cars – Page 3 – Impact Lab

Alternative Transportation, Analysis, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Google’s self-driving cars still face many hidden obstacles

September 2, 2014

A pre-made map only lets Google’s self-driving car know about the presence of certain stationary objects, like traffic lights.

Google’s self-driving car has made impressive progress but there are still some major limitations for automated driving. It can’t drive itself in 99 percent of the country. The car knows nearly nothing about parking, and can’t be taken out in snow or heavy rain, and it would drive straight over a gaping pothole.

Continue reading… “Google’s self-driving cars still face many hidden obstacles”

Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

Top 9 ways Google is changing the world

August 9, 2014

Project Loon aims to bring internet access to the two-thirds of the world.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, last month, thumbed his nose at Google for its various “moonshot” projects, currently housed at Google’s semi-secret X Labs. When Nadella was asked if Microsoft could learn a thing or two from X Labs, he said that there’s always something to learn from “from people who market themselves well.”

Continue reading… “Top 9 ways Google is changing the world”

Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints, People Making a Difference, Science & Technology News

2050 and the Future of Infrastructure

August 4, 2014

Futurist Thomas Frey: Much of the world around us has been formed around key pieces of infrastructure. Most see this as a testament to who we are as a society, and part of the cultural moorings we need to guide us into the future.

Continue reading… “2050 and the Future of Infrastructure”

Alternative Transportation, Business, Science & Technology News

Baidu is developing a semi-autonomous car

August 1, 2014

Baidu wants to keep the individual in control.

Would you prefer to ride in a completely autonomous self-driving car, like Google’s self-driving car, or one like Chinese search engine Baidu’s semi-autonomous car? Instead of cars that have no steering wheels, gas pedals, or brake pedals for drivers to control, Baidu is thinking about cars with intelligent assistants who help you drive.

Continue reading… “Baidu is developing a semi-autonomous car”

Nanotechnology, Science & Technology News, top 10

Top 10 ways nanotechnology is transforming the world around us

July 30, 2014

Nanotechnology might be outside your window at this very moment in the form of a gecko-like human scaling a self-cleaning, nano-enhanced solar window.

A pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles that can help you ascend a 25-foot sheet of glass might not seem like the most impressive use of nanotechnology but this real-world advance aptly demonstrates how quickly the field of nanotechnology is climbing into our lives. Below are ten additional examples of how nanotechnology is already changing the world, followed by 10 ways it may help society scale even greater heights in the near future.

Continue reading… “Top 10 ways nanotechnology is transforming the world around us”

Business, Internet, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Here’s why automakers want 4G technology in cars

July 28, 2014

Automakers are counting on the connected car.

Today’s cars are trying to replicate the smartphone experience. Touchscreen interfaces are common. Dashboard designers take UI tips from iPhones, and automakers want to build apps for cars. Large automakers like General Motors are taking the next obvious step and integrating 4G LTE service into their cars starting this year. Drivers pay a monthly service fee for in-car 4G that’s separate from their smartphones, and use it for an array of services from movies for kids in the backseat to sophisticated GPS-on-steroids solutions. It’s a win-win for automakers, the dealers who sell the 4G add-ons, and carriers like AT&T. But is it a win for consumers?

Continue reading… “Here’s why automakers want 4G technology in cars”

Alternative Transportation, Analysis, Science & Technology News

Imagine life without cars

July 18, 2014

The big benefit from new IT-mediated car services will come if they make it possible for lots of people.

There has been a lot of discussion lately about Uber, Lyft, and all that. The big benefit from new IT-mediated car services will come if they make it possible for lots of people, not just people in Manhattan, to live without owning their own cars. And if you think about it, you can see how that might work.

Continue reading… “Imagine life without cars”

Alternative Transportation, Analysis, Science & Technology News, Weapons

FBI sees driverless cars as a ‘potential lethal weapon’

July 17, 2014

FBI is more optimistic about the benefits of driverless cars when it comes to surveillance efforts.

Self-driving cars are a “potential lethal weapon,” but could make surveillance “more effective and easier,” according to FBI claims in an internal report surfaced by the Guardian.

Continue reading… “FBI sees driverless cars as a ‘potential lethal weapon’”

Alternative Transportation, government, Science & Technology News

Helsinki’s ambitious ride-share project wants to end the need for car ownership

July 16, 2014

Streets of Helsinki

The government of Helsinki, Finland will pilot an ambitious project to end the need for car ownership through a combination of taxis, ride-sharing apps, carpooling, and traditional public transit.

Continue reading… “Helsinki’s ambitious ride-share project wants to end the need for car ownership”

Big Problems, Business, Economy, Latest Trend

Abandoned luxury cars become a big problem in Dubai

July 15, 2014

Thousands of luxury cars are being abandoned every year since Dubai’s financial meltdown.

Dubai over the last several years has been facing an unusual problem of high end sports cars being abandoned and left to gather thick layers of dust at airport parking lots and on the roadside across the city. If you’ve ever been to Dubai or anywhere in the United Arab Emirates, you will have noticed they have a serious car culture out there, with a particular preference for the latest and greatest in high-end super cars. (Pics)

Continue reading… “Abandoned luxury cars become a big problem in Dubai”

Alternative Transportation, Business, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

Solar Forest provides a charging station for electric cars

June 3, 2014

Solar Forest

We aren’t out of the woods yet when it comes to providing a steady supply of clean energy for electric vehicles. So, designer Neville Mars has conceived of an incredible EV charging station that takes the form of an evergreen glade of solar trees. His photovoltaic grove serves a dual function, acting as a go-to source for clean renewable energy while providing a shady spot for cars to park as they charge.

Continue reading… “Solar Forest provides a charging station for electric cars”

Alternative Transportation, Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Robots, Science & Technology News

Thanks to Google and Tesla, the first driverless cars will be electric

May 30, 2014

Electric cars and robotic cars are moving to the market hand-in-hand.

Google’s new experimental fleet of robotic cars are electric. That’s important because as one of the leaders of developing the software and artificial intelligence that will move autonomous cars through the streets, Google is now also helping set the path for the hardware of the future industry, and it’s skewing that path toward electric vehicles.

Continue reading… “Thanks to Google and Tesla, the first driverless cars will be electric”