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ICYMI: Smart following suitcase, NASA wormbots and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-972012{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-972012, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-972012{width:100%;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-972012").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA was just awarded a patent for a crawly, amorphous robot that can climb through rubble or dusty planets, theoretically more easily than rovers with wheels and gears to gunk up.
Shell opens America's first pipelined hydrogen-fueling station in Southern California
Residents of SoCal's Torrance should consider themselves lucky, as they're now living in America's first-ever city to have a pipelined hydrogen-fueling station. You can thank Shell and Toyota for picking up this government-funded green project. Sure, while the few other hydrogen stations still rely on delivery by supply truck (presumably running on diesel, ironically), this nevertheless marks a new milestone for our squeaky clean fuel, and it's only a matter of time before more stations get piped up to Air Products' hydrogen plants. If there's any indication of a time frame, Wired reminds us that 2015 should see the arrival of many new mass-market hydrogen cars from Toyota, Honda, and Mercedes-Benz. Not long to go now, fellow tree huggers.
Audi commissions four US universities to research urban mobility issues
We've seen what other companies have in store for our automotive future, and now Audi's given us a glimpse of what we can expect from its car of tomorrow. The company's Silicon Valley research lab has teamed up with four universities here in the US to develop technologies that will give city drivers the full KITT treatment -- vehicles that recognize the driver (and his or her preferences) and can detect and avoid dangers and traffic delays. Called the Audi Urban Intelligence Assist initiative, each participating university has a specific area of urban mobility research ranging from urban crash analysis to aggregating historical and real-time traffic, parking, and pedestrian data in cities. The schools will also study how best to deliver relevant information to drivers and get them from point A to point B as easily and efficiently as possible. Looks like the groundwork is being laid for a German counterpart to GM's EN-V we test drove in Vegas, and we look forward to the fruits of their labor. Ich bin ein Ingolstädter!
Taco Loco app helps you chase down your favorite taco truck
Gourmet food trucks are getting to be "all the rage," particularly in Southern California. Based on the old construction site "roach coaches" that served stale doughnuts, ancient plastic-wrapped sandwiches, and hot, acidic coffee to hungry workers, the taco truck appeared as a way for food vendors to set up shop without the need for expensive real estate. In SoCal, taco trucks have gone mainstream and serve much more than just tacos. You can get not only excellent Mexican cuisine, but barbecue, Asian fusion, and a huge spectrum of other palatable yummies. Since the taco trucks and trailers are truly mobile (although the vendors often find a location that becomes their "home territory"), it's sometimes difficult to find a specific vendor. Fried Rice House has made the hunt a lot easier with their app Taco Loco [on sale for US$0.99, iTunes Link]. Taking advantage of the iPhone's geolocation capabilities, Taco Loco displays a map of local taco trucks and other wheeled bistros, with a pin denoting the current location of each truck or trailer. A tap on a pin shows the name of the truck, a detailed map of the location, a phone number (if one has been entered), and a rating by other hungry folks who have used the app. If a truck moves its location, there's a "move" button to note that and send the information to other people looking for a fish taco at 1:30 AM. Of course, no app is worth its seasoned salt if it doesn't let you share the information with your friends. Taco Loco adds the familiar share button for sending tweets and emails to your cohorts who might be craving a movable feast. Although TUAW was unable to try out the app, it should work anywhere there are hungry iPhone owners who are willing to buy Taco Loco and let others know about the best little taco truck they've found. http://www.flickr.com/photos/josewolff/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 [via New York Times Gadgetwise Blog]
Time Warner Cable adds bundle of HD channels in Southern California
Today's a pretty big day for TWC cable systems all across the country, and just as North Texas was gifted with a bucketful of new networks last night, it seems that many locales in Southern California were hooked up, too. Far too many HD newcomers were added to cover in this space, but for details on exactly what areas will get equipped (and when), follow your nose to the read link. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Michael]
Ventura, CA gets two NBC HD channels from Charter, more on the way
Charter doesn't have the greatest reputation in Ventura, California (or most anywhere, for that matter), but the company is apparently trying to garner some love by throwing in two undisclosed NBC stations in high-def just before the Olympics kick off this Friday. Customers will still be waiting until 2009 to see video-on-demand, but HD junkies will be thrilled to know that more channels are on the way. According to company spokesman Del Heintz, nine more HD channels will be added to the lineup in September, though your guess is as good as ours as to which ones will go live. So, who's up for watching to see if it actually delivers on said promise?
SoCal quake putting the hurt on AT&T and Verizon?
We're hearing some reports that folks on AT&T and Verizon are having trouble with their cellies -- voice and BlackBerry services, respectively -- in the wake of this morning's magnitude 5.4 tremblor out in southern California. What's the story, Los Angelinos? Still able to make and receive calls?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Time Warner Cable slings a dozen HD channels to Southern California
While TWC is busy rolling out SDV in San Diego, the carrier is also gearing up to do some reshuffling and add a full dozen high-def channels in Southern California. Aside from a few SD slot changes (which are detailed in the read link for those who care), the real news comes with the arrival of HGTV HD (433), Food Network HD (434), CNN HD (432), History Channel HD (439), A&E HD (439), Golf / Versus HD (423), Discovery HD (418), TLC HD (437), Disney Channel HD (435), ABC Family HD (436), ESPNews HD (426) and National Geographic HD (440). According to the most recent programming alert, all of the HD stations "will be launched in all areas," but there's no telling how quickly each market will be hit once the rollouts begin on July 9th. Keep a close on that EPG, SoCal. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Tony]
TWC readies 12 new HD channels for Southern California
For Time Warner Cable customers jealous over those eight newcomers received by Cox subscribers in the OC earlier this year, how's about this? According to the flier you see above, a full dozen will be hitting the lineup in Southern California sometime soon, but unfortunately, we can't determine if we're talking "tomorrow" soon or "next quarter" soon. Nevertheless, you folks in the area can look forward to seeing Disney HD, HGTV HD, A&E HD, Food HD, ABC Family HD, National Geographic HD, History HD, Versus / Golf HD, CNN HD, TLC HD, ESPNews HD and Discovery HD slip into the lineup, which ought to make your nightly viewing much more enjoyable. C'mon TWC, spread the love elsewhere, will ya? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Munawar]
California gang members to sport GPS trackers
Things just seem to be going downhill ever since the courts ruled that dodgy GPS tracking wasn't unlawful, and here again we're seeing Big Brother tactics being used to keep a sharp eye on ex-criminals. While no variety of console is being handed out to folks who rat out San Bernardino County gang members, officials are hoping to get several Senate Bills and an Assembly Bill passed which would divvy out "harsher punishments and monitoring standards for gang members." Essentially, ex-gang members would be required to sport GPS tracking devices so The Man can "track adult gang members currently on probation," which certainly would give them a reason to ponder whether jumping at the next temptation is really worth it. Currently, the pilot program is up and running in Apple Valley and Victorville, and so far "35 adult probationers have been fitted with GPS devices," but if you mischievous ones are counting on a lack of funding to dry this initiative up real quick like, you should probably know that Sentinel is providing the devices for the current program "at no cost."[Via TheRawFeed]
