Future tech

How can hybrids become even more efficient? You can start by removing the driver from the equation.

The Sentience Research Vehicle is a hybrid test car that uses existing onboard systems, mobile communications, and advanced mapping technologies to determine the most fuel efficient way to get to a destination. The project is a joint effort by Ricardo Company and project partners Jaguar-Land Rover, Transport Research Laboratory, and several other European interest groups, and was revealed earlier this week.

Basically, the Sentience's system removes the guesswork from and automates when and the best way to accelerate, brake, and balance the car's electrical load. … Read more

A new campaign to improve automotive fuel efficiency worldwide by 50 percent by the year 2050 was announced at the Geneva Motor Show on Wednesday.

The Global Fuel Economy Initiative and its "50 by 50" campaign has the backing of leaders of four major international organizations: David Ward, director general of the FIA Foundation; Nobuo Tanaka, the executive director of the International Energy Agency; Jack Short, the secretary general of the International Transportation Forum; and Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Car companies, the "50 by 50" report (PDF) says, … Read more

With the roll-out of plug-in and electric vehicles this year, car owners are going to need to know where else besides their home they can charge their car. Communities are working to accommodate these new vehicles by installing public charging facilities, but that won't help much if no one can find them.

Tying the pieces together is the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Map created and maintained by the Cleantech Authority, an environment-conscious information hub that provides actionable resources for readers to use. … Read more

In an effort to keep/acquire new broadband customers, Comcast is testing Wi-Fi service at about 120 New Jersey Transit rail stations, according to DSLReports. The trial is for existing customers only and is designed to gauge user interest, spokeswoman Mary Nell Westbrook said, adding that no formal announcement of the service has been made.

The move comes after Cablevision launched its Optimum Wi-Fi program throughout the tristate area last fall. The two companies are collaborating to extend the reach of their wireless networks, enabling Comcast customers to access their operator's Wi-Fi at train stations in Cablevision territory and vice versa.

Although the two companies worked together on technical tests, the Comcast and Cablevision services in New Jersey will remain entirely separate, though there will apparently be some gear cohabitation. "A Comcast customer cannot access any of the Optimum Wi-Fi Hot Zones," notes Westbrook. "For the trial, our services are both available at all of the locations that are included--generally New Jersey Transit commuter rail stations--but the two services are offered separately."

Rail stations with free Wi-Fi include those along the Northeast Corridor, Morris, Essex, Montclair-Boonton, Main-Bergen County, the North Jersey Coast, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines. Coverage areas at each station include platforms and parking lots, but do not extend to the trains. … Read more

I live in an earthquake-prone city. I live in this city in a very old building made out of unreinforced brick. This building is on the back of a steep hill over a freeway and then a lake. Thus, I'm likely to be crushed under tons of rubble and debris if a major earthquake hits Seattle.

If that does happen, it might take rescuers hours--or even days!--to get to me. And when they do, they'll have to get me to safety somehow.

Hopefully by that time they'll be using this amazing Japanese safety robot tank stretcher thing … Read more

Given that I travel a fair bit, I'm personally interested in the evolution of the devices that we carry with us on the road.

On the one hand, I don't want to be a parody of Dilbert, carrying a bag full of gadgets that have to be charged, synchronized, and corralled. On the other hand, I'm inclined to agree with this statement from a column by travel writer Joe Brancatelli:

And where, I wonder, is my convergence machine, the one that makes calls flawlessly around the world, doubles as my music play, triples as a fully functioning … Read more

When it's not guiding you to a chosen destination, your GPS navigation system is usually just sitting there showing you your current location. Even units that feature traffic data may show you information about congestion, but without a destination chosen even these units won't route you around traffic.

BMW Group's Research and Technology arm is working to make navigation systems more useful by endowing them with artificial intelligence and teaching them basic learning skills.

The idea is that these intelligent navigation systems will proactively warn drivers about potential traffic jams along their regular routes, or suggest alternate commutes that are more fuel efficient. All of this is done without the driver's input.

BMW is basically trying to teach the navigation system to learn driver's past routes as well as time of day and passenger information. By combining this historic data with current traffic data and information from other vehicle sensors, the intelligent navigation makes decisions about the driver's potential destination.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's probably the least stylish digital camera on display here at PMA 2009, but it's also one of the most unusual.

As a result, Fujifilm is getting a lot of attention at its booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center with its FinePix Real 3D camera, even though it first showed the unit at Photokina last fall. It's just a prototype, but the point-and-shoot camera is capable of taking and displaying 3D photos.

The camera has two lenses, which take two different images. Then Fujifilm's RP Processor 3D takes the two images and combines them … Read more

Calling any vehicle Eleanor is a bit cheeky, considering that it evokes the image of brawny Ford Mustangs made famous in the movie "Gone in 60 Seconds." In this case, it may even be ironic, since the car the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team is referring to is solar-powered, rides on three wheels, and tops out at 90 mph.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's latest competitor in the upcoming 10th World Solar Challenge couldn't be more different than its namesake. Its Eleanor is low slung, highly aerodynamic, and covered by 6 square meters of silicon solar cells that generate 1,200 watts of electricity. Onboard the car is a 6kWh lithium ion battery pack that stores enough power to travel from New York to Boston without the sun, or about 250 miles at around 55 mph.

But on a sunny day, the solar car can run nonstop at a cruising speed of 55 mph, and calculations show that it can reach 90 mph. … Read more