Volkswagen to develop adaptive sunshade
Word on the street is that Volkswagen is working on a new adaptive sunshade technology that consists of crystals in the upper part of the front window that react to direct sunlight and turn dark depending on the sun’s position. Seems like a good idea, but just like Nissan’s Anti Drunk Driving Technology, I think it will pass some time before we see this technology on a production car.
Crystals in the upper part of the front window react to direct sunlight and turn dark. To calculate the position of the sunshade, a smart electronic is considering the position of the sun and the eye position of the driver. If you drive along curvy roads, the adaptive sunshade is “moving” based on the recalculated position.
Mustang and Corvette Trailers
Let’s assume you don’t have money to afford a new Chevrolet Corvette or a Ford Mustang, but really want other people to think you have one, or at least a mini version of one. I can’t imagine how it is, but I’ll assume along with you. So, what do you do? Easy, you take $3,500 and you go and buy yourself a nice Corvette or Mustang trailer. One thing I can tell you for sure…I imagine all those people laughing when you’ll show up in your neighborhood pulling those things with your bike.
Of course, American Custom Trailers, the company that produces these things also allows you to order custom trailers, with prices going up to $10,000.
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Nissan Anti-Drunk Driving Technology
Sounds complicated? Well…it really yes. Nissan announced the Anti Drunk Driving Concept Technology which they hope to introduce as soon as possible on the Nissan cars. What does this technology do? A lot. The main purpose is to prevent you from driving after you’ve drank that extra beer. The car has sensors in the gearshift and in the driver’s seat, sensors that lock the transmission automically when alcohol is detected. So either you take a cab, or let someone else drive.
The technology also has a facial recognition system that determines the driver’s state of consciousness through the blinking of his eyes, and a driving behavior system that senses if the car is wandering out of its lane. When the system thinks you are drunk, it will start some “drunk driving” voice alert, followed by a tightening of the seatbelts in an attempt to get the driver’s immediate attention.
The new system, currently integrated into a production Nissan Fuga sedan, is extraordinary, because DUI is a major source of problems on the street. Am I right, Lindsey? However, as good as this idea sounds, I doubt it that we will see it on a production car in the near future. And I also hope Nissan will prove me wrong.
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Get where you want by dialling DIR-ECT-IONS
Don’t have a fancy phone with GPS built in? Hey, don’t worry, we’ve got a solution for you. By using Dial Directions you can get driving instructions on how to get where you want to. All you have to do is dial 347-328-4667 (DIR-ECT-IONS) from your cellphone, tell where you are and where you need to go and you’ll receive a text message with the instructions.
The service is based on a speech recognition software and text messaging, and this makes it simple for just about anyone to use. As of now the service is currently available in New York, Los Angeles and the Bay Area with a promise of more to come.
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Published by admin, on Jul 19 2007, in the categories: Services
Black Eagle GPS records if your car crashes
Available only in Korea, the Black Eagle GPS it’s a very interesting device for your car. When it detects a deceleration of more than 1.1G, the system assumes you’ve crashed into something and it records an 18 seconds clip (12 seconds from before the crash, loaded from a cache, and 6 seconds after).
The device also has a sensor for lane changes ,records your speed at the time of the crash plus it supports POP(picture out picture), PIP(picture in picture), NIP(navigation in picture), DMB recording, TV-out and USB 2.0 port. This a good thing to have on your car, however, if you’re a troublemaker and get involved in accidents often, I don’t think it’s such a good device for you…could get you into a lot of trouble.
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Chevy V8 engine turned into a nice BBQ grill
Quick question for you…what can you do with a V8 Chevrolet engine, beside using it to power your car? Well, let me tell you…you can turn it into a cute 65,000 BTU barbecue grill, as shown by Trent Whatley. Trent searched the internet and found out no one has done this before and, with some help from his neighbor, took a V8 Chevy engine and turned it into this “beast”. Of course, the engine-grill was the 4th of July star in Trent’s party. View more pics after the jump (more…)
Published by admin, on Jul 14 2007, in the categories: Funny
New Bluetooth headsets from Nokia
Here are two Bluetooth headsets that were recently presented by Nokia.
First one, the Nokia BH-602 is targeted to people who talk much, and, even if it features DSP (digital signal processing) to improve the call quality in noisy environments, Nokia claims it has a battery talk time of 11 hours. The device also features automatic volume adjustment, has LED battery indicator, and charged for just 15 minutes it can provide up to 5 hours of talk time, which is not bad, considering that’s the average of most other DSP headsets. The expected retail price for this device is around $100-120 (75-90 euro), excluding taxes.
The other headset is the Nokia BH-803, a more stylish one, targeted to people who are choosing their accessories by the design. The device has touch-sensitive keys for controlling the sound volume, “hidden” in its glossy body. But don’t worry, beside the good looks, the headset also offers sound quality, as it features DSP system. Its price will be $187-215 (140-160 euro) excluding taxes.
Source [Nokia Press]1