Posts Tagged ‘automobiles’
DOT Mapping Out a Plan to Protect Cars From Cyber-Attacks
This isn’t so much a call for proposals a la Darpa as much as a genuine call for ideas--that is, there’s no contract to be awarded as a result of this request for information. But the DOT still wants your input, should you have any to offer. Via the :
The USDOT is collecting relevant information to characterize needs and establish a strategic research roadmap to meet the rising challenges of ensuring the safety of automotive safety-critical systems due to increasing complexity of motor vehicle systems using advanced electronic controls to improve drivability, safety, efficiency, and operational reliability; escalating use of information technology in motor vehicles to enhance basic and secondary vehicle functions and to enable infotainment applications; and wireless connectivity to in-vehicle systems, between vehicles and external information networks, and among vehicles.
Essentially, it sounds like the DOT is smart enough to know that America’s roadways will evolve, either within the scope of its own vision or beyond it. And it wants to be prepared. Call it an official acknowledgement that change is afoot on America’s highways and byways.
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IBM and DOT to Test Our High-Tech Transit Future in Texas First
The DOT is interested in rolling out vehicle-to-vehicle technology (known as IntelliDrive) that networks cars and roadways together in a way that they can share information on everything from impending bottlenecks to abrupt lane changes. DOT thinks 76 percent of accidents among the unimpaired could be prevented with such technology in place.
The IBM rollout will not go quite that far, but the DOT sees it as a step in the right direction. At both the state and local level, IBM plans to install road sensors and implement predictive analytics that won't just monitor traffic in real time but actually project future traffic patterns up to an hour in advance.
For its part, IBM is trying to build on successes overseas and convince officials that its telematics know-how should be implemented nationwide. Finnish officials have praised IBM's traffic analytics as both time- and money-saving, and IBM would certainly relish the government contracts that might accompany a successful test drive in Texas.
For drivers across the country, the stakes are equally high. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and President Obama are both committed to implementing IntelliDrive technology that would wire our roadways for the 21st century. If IBM succeeds in reducing congestion, pollution, and commute times with its proof-of-concept pilot programs in car-crazy Texas, more U.S. cities and states will likely see similar programs in coming years.
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Video: GM Goes Hands-Off With EN-V Robotic Pod Car
The EN-V is more than just an electric ride for urban commuters
">two-wheel electric car when it unveiled the vehicle last month in Shanghai, China. Now there's a video that shows the hands-off driving experience future commuters can expect from the EN-V.
The Segway-inspired vehicle uses GPS, vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication, and anti-crash sensing technologies to ensure that people need not touch their steering wheels ever again. In the new video, GM driver does his best to demonstrate that by holding his arms out and all but shouting "look ma, no hands!" as his EN-V alternately moves forward and spins on a dime.
GM aims to target more than just multitasking fiends who love videoconferencing on the road. Its vehicle could give newfound mobility to people who are currently too young, too old, or disabled, according to Chris Borroni-Bird, director of the . We'd hope there's still a lower age limit so that junior doesn't go tearing off in the family's new ride -- but at least driving instructors need not worry about teaching parallel parking ever again.
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GM Presents Your Future Two-Wheeled Electric Ride for the City
GM's souped up Segway-style vehicle will drive you home, but won't tuck you in
The EN-V pedigree comes straight from the rather unattractive developed jointly by GM and Segway. The newer concept still balances on just two wheels as it conveys future passengers to their destinations.
Control freaks can still operate the drive-by-wire EN-V, but it supposedly takes advantage of GPS, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and anti-crash sensing technologies to allow for automatic driving mode. Really, you can take your hands off the wheel and focus on chatting up the buddies via the vehicle's wireless communications that enable .
The lithium-ion battery vehicle, co-sponsored by GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, runs about 25 miles (40 km) on a single charge from being plugged into your average wall outlet -- good enough for urban commuters if not for road trips.
EN-V also received a facelift from GM designers around the world, so that the upgraded PUMA could actually look good on the set of Minority Report II: Cruise into the Future (OK, that sequel thankfully doesn't exist). The Xiao (Laugh) model incorporates "gumball blue" paint and a nautical design, the Miao (Magic) sports a sleek "masculine" look with LED accent lighting, and the Jiao (Pride) takes equal inspiration from Chinese bullet trains and opera masks.
Like most concept vehicle designs, this may likely never reach market mass production. But GM does seem more serious about this than Honda is about the
GM Presents Your Future Two-Wheeled Electric Ride for the City
GM's souped up Segway-style vehicle will drive you home, but won't tuck you in
The EN-V pedigree comes straight from the rather unattractive developed jointly by GM and Segway. The newer concept still balances on just two wheels as it conveys future passengers to their destinations.
Control freaks can still operate the drive-by-wire EN-V, but it supposedly takes advantage of GPS, vehicle-to-vehicle communications and anti-crash sensing technologies to allow for automatic driving mode. Really, you can take your hands off the wheel and focus on chatting up the buddies via the vehicle's wireless communications that enable .
The lithium-ion battery vehicle, co-sponsored by GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, runs about 25 miles (40 km) on a single charge from being plugged into your average wall outlet -- good enough for urban commuters if not for road trips.
EN-V also received a facelift from GM designers around the world, so that the upgraded PUMA could actually look good on the set of Minority Report II: Cruise into the Future (OK, that sequel thankfully doesn't exist). The Xiao (Laugh) model incorporates "gumball blue" paint and a nautical design, the Miao (Magic) sports a sleek "masculine" look with LED accent lighting, and the Jiao (Pride) takes equal inspiration from Chinese bullet trains and opera masks.
Like most concept vehicle designs, this may likely never reach market mass production. But GM does seem more serious about this than Honda is about the , at least in terms of having drivable versions for the press sometime later this year. We say keep on keeping on, and don't forget to put those into the windshields.
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