Filed under: Gadgets , Etc. , Euro , Tech Google has already faced plenty of issues with its Street View technology, not the least of which has been angry Japanese citizens and invasion of privacy lawsuits from Americans whose driveways were mistaken for a roads. Beyond these unforeseen issues, there’s also the rather obvious problem of taking images of places a Chevy Cobalt just can’t reach. Consider that problem (at least partially) solved with the new Google Trike. The three-wheeled, human-powered overgrown tricycles carry 250 pounds of ballast in the form of “a mounted Street View camera and a specially decorated box containing image collecting gadgetry,” says the internet giant. All that extra heft reportedly requires a “specially trained super fit” rider. Google’s new trikes will be deployed first in Genoa, Italy, this spring. Assuming that launch proves successful, Google will send its pedal-powered cameras to the United Kingdom, where they’ll point their lenses towards a slew of famous British landmarks. Have a good one in mind? Google says its open to suggestions and will be working with VisitBritain to pick the most desirable locations to shoot. To assuage those averse to getting their pictures taken, Google promises to “apply our face-blurring and license plate blurring to all these images to protect people’s privacy.” [Source: Google via Wired ] Continue reading Google Street View switching to trikes for roads less traveled Google Street View switching to trikes for roads less traveled originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 May 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Google Street View switching to trikes for roads less traveled

Filed under: Gadgets , Etc. , Porsche Porsche owners have long reveled in their ability to smoke the competition on track and street, but now Porschephiles can also leave their marque’s mark on the backside of burgers, hotdogs and ribeyes. Grill marks, of course. Barbeques Galore and Porsche Design Studio have burned the midnight oil for two years while working on the the new X-Series Grill. Under its sleek, German-styled exterior lies some fairly hot grilling technology. Instead of the standard gas burners found in most grills, the X-Series uses four infrared burners that can crank out 52,000 BTUs using 50% less fuel with 80% fewer flare-ups. By our very rough shadetree estimates, that should be good for a zero to steak time of about 10 minutes. Or so. With a starting sticker price of $5,999 Porsche Design’s first grill comes with a motorized rotisserie, an LCD temp display with remote probe, and an insulated double-walled hood. Step up to the X-Series Island (above) for $8,499 for a stainless steel finish and concealed cupboards and gas cylinder storage. All models are covered under a lifetime warranty for service, parts and repair. Also included is the right to brag to your numbers that you have a Porsche in your backyard. Car-B-Q: X-Series Grill by Porsche Design Studio originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 May 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , CES , I.C.E. , Ford Click the image above to view a video of the new SYNC system after the jump At the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ) Ford announced that three new features would be included on the next iteration of the SYNC system: traffic data, GPS-guided directions and the ability to snag information from the web through the user’s data/GPS/Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to display or read weather conditions, sports scores and other information through the stereo. On May 26th, the upgrade will be made available to all current 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury owners (you download the update to your PC, then transfer it to the SYNC system through a thumb drive) and all new 2010 models will be equipped with the upgrade from the factory. But as Ford CEO Alan Mulally promised, there’s more on the way. Ford and Microsoft plan to continually update SYNC, and according to Charlotte Fisher from Ford’s Design and Technology team, “every six to eight to twelve months we’ll be delivering new services.” One of the possible features Ford could include on future iterations of SYNC is streaming internet radio, and Fisher confirmed that Ford is currently “talking with Pandora .” Can you say XM-killer? Hit the jump to watch a video of the new system in action. Continue reading Future Ford SYNC upgrade could include Pandora streaming Future Ford SYNC upgrade could include Pandora streaming originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 May 2009 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Etc. , Tech , Audi , Lifestyle Audi is obviously looking forward to being in the coming Gran Turismo 5. After all, the Quattro company has created a website to promote its car on the N?rburgring in real life and in the game, and it interviewed GT5 mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi about what fans can expect. Yamauchi-san revealed that the game is going to offer not only more vehicles, more online features, and increased detail, but it will also include night racing, damage rendering (previously confirmed), and weather changes. If you watch the Audi R8 Meets Gran Turismo 5 video, one of the game developers even talks of one day providing weather reports for an entire 24-hour race, and you can read the interview with Yamauchi-san by clicking on a PDF link here . The graphical and gameplay additions are surely welcome and long overdue, and could return GT5 to the head of the racing sim pack - whenever it finally gets here… View Poll [Source: GT Planet ] REPORT: GT5 to get weather changes, night racing - and yes, damage rendering [w/POLL] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 May 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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REPORT: GT5 to get weather changes, night racing - and yes, damage rendering [w/POLL]

Filed under: Gadgets , Etc. , Tech Aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, vulcanized rubber…it was only a matter of time before somebody made a watch out of carbon ceramic. And who better to do it than Brembo and Meccaniche Veloci? The former you’ll know well as the most recognized name in brakes. The latter may be known to some of you as the Italian watchmaker that designed the Quattro Valvole timepiece , named and styled after the four-valve cylinder head and incorporating four individual automatic Swiss watch movements. Now the two have come together to produce a special edition Quattro Valvole Carbon Ceramico (CCM), unveiled at the 2009 Baselworld watch show, that could be the ultimate car watch even among a rapidly expanding sub-segment. The carbon-ceramic watch case is made by Brembo using the same process as it uses for producing racing brake discs. Short fibers of carbon are combined with high-strength ceramics and formed using high-pressure water jets. The result is incredibly strong yet lightweight construction that is also highly resistant to corrosion or deformation. Like Brembo’s brake calipers, buyers can choose between different color combinations of red, black, yellow or silver, and the watch comes with interchangeable straps in rubber and alligator leather. As well it should, at $15,000 apiece…another element this unique timepiece shares in common with a set of carbon ceramic brakes. [Source: Meccaniche Veloci via Gizmag ] Stop Time: Mecchanice Veloce and Brembo team up for carbon-ceramic watch originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Tech , Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MEC) wants to be able to offer a 1 DIN Blu-ray DVD player in the 2009 fiscal year. The unit, 1/3 the size of an at-home Blue-ray player, will not only fit in a standard dash slot but will also play BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE discs. MEC says the kit is expected to go along with in-car navigation systems, but since it runs on Linux it remains to be seen how - and who - will be integrating it with the Windows CE that generally runs navigation software. If and when they do get it to work, they want to bundle it with a TV tuner that can display digital terrestrial broadcasts at up to 120 mph. Because when you’ve finished watching Transformers 2 at illegal speeds, you’ll need something to do… other than drive… [Source: Tech On via Engadget ] Mitsubishi unveils in-dash Blu Ray player originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Tech What’s good for the iPhone is apparently good for the sedan. Hughes Telematics is working up a suite of programs that will work with its in-car communications technology and allow you to download applications for your car. From tailored data collection to controlling your car’s systems with your phone to repurposing your car’s features, the possibilities will turn your humble transport into the ultimate programmable appliance when Hughes releases the software to be ready in 2010. Let the betting begin on how long it will take someone to make an app that makes your car fart. [Source: New York Times ] Hughes Telematics working on downloadable apps for vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Tech Pirelli’s Cyber Tire will provide real-time tire performance information via a chip/transponder setup in the tire tread. Operating temperature and pressures, typology of the road’s surface, and vertical load exerted on the tire will be among the data collected and monitored. The system will work in conjunction with another Pirelli invention, the Cyber Wheel , which will convey wheel information such as hub loads in the same way. Now that the tire company has partnered with Brembo and Magnetti Marelli on the Cyber Tire, the tie-up could mean a system that quickly transfers information from the tire to the driver, car, and brakes, allowing for more informed and instantaneous performance changes based on driving conditions. [Source: Pirelli ] Pirelli working with Brembo and Magneti Marelli on Cyber Tire originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Pirelli working with Brembo and Magneti Marelli on Cyber Tire

Filed under: Gadgets , Tech , Audi Audi’s MMI in-car command system is one of the most intuitive offered by an OEM, but that isn’t stopping Audi from piling on the improvements. The screen is now a seven-inch, 800×400 TFT display, being fed info from a high-capacity hard disk, a DVD drive, and an NVIDIA graphics chip. It also gets an eight-way joystick on the central knob, which means you can make mouse-like movements on the screen for point-and-click ease. In addition to all that, there are simpler vocal inputs, 3-D maps, a 10,000-number phone book, and two processors so that everything can run at the same time. It will arrive in the U.S. with the Q5 later this year, but in the mean time, you can get all the details in the lengthy press release after the jump. Continue reading Audi details new MMI Audi details new MMI originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Government/Legal , Tech Click above for a walk-through of how the SQUID works The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate has been working with a research firm in Arizona that has come up with the Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device (SQUID). The SQUID is designed to safely, non-lethally stop drivers trying to elude the police. Here’s how it works. The SQUID disc is placed in the middle of the road, and a remote operator triggers a two-stage explosion when the getaway car gets close to it. The first explosion sends barbed straps flying out away from the disc, which get hooked on the wheels and undercarriage when the car drives over them. The second explosion occurs when the SQUID detects engine heat directly overhead and sends a burst of “sticky tendrils” that cling the straps to the axles and driveshaft. Within 500 feet, the axles can’t turn any more and the car skids to a halt. The key now is to make it lighter, stronger and cheaper. Last year the SQUID stopped a Dodge Ram pickup traveling at 35 mph, but authorities want to be sure it will stop an F-150 at 120 mph before they’ll seriously consider using it. We aren’t sure that an F-150 doing a four-wheel skid at 120 mph is the safest way to bring someone in, but it is probably better than bullets. The scientists are working on that this year, and if they get it done it could give the word “dragnet” a whole new meaning. Check out a walk-through of how the SQUID works by clicking through the gallery below. Gallery: Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device (SQUID) [Source: DHS via Physorg ] New police pursuit-ending device inspired by Spiderman, squid originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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New police pursuit-ending device inspired by Spiderman, squid