Navia shuttle World"s First Commercial Self-Driving vehicle

 

With companies like Google developing their self-driving car concept, it has become a fight for pride to win the race and launch the first commercial version. A France-based robotics company Induct has clinched the title by presenting to the world its first ever self-driving car.

Launched at CES this month the Navia shuttle can carry a maximum of eight passengers at a time.

If approved, it will be used in public places such as airports, college campuses, theme parks and sports arenas in a bid to eliminate pollution and congestion. Though Navia costs £151,750 per vehicle it is 60% cheaper than a shuttle of the same kind operated by a driver.

 

 

The company says, “Navia is different than other driverless vehicles out there because it is intelligent, self-sufficient and environmentally friendly. Users can summon Navia from their smartphones like an Uber for driverless cars or call it up from their desktop.”

The only thing the passenger has to do is to hit the touchscreen to enter details of the destination.

It has a top speed of 12.5 mph and uses onboard lasers and sensors to detect obstacles in its path. So it doesn’t rely completely on GPS alone to get to the destination. The vehicle allows depth mapping and 3D perception using different camera viewpoints to make sure that steering is clear of pedestrians and other roadside objects.

Two sites are currently using the beta version; a technical college in Switzerland and a high-security industry park run by the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

 

Navia shuttle World"s First Commercial Self-Driving vehicle

Chevrolet AppShop Replicates A Smartphone On The Dashboard

 

The current focus of automakers has basically been to connect your car to your phone. Chevrolet has gone one step further by building smartphone equivalent functionality into the dashboard. This new feature, called the AppShop, is expected to be released with certain selected models this year.

AppShop is expanding on the Chevy MyLink system. This uses a touchscreen and icon-based interface. It includes another icon called apps apart from those present in MyLink like navigation, phone, and the stereo. This gives a choice to the user to browse apps approved by Chevrolet.

 

 

The new Chevrolet models will also be embedded with 4G/LTE data connection to accelerate app downloads. The company is also working towards reducing the interaction time of the user by providing a simple and efficient interface. It presents drivers with just a few large buttons on each screen, minimizing the time it takes to use the app. PriceLine is one of the most anticipated apps on the list. This app is specifically optimized for the car, for example letting the driver quickly initiate a search for nearby hotels.

 

 

The vehicle maintenance app is one which could draw on information such as oil level from the car and can report information like when to replace fluids, conduct diagnostic and schedule appointments and so on. With all this you’ll soon be able to use your smartphone for its main purpose – to make and receive calls and texts.  The hardware supporting MyLink appears to be robust enough to handle the graphics and multiple apps running on it.  Perhaps the next step would be to introduce a voice command system.

Chevrolet AppShop Replicates A Smartphone On The Dashboard

Oculus Rift at CES 2014

with the Crystal Cove Prototype

 

Oculus Rift’s CTO John Carmack showcased a newer, improved version of the Oculus VR headset at CES 2014 codenamed “Crystal Cove”. The chunky googles  house a pair of lenses trained over a 1080p screen. The new and improved version is embedded with sensors to grasp its position to an uncanny degree.

Once it’s on the head, the Oculus starts to give positional info to the computer. This in turn furnishes the 1080p screen with two parallax-shifted images making it a 3D view to the user. Then it’s the work of the brain which then interprets the 3D view to fill the field of view. Once inside the 3D view, move your head even slightly and you’re peeking around the cockpit of your spacecraft. It is perfectly designed for a fully-fledged gaming experience.

 

 

Oculus has revealed that motion blur-induced nausea problem of the previous headset has been eradicated. Other upgrades were inclusion of high-resolution, lower latency and positional motion tracking system to ensure that it is clear where your head is allowing you to examine virtual objects much closer. It still has developments needed to be made especially the slight delay in the translation of real-life movement to screen, but this is still a very big improvement on its predecessor.

Officials have confirmed that a screen quality hike before the consumer release of Oculus Rift is a certainty. Final hardware specifications and the price of the gaming headhave not yet been released. Though the support for gaming is relatively limited, Oculus Rift could definitely shape the future of the gaming world.

 

Oculus Rift at CES 2014

Chevrolet brings 4G LTE future cars

 

Chevrolet is bringing 4G LTE to its OnStar infotainment system in a bid to mark its territory. The car acts as a mobile hub making access to apps and services much faster.

The new system features a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, enabling passengers to take advantage on their smartphones, laptops and tablets. Mary Chan said, “We know that our customers rely on being connected on a daily, if not hourly basis, and they expect to be provided with the information and content they desire with no interruptions. A 4G LTE hotspot that’s built into a car’s architecture will provide a more consistent and powerful Wi-Fi connection than a smartphone.”

 

 

The LTE speeds are to be included in Chevrolet’s future ventures including the Corvette, Impala, Malibu, and Volt. It is also expected to be sparkling in Equinox, Silverado, Silverado HD, Spark and Spark EV soon. The LTE concept is in collaboration with AT&T. Thus, allowing customers to add a vehicle to their existing mobile plan.

The company also revealed a performance data recorder for its 2015 Corvette Stingray, which provides drivers with a way of recording in HD video what it’s like to drive the vehicle.   The footage can help improve driving and allows you to analyse lap times and then share on social media.

Chevrolet brings 4G LTE future cars

Canon PowerShot N100 Selfie camera

Taking its cue from the world of smartphones Canon has launched it latest contender – the new PowerShot N100. Basically, it was created to capture emotions. Every camera does that so what is so special about this one?  The PowerShot N100 captures the photographer’s emotions as the photo is captured. Sounds weird right? The unique feature of N100 is that it has a rear-facing camera which clicks a picture of the photographer at the very instant that they hit the button to capture their image. The self-photograph is then superimposed onto the main photo.

Taking its cue from the world of smartphones Canon has launched it latest contender – the new PowerShot N100. Basically, it was created to capture emotions. Every camera does that so what is so special about this one?  The PowerShot N100 captures the photographer’s emotions as the photo is captured. Sounds weird right? The unique feature of N100 is that it has a rear-facing camera which clicks a picture of the photographer at the very instant that they hit the button to capture their image. The self-photograph is then superimposed onto the main photo.

Canon has a reason for everything and it makes sense too. The company says that the aim is to tell the ‘whole story’ of a photo or video clip taken.  How? By recording the photographer’s emotions at that very instant. These emotions can be automatically gathered using the Story Highlights mode, which you edit to create a shareable video album.

Though its specifications are not out of this world, they still pack a reasonable punch. The Canon PowerShot N100 features a 12.1MP main sensor with 5x optical zoom, touchscreen, NFC and Wi-Fi. It is expected to hit the market this May and will be priced at around £350.

Canon PowerShot N100 Selfie camera

LG all-in-one sound bar makes its debut at CES 2014

Pedestal-style sound bars are big news at the moment and LG have upped their game with their latest addition.  The LG LAB540W Sound Plate is designed to sit under your TV, but unlike its predecessors, it comes with a wireless subwoofer and a built-in Blu-ray player.

The 1.56″ tall sound machine is designed to fit snugly beneath TVs with screens measuring 32″- 55″. LG designed it as a 320-watt, 4.1 channel speaker system and one is unlikely to get anything better in this size and design. The addition of a wireless subwoofer has helped this sound bar stand out since the best available pedestal models remain low even with dedicated subwoofers.

The integrated 3D capable Blu-ray player and the built-in Wi-Fi expose us to LG’s Smart TV suite of streaming media apps. There’s also built-in Bluetooth, for wireless audio streaming from nearly any device. Thus, it is clear that you can add as many features to your device as possible but without the main purpose accomplished it’s just a showcase.

LG all-in-one sound bar makes its debut at CES 2014

BlueWatch by ZTE Takes A Jab At The Pebble Smartwatch

ZTE first every smartwatch BlueWatch

With loads of devices unveiled at CES 2014, ZTE is pushing forward to join the club with its first smartwatch – the BlueWatch. Unfortunately this device seems to be a Pebble clone. The similarities between the two are obvious from the start with both having three buttons on the left and one on the right. The charging system is quite different though as the BlueWatch uses a magnetically attached USB cable to accomplish the purpose. It has a black and white e-paper display, however, which is, again, identical to the Pebble. PING! Magazine’s correspondent revealed that the BlueWatch has weak backlighting in comparison to the Pebble.

With regards to its features the device supports Android and the display measures 1.26″ with a resolution of 144 x 168. With a 235 mAh battery, Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0+ EDR support, and a 4 button setup as a first release this s impressive (although the Pebble holds the credit). ZTE has armed the Bluewatch with a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processor, paired with 128KB of RAM and 1024K of internal flash.  Despite similarities to the Pebble the BlueWatch is still a treat to high-end smartwatch lovers.

BlueWatch is designed to receive notifications, count your steps, find your phone, and perform loads of other smartwatch functions. Want to use it as a fitness-gear?  Sure, it comes with a built-in pedometer. The watch shows three faces with the user’s ability to swap between them, all of which looked very similar to the default faces on the Pebble. The BlueWatch uses Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone and uses apps to control other features.

ZTE has promised a lot more to come adding this is just the beginning. Though ZTE only unveiled the beta version of the watch at the CES, it shows sure signs of selling it in the near future. The company has remained tight-lipped with regards to a release date and the price.

BlueWatch by ZTE Takes A Jab At The Pebble Smartwatch