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Toyota recalls 1.9 million Prius hybrids to fix flawed software
Toyota has shipped over 3.5 million Prii since the first models hit streets in 1997, and now it wants more than half of them back. The company announced today that it's recalling 1.9 million hybrids (713,000 of which are in North America) thanks to a nasty software issue that could affect cars made between March 2009 and February 2014. The glitch may cause parts of the car's hybrid system to overheat and malfunction. That would normally put the car into a failsafe mode where it can still be driven with reduced engine power, though it's possible it could shut down entirely. The bug was first reported back in 2011 but, miraculously, it doesn't appear to have caused any accidents yet. You can check to see if your Prius is one of the afflicted on Toyota's recall site and schedule an appointment at your local dealership. Thankfully, you wont waste your whole day in the waiting room: a spokesperson told Automotive News the update process only takes about 40 minutes.
Quadrocopter drone recovers from failures without skipping a beat (video)
Quadrocopter drones are capable of some incredible acrobatics, but they seldom handle failure all that gracefully. ETH Zurich's Mark Mueller is tackling this problem through a new failsafe algorithm that gives these flying robots a better chance of survival. As you'll see in a video demo after the break, the software automatically compensates for rotor failures, bringing a drone back to its original position before giving the owner an opportunity to land the craft. Mueller's routine works even when there's just one propeller left, and it could eventually avoid dangerous objects on the way down. While there's no mention of when the algorithm will reach copters outside of the lab, there's a patent on the way -- we'd expect it to reach production drones at some point in the future.
