“No, it can’t see your underwear but it can tell how tall you are and exactly how far you are standing in respect to a car.”

LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is a new way of looking at the world.   With 64 spinning lasers, LIDAR images the world in a true 3D manner by measuring the distance from a stationary or moving position at a million points per second.   The image is recreated by the control software in a similar way as modern video gaming operates.

As a competitor in the second DARPA Grand Challenge, David Hall came up with the idea.  His first version of the LIDAR was the size of a spare tire spinning on top of his green Toyota Tundra.   It was a successful design and Hall went on to make a smaller version that was used on five of the six finishing vehicles in the recent Urban Grand Challenge.

According to the New York Times, Google insists that safety is one of the top purposes of bringing these vehicles to the road.  With instant reaction time and 360-degree awareness, engineers believe these computers have the potential to significantly decrease automobile-related deaths and accidents.  Unlike human drivers, LIDAR doesn’t get tired, it doesn’t get distracted, and it doesn’t fall asleep at the wheel.

David Hall started the company Velodyne, now located in Morgan Hill, CA, based on an invention in the audio business that improved speaker system sound quality.   He turned the day to day managing of the company over to his brother, Bruce Hall, and now spends his time thinking up new inventions.

You may one day get the opportunity to read the paper, eat breakfast, pay a few bills, email your college roommate, and work the thigh master all during a morning commute.  Your grandparents may be able to shop for groceries, visit your kiddies, and enjoy a longer independent life with LIDAR assisting their driving.

Although it may be several years before they hit the road, these cars have already been tested on 140,000 miles of California roads from the Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.

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However, Hull does not specify the required speed of the river or even how much energy the Vena Microhydro System can create.  Although he claims it can generate enough hydro-electricity to power your gadgets, you may have to consider if its worth the risk of falling in.  Until we know for sure, I probably wouldn’t get my hands wet.

River-Powered Personal Charger Expands Energy Options for the Outdoorsy [TreeHugger]

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With the M-Dress, made of silky jersey, a woman does not need to excavate her purse in order to receive or make a call.  Instead, she simply lifts her wrists to say hello and brings it back down to say goodbye.  This is because the little black dress has built-in motion sensors and gesture recognition software.  It has a spot beneath its label for a SIM card, so the user can keep her phone number.  But don’t get too comfortable dancing in your new phone because a sweet upper body move might actually call your mom.

CuteCircuit has developed other wearable technology including the Hug Shirt which attempts to recreate the sensation of touch and allow people to send and receive hugs via mobile phone.  I’m all about getting close, but if I’m applying eyeliner or maneuvering a sticky cart at the grocery store, I’d stick to the dress. Where is the antenna? And why make the dress an entire cellphone, why not just make it a cellphone headset with a holder for your cellphone?

M-Dress [CuteCircuit]
Little Black Dress That Works as a Cellphone Turns You into the Gadget [ecouterre]

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The Amp is a small square solar pack, meant for a mobile portable in your hands solution.  The Fuse is a bit larger, will strap on to an existing backpack and give you the same amount of power as the Switch, which is the same size as the Fuse, just adds a bit more storage space.

Specifications

• Two high-efficiency solar panels that together generate up to 4 Watts of power
• 3,000 mAh, 11 Watt-hour Lithium Polymer battery with integrated USB port
• 9 common adapters for easy connection to most phones and other handheld electronics
• USB Charging Cable for devices and Charging Cable for Voltaic Battery
• Switchable solar output Voltage between 6 and 12 Volts, providing ability to charge DSLR camera, video camera and other devices with 7.4 Volt batteries directly from solar power.

Voltaic Systems

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Working with engineers from Bridgestone America, the students designed an electric vehicle that is inspired by the 2000 Lola Indy and gets a 300mpg equivalent.  The single-seater weighs less than 1,500 pounds and is therefore half the weight of 98% of other EVs out there.  It uses its light-weight frame, electric propulsion system, and high-efficiency Ecopia EP100 tires to cruise at commuter speeds with zero emissions. The

The DeLaSalle students are already planning to beat their own record by increasing the aerodynamics of their design and developing an electric motor with even higher efficiency.  Maybe if they continue on this track, they won’t have to pay a dime in gas for next year’s limo ride.

DeLaSalle School

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Tata motors Indica

The green vehicles will first be launched in the UK, where the Tata Motors Technical Centre received a £10-million loan towards building the electric Indica.   The loan comes from the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme which promotes the development of electric vehicles by the UK Government.  Electric vehicles also enjoy government support in Scandinavian nations where infrastructure is already in place.  Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are therefore expecting to see the Indica and Ace EVs following their release in the UK.

Unfortunately, the electric Indica and Ace must travel a longer road to reach its domestic market.  “Infrastructure support, primarily the network of charging stations, is practically absent in India. We cannot have electric vehicles without Government support, especially for setting up stations,” said Mr. Ravi Pisharody, President, Commercial Vehicles.

Other upcoming projects by Tata Motors include Jaguar, Land Rover, and SUV hybrids.

The post Tata Motors drives two new EVs to Europe appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Top speed is set at 10 knots, it utilizes a VW Marine TDI 75-4 diesel engine, which also allows the generator to charge up the batteries. The solar roof, equipped with 6 standard photovoltaic solar panels protected by a 3.2 mm glass shield, provides electricity for driving and to power appliances inside the boat.  With a day of sunlight, the panels can produce up to 2 kW of electric power and recharge the batteries to 80%.

A comparison of fuel consumption by Seaway Group Slovenia (makers of the new boat) show that the Greenline 33 is on par with a 33 foot sailboats for the amount of litres of petrol and CO2 emission in kg used per boating season.

This $300,000 USD hybrid is completely emission-free when in electric mode, and will burn on average 4 times less fossil fuels per nautical mile than comparable planing hulls. Next time you cruise into a marina’s port, with the Greenline 33 you’ll be coming in without smoke, noise, and wake. Something no other powerboat can claim.

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asf

What’s going to happen when the iPhone becomes available through Verizon?  A new survey by market research firm Morpace provides a good prediction.  Morpace surveyed 1,000 consumers across all carriers and 29 percents said they were “somewhat/very likely” to purchase an iPhone with Verizon.  According to the survey, 34 percent of AT&T iPhone owners are holding off upgrades so they can make a switch.  Forty-seven percent of those would consider Verizon the ideal candidate.

How would Verizon handle the newbies?  A few million new users could mean the network data hits rush hour. It could also mean bad news for Androids. Currently, Verizon sells the highest number of Androids.  But according to the survey, 51 percent of Verizon customers would be “somewhat/very likely” to buy an iPhone.  Which means Androids may have a hard time keeping up, especially if Verizon builds a carpool lane.

Survey Says: 34 Percent Of AT&T iPhone Owners Are Waiting To Switch To Verizon [Tech Crunch]

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Huawei T62W touchscreen eReader running Android?

Little is yet known about the Huawei T62W ereader, including screen resolution and what type of e-book formats it will support.  The operating system also remains a mystery although it’s rumored to be the Android OS.  What we do know is that it comes with a 6-inch white-on-gray screen that is sensitive to the touch.  This is a nice deviation from the space-hogging Kindle keyboard and no-touch.   Other expected features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G connectivity, microSDHC and SIM card slots.

Huawei T62W e-reader clears FCC – touchscreen, Wifi, 3G [The Digital Reader]
Huawei T62W eReader Sails Through FCC with Touchscreen, WiFi, and 3G in Tow [SlashGear]

The post FCC Spotting: Huawei touchscreen eReader with Wi-Fi and 3G to sport Android? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

FLIP ship (Floating Instrument Platform) [Marine Physical Laboratory]
Crazy FLIP ship designed to change its orientation–from horizontal to vertical [core77]

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