Posts in Cars

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Pretend to have a V-8 with the SoundRacer

Antuan Goodwin | Nov 23, 2009

That's strange, I thought a V-10 engine would be a bit bigger than this...
(Credit: SoundRacer)

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, "I wish I had a V-8?" Well, what if I told you that you could give your crappy car a V-8 rumble or even a V-10 scream for US$40? Now, what if I told you that you wouldn't actually be getting any extra performance to go along with that sound? If you're still interested in this shady deal, then you're probably a poseur. In any case, you'll want to check out the SoundRacer.

The device plugs into your vehicle's cigarette lighter, where it uses fluctuations in the power flow to calculate your engine's RPM. It then broadcasts a fake engine note to your car's stereo via an FM transmission. The general idea is for your vehicle to sound like it's powered by a V-8 or V-10 engine, but I predict that the outcome will probably sound like a crappy, fake revving played through crappy speakers on top of your car's already crappy existing engine note. Of course, your mileage may vary.
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Ford makes seatbelts that inflate during collision

Waynne Cunningham | Nov 06, 2009

Ford's inflatable seat belts are designed for the rear seat. (Credit: Ford)

Ford recently announced a new seat belt innovation: Seat belts that inflate during a collision. Designed for rear-seat passengers, Ford claims the new seat belts spread collision force over five times the area of a traditional seat belt when inflated. In a crash, the seat belts limit head and neck movement, which should reduce injury.

Ford also says the extra bulk of these seat belts gives them a padded feeling, making them more comfortable, so rear-seat passengers are more likely to wear them. Current usage statistics show that 82 percent of front seat occupants wear seat belts, but only 61 percent of rear seat passengers wear them.

These inflatable seat belts will be included in the next update to the Ford Explorer, with other Ford vehicles following.
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Zinc air battery aims to replace lithium eventually

Martin LaMonica | Nov 06, 2009

The components of ReVolt's current rechargeable battery technology include an air electrode, an interface below it in blue, and a zinc electrode. (Credit: ReVolt Technologies)

Startup ReVolt Technology is developing rechargeable zinc air batteries, a technology it says promises longer runtime for consumer electronics and plug-in vehicles.

The Switzerland-based company, which was spun out of a Norwegian research institute five years ago, anticipates commercializing a rechargeable coin-size batteries next year. But the technology has the potential to be a cheaper and more energy-dense alternative to lithium-ion batteries in consumer electronics, grid storage, and transportation, according to CEO James McDougall.

Zinc air batteries, which are already used in hearing aids, create an electrical current through a chemical reaction between zinc and the oxygen in air. Researchers have pursued rechargeable zinc air batteries for many years because zinc is relatively abundant and the internal chemistry, safe.
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Tele Atlas launches crowd-sourced Speed Profiles in Taiwan

Damian Koh | Nov 05, 2009

(Credit: Tele Atlas)

If you've not heard of Netherlands-based company Tele Atlas' Speed Profiles, you're not alone. After all, this is the first time the mapping solutions company is launching the product in Asia. Those across the pond in the US and Europe have been enjoying the service for some time already, and now Taiwan will be getting it, too.

In a nutshell, Speed Profiles aggregates, or crowd sources, data from anonymous GPS devices and uses them to calculate a better route to your destination. In addition, instead of simply relying on conventional route calculations, Speed Profiles takes into account the "frequency of traffic lights to lunch breaks at large schools, to complex intersections, to alleyways and major highways", according to Tele Atlas' senior product manager, Nhai Cao.

The ultimate benefit to the end-user is time and fuel saved. Alas, when asked about the roadmap of Speed Profiles for the rest of Asia, Cao said the company plans to "offer coverage where community data is available and anticipates an expanded number of participants in Asia Pacific".

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Robot head assists with road navigation

Wayne Cunningham | Oct 30, 2009

MIT's concept robot head mounts on the dashboard to assist with navigation.(Credit: MIT)

AIDA's robot head can show warning signs. (Credit: MIT)

MIT intends to revolutionize GPS navigation by making it friendly and predictive, using a friendly robot helper to anticipate your needs. The Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) is a robot head on an articulated neck, reminiscent of movie robots from the 1980s, that mounts in the center of the dashboard.

It incorporates an expressive "face" that can smile, look sad, show warning signs, and even wink at you. AIDA was developed as a collaboration between the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab, MIT's SENSEable City Lab, and Volkswagen Group of America's Electronics Research Lab.
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