New Tech Could Mean Hands-Free Driving

Swedish trials have shown that, in principle at least, it could be possible to create a “road train” of vehicles controlled only by one driver.

Sadly, this isn’t an invention I came up with during one lengthy journey by which expressways would be replaced with airport-style travelators, an ideaI stand by despite some minor limitations involving logistics, physics and economics.

Instead the idea is to use electronically controlled vehicles arranged in such a way that the front vehicles issues commands. This controls the steering and speed of the cars behind, while each individual vehicle sends and receives signals to make sure they are at a safe distance from one another. Drivers would control when they join and leave the convoy via a control panel in their vehicle, with the convoy adjusting to leave enough space for the car to safely pull out.

The technology was tested through the tenuously named Sartre (SAfe Road TRains for the Environment), a European Commission research project. The test saw a lorry lead the way, taking control of a single car on a test track.

There are several claimed advantages for the technology: as well as making life easier for drivers, who can take a break from intense concentration, it could cut congestion by making a more efficient use of space, and even cut fuel consumption by 20% thanks to the cars being close enough to cut the effects of air drag.

The idea is that the system would be used on designated roads, with the lead vehicle controlled by a professional driver. Cars taking part would likely pay a fee to fund the technology.

According to the original timetable, further trials are scheduled for Spain and the UK, with a public road test in Spain. However, no matter how successful the technological development, it could be many years if ever before it comes into use, simply because of the likely difficulty of persuading national governments the technology is safe to allow on public roads.

And yes, that is a Windows logo you can see in the photograph. And yes, you can make your own BSOD comment here.

(Image credit: Ricardo UK)



iHop: A Self-Balancing Robotic Pogo Stick [Video]

“iHop” is a toy robot that can hop. It uses two independently actuated arms in order to simultaneously hop and balance in the lateral plane. The “sagittal” plane is stabilized by torque applied to the two drive wheels (note that the wheels are, for the most part, stationary due to the lack of disturbances about this axis). The symmetric design allows it to hop on either end of the central “leg”, enabling cartwheeling maneuvers (stay tuned).

[Via]

Professional Cosplay Videos

I know as much about anime as I do quantum physics. But one thing I do know is that all those cosplayers at cons spend a lot of time, effort, and money to get their costumes just right. Unfortunately, all that hard work is usually captured by low-resolution digital cameras, poor lighting, and boring, static photos. But Ackson Lee takes a different approach to capturing those wonderful cosplay costumes.

Using HD video cameras on Steadicam harnesses, Lee and his small team of videographers run around cons taking some pretty incredible clips of fans in costume. They actually take the time to setup shots, have the people pose, and sometimes even have them act out small scenes to give their characters life. The videos are beautiful and definitely give you a better appreciation for all the hard work put into the wardrobe and props.

Check out this special Final Fantasy video, then hit Lee’s YouTube channel for more. And then someone give this guy a budget, because he could make some kick ass fan films.

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Now if You’ll Excuse me Supercut…

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my bunk.

…and what do YOU need to be excused about?

[Via TDW]

Stormtrooper in Detention [Pic]

First offence, detention, then if you fail again, you get your neck crushed by Vader.

[Via assorted-goodness]

A Behind the Scenes Look: How Memory Chips Are Made

A really cool “behind the scene” video showing how memory chips are made. Enjoy!

[Via Reddit]

Behold: The New HTML5 Logo

Most of you won’t really give a crap, but here it is, the new logo representing the next major revision of the HTML standard: HTML5.

It stands strong and true, resilient and universal as the markup you write. It shines as bright and as bold as the forward-thinking, dedicated web developers you are. It’s the standard’s standard, a pennant for progress. And it certainly doesn’t use tables for layout.

We present an HTML5 logo.

Thoughts?

Keep Warm with a Geeky Scarf

You can find some really fantastic handmade geeky crafts on Etsy (they do have a whole section called geekery), and one type I’ve noticed a lot of lately are scarves – probably because it’s cold outside! Though of course you can’t go wrong with emulating Doctor Who, here’s some you might want to snatch up – but be quick because Etsy goodies are often one-of-a-kind.

Knitted power cord

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