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Self-driving 'InMotion' concept puts your living room on wheels
National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), the company that discontinued the Saab name last June, debuted its InMotion electric level 5 autonomous car concept at CES Asia that's essentially a modular room on wheels. There aren't even any dashboard controls: Occupants adjust the seating arrangements, lighting and environmental settings with a paired app. A concept for the self-driving living/working space of the future has arrived.
ICYMI: Rubik's phone, underwater bomb bot and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The University of Bristol's Interaction Group made a phone prototype out of small cubes that can be flipped around to form different shapes. Saab created an underwater robot to help detect explosives. And Colorado State University students made a real life Mario Kart game with carts that we are dying to experience for ourselves. In case you want to share it with friends, the video for the bottle opener that automatically messages your friends when you open a beer is here. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Saab built a robot to stop underwater terrorist bombs
The US isn't just worried about terrorist bombings above-ground -- it's concerned about bombs below the waves, too. To that end, it's working with Saab on a remotely-controlled underwater robot, the Sea Wasp, that's designed to deal with improvised explosives. The machine (a smaller take on the existing Seaeye) uses a mix of sonar and a manipulator arm to find, move and sometimes disable explosives. Its party trick is its sheer maneuverability. It can hover in virtually any position, helping it dispose of bombs even when they're attached to a ship's hull.
New fighter pilot helmet delivers night vision without goggles
Fighter pilots have access to helmets with amazing abilities. However, they still have to strap on heavy night vision goggles to fly in the dark -- an all too literal pain in the neck. Much to aircrews' relief, BAE Systems wants to make that clunky headgear a distant memory. Its brand new Striker II helmet includes a night vision camera that projects its footage on to the visor's high-resolution display, giving the pilot a good look at the outside world without the need for extra equipment. The tech should be far more comfortable during lengthy missions, especially in sharp turns where G-forces make any added weight feel that much worse.
Saab shows off Android-based IQon in-car infotainment system
It may not be the first to produce an Android-based in-car infotainment system, but Saab is diving headlong into the fray with its new IQon platform that it's just unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. It not only packs the usual navigation and entertainment features, but is tied into a network of sensors in the car that measure everything from vehicle speed to inside and outside temperatures to the position of the sun. While that's fairly impressive on its own, Saab is also going the extra mile and making all of that information to third-party developers though an API, which they'll be able to use to produce their own applications -- which will (you guessed it) be made available through Saab's own app store. Unfortunately, it's not clear when the new system will actually be available to consumers, but Saab is already using it in a fleet of test cars, and it's now showing it off in its new PhoeniX concept car in Geneva. Head on past the break for a brief teaser video.
Saab chooses UQM motors for its 9-3 ePower EV, will be carving Alp twisties soon
Saab announced it was working on an all-electric version of its 9-3 wagon late last year, dubbing it the ePower. Now we're learning what's driving it. The vehicle will be powered by a 135kW UQM Technologies PowerPhase system, an equivalent of 181hp that will propel the car to 60 in 8.5 seconds -- no Huayra but pretty peppy for an EV. Top speed is 93mph and the car's range is expected to be 200km, or about 125miles. Interestingly Saab is eschewing more advanced water-cooled battery tech, like that found in the Volt or Model S, and going for an air-cooled design, despite even the classic 93 of the '50s being water cooled. The company has indicated this will cut costs and promises the battery will still operate at full power even when temperatures drop below -22F. We'll find out soon, as early cars are set to hit Swiss roads sometime in the coming months.
Google Maps Send-To-Car feature goes live on Ford SYNC systems
Avid OnStar users received this here functionality a fortnight ago, and BMW owners have been bragging about it for years. But it looks as if the world's other automakers are finally coming around to one of life's undeniable facts: Google Maps is top-notch, and in almost every instance, trumps whatever factory mapping system that any given consumer has overpaid for. Today, drivers of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in the US enabled with Ford SYNC can send business listings or addresses found on GMaps directly to their cars (from a web browser, naturally). With the new additions, Google's Send-To-Car feature is now active in 19 countries and across 20 brands, but we're guessing that your brand isn't one of them. Or maybe that's just us moping and looking for company.
Did an iPod toast a Saab?
Apple always seems to have a lot of fire-related news. Overheating iPhones, power adapters melting down, and now we have word from Sweden that a 2007 Saab burned to a crisp, and the experts there suggest an iPod as the culprit.It as been determined there was no technical problem with the car, but the owner had an iPod, a mobile phone and a digital camera in the car. The iPod was on the front seat, and that is where the fire apparently started. The Saab was not even running when the fire broke out. It's not known if the iPod was charging, or just sitting there by itself.The investigation is ongoing. We all know Apple makes some hot products, but this one may have been a little too hot.Here's a link to the Google translation of the original Swedish article. We'll let you know if we hear more.[via Engadget]
iPod suspected of setting Saab ablaze
We've all seen the potential havoc that an iPod can wreak -- either through misuse or some general explosiveness -- and it looks like we now might have yet another cautionary tale out of Sweden, where a Saab 9-3 recently met an unfortunate end. While the exact, official cause of the blaze hasn't quite been pegged down, investigators seem to strongly suspect that an iPod left in the car is to blame. That's apparently because the car itself showed no signs of negligence or other technical faults (or evidence that the fire was intentionally set), and because the fire started on the seats, where the iPod was seemingly left. What's not clear, however, is if the iPod was simply tossed there and caught fire all by itself, or if was charging when things went horribly wrong -- although we're personally willing to simply buy Google Translate's answer that "the music has become so hot that it melted the inside."[Thanks, Martin L.]
Saab goes double-green with biofuel hybrid
Not a whole lot of details to be getting on with here, but Saab has confirmed that they have plans to produce a vehicle based on their Bio Power Hybrid concept currently showing at the British International Motor Show. The vehicle combines the potential of E85, a fuel blend with 85% bioethanol from plants, with the further emissions reducing, power increasing and cost reducing perks of an electric motor. The hybrid's batteries replace the spare tire compartment in the car's trunk, and since the Bio Power Hybrid uses run-flat tires, there's essentially nothing lost in the trade-off. Saab's Bio Power models have been especially successful in Saab's home market of Sweden, mainly thanks to the large tax breaks they entail, but even while promising a hybrid within the next few years, Saab is clear that the feature won't come cheap.[Via MetaEfficient]
