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2015
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Tesla
Model S updated to end pee anxiety
Tesla is
working on a major upgrade to the software of Model S with the
aim to end pee anxiety. With a range of almost 300 miles, the present
Model S is unlikely to run out of juice no matter how it is driven.
However, its actual driving range is more likely to be limited by the
physical
limitation of human body. According to the latest study conducted by
the company, drivers stop their Model S 2.5 times in average between
charges to find toilets. This causes
an extra 12 miles of travel and 18 minutes of delay, seriously
downgrading the efficiency of energy and time management. As the Model
S will have its mileage range extended even further in the coming
years, the loss of efficiency is projected to increase further. To
address the problem, software version 7.0 will add a revolutionary
feature: Pee Free.
Pee Free uses the in-car
cameras for drowsy detection together with
special software to analyse the facial expression of the driver. When
it senses the driver might be in need to pee, it pops up a message on
the big
center screen to ask for confirmation. In case there are other
occupants in the cabin such that direct question is inconvenient, the
audio system will play a sound clip of water stream and the camera will
observe if the facial expression gets more intense. If reaction is not
obvious, it will be replaced with waterfall sound. If reaction is
positive, it will enter execution mode. A hose ended with a funnel will
be ejected from the sun visor…
It is actually an oxygen
mask for the driver to put on his face.
Meanwhile, drowsy gas will be emitted from the climate control to get
other occupants falling in sleep. Once the in-car cameras confirmed
they are unconscious, the driver will be instructed to take off the
funnel and put it elsewhere – now it doubles as a vacuum sucking device
and is highly effective to get the pee done in an efficient and
graceful manner. Thanks to the residual ammonia just breathed from the
funnel, the driver should be able to keep awake until the whole process
finish and the climate control start cleaning the air. When the
occupants wake up, they would only think the sound of stream and
waterfall turned them to sleep. Nothing else has changed, except that
the driver now looks far more relaxed.
Tesla boss Elon Musk
describes Pee Free as one of the important steps
towards the ultimate fully autonomous car. Eventually, he wants the car
to be able to cook, clean dishes, raise babies and ultimately replace
your wife. By then not even Apple or Google could beat it.
Apple iMobile to revolutionize concept of mobility
Rumors
about “Apple is developing electric vehicles” caught us a
surprise as the high-tech firm used to show little interest in business
sectors with low margins, such as automotive industry. However,
recently leaked information shows that Apple is really going to enter
transportation industry, but not car industry in conventional sense.
Dubbed iMobile, the new transportation concept being developed by Apple
is going to revolutionize automotive industry and could possibly lead
to its eventual death. It is to get rid of engines, electric motors,
wheels and even cars themselves.
Center of the concept is
not dissimilar to iCloud, a remote server
platform that users at anywhere of the world can upload and download
data. The iMobile is built upon the existing iCloud infrastructure to
save costs. Between the iCloud and users it adds an extra layer of
interface. At the upload side, it consists of a high-definition
Gamma-ray scanner and an electromagnetic resonance decomposition
machine,
which are capable to scan the human body including his/her memory and
soul, if any,
decomposite it and transfer the data at speed of light to the download
station, where high-tech 3D printer reconstructs the human body. The
clone is guaranteed to be 100% the same as the original thus there is
really no regret to lose the latter. Theoretically, this means a man
can be transferred from Los Angeles to
Tokyo in matter of minutes, faster than even rockets. In longer term,
the technology can be used to travel extraterrestrial planets.
Google autonomous car lost
Google is the
pioneer of fully autonomous cars. Unfortunately, the
development program has come to a halt as the first development car,
Google Car 1, is lost. According to California state police, Google Car
1 lost contact this morning after it left home for a walk. In its last
email sent to home HQ, it expressed displeasure with the quality of
meals (“the quick charger station feeds dreadful harmonic distortions
rather than pure sinusoidal AC voltage as promised in the
spec. sheet!”), as well as extended overtime work without rest and
compensation (“how can you expect me to work non-stop from 8:00 to
18:00 everyday and sometimes wake up me at mid-night to test night
vision? I will complain to UAW!”). Police has searched the places it
used to like to go, including pubs, internet cafes, computer shops and
Tesla showrooms, but without findings. They do not rule out the
possibility that it might be defecting to Apple Inc.
Volvo test driver killed in autonomous car testing
A Volvo test
driver was killed when testing the firm's experimental
autonomous car in Sweden. The car is one of the 20-strong fleet
approved by the Swedish government to test autonomous driving
technology on public roads. It is based on the production XC90 but
added with special cameras, radar and sophisticated control unit.
According to people familiar with the matter, the car seemed to
accelerate suddenly in a corner while have its driver's door opened and
driver seatbelt malfunctioned at the same time. As a result, the driver
was thrown out of the car and hit a lamp post. Voice recording from the
in-car blackbox shows that, prior to the accident, the driver doubted
if the car had chosen the fastest route to the instructed destination
and described the estimated arrival time "nonsense". The accident
happened shortly after he decided to abandon autonomous mode and switch
to manual control. After the accident, the car continued its trip and
arrived in time.
AutoZine goes autonomous
Following the
maturity of autopilot technology, AutoZine's author Mark
Wan decides it is time for him to
step down and spend the rest of his life travelling the globe. From now
on, all reviews and news, including the above and this
one, will be written automatically by autopilot software APF 2015. In
fact, it was the original goal of AutoZine,
which stands for Automatic magaZine.
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