the GT-R . We just hope they don't start charging roaming fees for driving your car outside of your normal coverage network. Press release after the jump. TOKYO (Sept. 24, 2008) — Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Sharp Corporation announced today that they have jointly developed a mobile phone capable of functioning as an intelligent key for automobiles - a world's first. The device will incorporate Nissan's Intelligent Key system...
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Audi has thrown its weight behind "Travolution," a German traffic light communication management system trying to smooth traffic flow and reduce congestion. The system works by way of 46 smart traffic lights installed in Audi's home town of Ingolstadt which communicate with specially equipped Audi A5s and A6s. The cars interpret the information from the lights and display an ideal speed to the driver which leads to smooth sailing through green lights as opposed to hitting the reds. The lights also interpret traffic density and adjust timing to reduce times at the line - and therefore minimization of fuel-sapping "stop-start" traffic. Sounds like a plan to us galleryPost('auditravolution', 3, 'Audi Travolution System'); AUDI BACKED ‘TRAVOLUTION’ PROJECT GETS THE GREEN LIGHT New traffic management system enables communication between cars and traffic lights to reduce ‘stop-start’ inefficiency * Audi lends its support to ‘Travolution’ project aimed at...
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Stateside buyers of BMW’s 1- and 3-Series vehicles will now have the option to add “BMW Search Powered By Google Maps” to their BMW Assist and Navigation system-equipped vehicles. Basically, this means they’ll be able to search for addresses and phone numbers directly from their navigation system using Google Maps. The advantages of such a system are obvious, allowing drivers a quick and easy method to find contact details and directions on the fly. But, as with all BMW options, BMW Search is actually way more complicated than that. The press release follows the jump; see if you can understand it. BMW ADDS NEW “BMW SEARCH” SERVICE TO BMW ASSISTTM POWERED BY GOOGLE MAPS™. Available in BMW Assist & Navigation-equipped 2009 BMW 1 & 3 Series Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey – September 15, 2008… BMW introduces access to Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) search capability within the vehicle on 2009 BMW Assist and Navigation system - equipped 1 and 3 Series. For the first time, subscribers...
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newVideoPlayer("/trickplate_Jalop.flv", 494, 400,""); Ever since James Bond showed off the rotating plates on his Aston Martin, people have been inspired to rig up their own devices to conceal their vehicle's identity. Recently, a trucker was nearly caught using such a device to avoid paying tolls. The trick plate was mounted on a hinge and connected to a cable which ran into the cabin, the end of which went through the old cigarette lighter socket, and was activated just by pulling out the lighter. It's brilliantly simple, and evidently rather popular among truckers looking to beat the system. Stick it to the man! [via Yahoo , Gizmodo ]
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Not to be confused with the last Porsche Design radio , the P’9120 is an attractive desktop radio capable of linking to an iPod or similar radio, and is encapsulated in an attractive aluminum body. The radio is said to be a joint product of Porsche Design and Etón Corporation, known for their hand-crank emergency radios — always a benchmark of fidelity. And, like all Porsche Design products, we’re betting the P'9120 will be ridiculously overpriced and pretty low-quality, which doesn’t sound to us like a good analogy for Porsche cars, but hey, we’re not the ones doing the marketing. The press release follows the jump. galleryPost('porschedesignstereosept', 3, 'Porsche Design P9120'); Stuttgart/Palo Alto. Porsche Design is introducing a brand new radio into the market, a product developed jointly with Etón Corporation of Palo Alto, California. The radio, available now in Porsche Design Stores, blends purist design together with a top quality aluminum finish. The...
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The new TomTom Go x40 LIVE series of GPS navigation units allows users to update maps on the fly with the positions of police speed traps and traffic cameras, thus alerting other TomTom users in the area of their presence. Also stored within the system is historical travel time data for every road by day of the week, in five-minute intervals. To calculate a traffic-free route, the TomTom compares these figures to real-time anonymous cell phone movements. How does it work? If the Go x40 LIVE sees a large number of cell phones stationary along a major highway, it’ll determine that traffic is not moving and plan a route around the hold up. Such a system should work better than current systems, which rely on a limited number of stationary traffic sensors along heavily traveled roads only. The LIVE also allows drivers to add fuel prices to maps, letting other users find the cheapest prices, and it's still capable of connecting to TomTom’s existing High Definition Traffic Service. The GO...
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Chrysler's mobile internet system, UConnect , has finally gotten official pricing, and unless you're the crackberry type with a serious addiction, the $499 initial fee and $29 monthly fee probably sounds pretty steep. The system was developed by Autonet, a company which installs something similar — and portable — in Avis rent-a-wrecks. The initial professional installation costs between $35 and $50, and, combined with the one-time and ongoing fees, this is looking like a worse deal than going Comcastic. [ MotorAuthority ]
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JList , purveyors of all things Japanese and crazy, is offering for sale an iPod dock in the shape of Optimus Prime towing Convoy. The trailer acts as the actual dock, while Optimus' job is apparently to transform and protect the all spark iPod. It's available in original colors, but it also comes in all-white, which is interesting since white is the symbolic color of death in Japan. Perhaps they're beating the dead horse of marketing and have decided to just run with it. It's available for $138 plus shipping if you happen to be an iPod fanboy and a Transformers dork (...Wert?). [ JList ] galleryPost('ipodprime ', 6, 'One Shall Stand And One Shall Rock');
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RENNTECH, tuners of all things Mercedes and pizza-sized , have released a digital lowering module (DLM) for monster Benzies equipped with Airmatic or ABC adjustable suspensions. The DLM allows drivers to dial-in heights for each wheel and set adjustable heights based on speed. The system uses an interface similar to an MP3 system, which makes us worried that we would accidentally bottom out the car while trying to switch between Elvis Costello albums. Press release below the jump. galleryPost('renndlm', 3, 'Oh, Can You Get Vampire Weekend On That?'); RENNTECH REMOTE-CONTROLLED DLM RENNTECH has updated its multi-processor digital lowering module to make installation and adjustment quicker and easier, with a unique, full-featured remote control. "This lowering module was all-new in February already," says Hartmut Feyhl, RENNTECH's president and ex technical director at AMG North America. "As always, the module is 100% digital and fully adjustable, with the...
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If you're squinting at a poorly-rendered map on your Blackberry, turns out you're not alone. According to an industry report released today, up to 8% of Americans are now downloading driving directions and online maps via mobile devices, which equates to a whopping 82% increase over last year. Ironic that mobile map use is increasing just as in-car navigation systems are becoming more common: Are we getting hooked on nav? Full release after the jump. Are We There Yet? comScore M:Metrics Reports Mobile Map Use Grows 82 Percent in United States, 49 Percent in Europe Reston, VA, July 24, 2008 — comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported that the use of mobile maps is increasingly popular in the United States and Europe, with 8 percent of American mobile subscribers and 3 percent of European subscribers accessing maps from the mobile phone in the three-month period ending May 2008. This represents a growth rate of 82 percent and 49 percent...
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Ego, Dutch maker of "luxury notebooks," displayed their $20,000 Bentley laptop at the British Motor Show this week. The computer features color schemes taken directly from Bentley automobiles, and each unit is hand-built and wrapped in custom-stitched leather. Actual computing is handled by a 64-bit processor with 160GB hard drive, running Microsoft Windows Vista. Additionally, the company says the carrying handle was inspired by the door handle on Bentley cars, but a quick peek at Ego's website shows pretty much the same handle design used on all their notebooks. Oh well. For $20k they must be telling the truth. [ eGMCartech ]
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General Motors is building a prototype windshield capable of enhancing a driver's vision with lasers. No, this isn't the automotive equivalent of LASIK, but rather a system for identifying road markings and making them more visible to drivers during difficult conditions. The system is being developed with older drivers in mind, and of course won't be able to completely compensate for bad vision. So how does it work? The system is different from a Heads Up Display or existing night vision systems in that it works over a much larger area of the windscreen and serves to highlight, not obscure vision. A system of grille-mounted cameras operating outside the visible spectrum scan the road ahead while more sensors inside determine the location of the drivers head and eyes. Invisible lasers then light up the specially coated windscreen, which reacts to their beams, highlighting things like lane markings, traffic signs, pedestrians and other vehicles. While the system is intended for...
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