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Map Snapper brings interactive maps to cellphones the hard way
Undeterred by newfangled, unproven technologies like GPS, a group of researchers at Southampton University in the UK have devised a new means of getting interactive maps on your cellphone: by snapping digital pics of readily available paper maps. Thankfully, there's actually quite a bit more to it than that (though we've seen worse ideas). Dubbed, Map Snapper, the app will take that fresh pic of a portion of your paper map, send it off to a central server for analyzing, and promptly send it back to you, complete with details on all nearby points of interest. Just rinse and repeat every couple of blocks. While the developers are quick to acknowledge reality and admit that their system is useless for anyone with a GPS-equipped cellphone, they're nevertheless looking for commercial partners to bundle Map Snapper with their handsets -- meaning, of course, you can't get it right now.[Via NewScientistTech]
New research car will watch you while you drive
We're not sure if we like the idea of our car watching us as we drive, but we'll all in favor of any tech that'll make us safer. This past week at the Intelligent Transportation Systems exhibition in London, a new set of cameras mounted on the dashboard in a prototype vehicle will make sure that a driver's attention is focused on the road. According to MotorAuthority, the new cameras will be trained on the driver's eyes and will flash a warning light and will sound an alarm if it finds that the driver's eyes aren't staring at the right places at the right times. Furthermore, as New Scientist reports, these new sensors -- developed by researchers at University of Southampton in the UK-- are also able to determine what other cars and objects around the car are doing, all of which could lead to safer road design and a more thorough understanding of driving behavior.Read - MotorAuthorityRead - New Scientist
