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Audi's traffic light countdown tech comes to Washington DC
Audi's traffic light countdown has been rolling out very slowly in the US (it's active in just seven cities so far), but it just made one of its biggest expansions yet: it's now available in Washington, DC. Pull up to one of 600 connected intersections in the country's capital and your compatible Audi will tell you how long you have before the light turns green. You shouldn't be caught off-guard when an interminably long red finally changes.
BMW wants you to know when traffic lights change
Traffic lights are supposed to help keep driving orderly, but they often create more tension than they resolve. How do you know that the green light won't turn yellow before it's too late to slow down? BMW thinks it can help. It's the first automaker to offer in-car support for Connected Signals' EnLighten iOS app, which predicts when lights will change based on position and speed. All you need to do is keep an eye on your car's infotainment display -- it'll tell you whether or not you should hit the brakes. The software is useful even if you're stopped, as it'll use your turn signals to show when a necessary light will return to green. This is the definition of a luxury feature when you need a BMW with ConnectedDrive Services just to give it a shot, but it could be entirely worthwhile if it spares you from an accident or a ticket.
iPhone camera being used for traffic light testing
A group of researchers at MIT and Princeton University are testing to figure out how to best save fuel when stopping and re-starting cars at traffic lights, and they're using the iPhone to do so. The smartphone is mounted on the car's dashboard, and uses the camera and GPS information in a system called SignalGuru that tells the driver when it's best to slow the car down in order to save fuel (so you're not always revving up the engine and then having to put on the brakes when the next light pops up). The system works, apparently, and in Cambridge, MA testing, fuel consumption was cut down by 20 percent. The system was also tested in Singapore, where most traffic lights change the length they're displayed based on the traffic around them. In that area, as opposed to the US (where lights are generally on fixed schedules), the prediction mechanism didn't work quite as well. It was off by up to two seconds, say the researchers. It sounds like any indication can be helpful. It's hard to see if this is something that could eventually make its way to the consumer market -- more likely it would be used in commercial vehicles as a solution. But you never know -- if the system works on an iPhone and there's an in-car mount that's standardized enough to work at the right angles, your phone could be telling you when to slow down on the road, and saving you money at the same time. [via Engadget]
Screen Grabs: iPhone messaging app spotted on a RAZR in Traffic Light
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. The iPhone was indeed the handset to supplant the well-loved RAZR as America's favorite, but we're not so sure its messaging interface ever made it onto Motorola's slim clamshell. That hasn't stopped Fox's Traffic Light from rewriting history, however, as last night's episode featured a RAZR receiving a "smiley-faced emoticon" text message encased in an all-too-familiar grey speech bubble. Catch this crazy new invention on video after the break. [Thanks, OMGitsShan]
Thieves damage South African traffic lights, reach for the juicy SIM card innards
Johannesburg, South Africa had six hundred high-tech traffic signals, each with a cellular modem and GPS chip. The idea was, if one malfunctioned, they'd call home immediately. Well, that plan isn't working out so well, because only two hundred are still in working order -- vandals ripped apart the rest to get at their SIM cards, causing traffic jams and accidents. Apparently, the government-provided cards are a ticket to unlimited free phone calls for the thieves -- at least until the individual devices are identified and their permissions revoked. The Johannesburg Roads Agency told the Mail & Guardian that the crime looks like an inside job, because only the SIM-equipped signals seem to have been targeted so far, despite looking visually identical. The damages are piling up, with the agency figuring it will require ZAR 8.8 million (roughly $1.26 million) to repair the four hundred signals currently out of order. Needless to say, the agency is looking at ways to better secure the traffic lights. We're guessing that switching to CDMA is probably off the table. Embedded SIMs, perhaps?
Sand Glass traffic light concept: it's about time
Did your little internal design chimp just say, duh? Ours sure did. What you're looking at above is the Sand Glass LED traffic light concept from designer Thanva Tivawong. Obvious... unless you're colorblind.
Audi shows off Travolution vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system (update: video!)
We've already seen Audi show off a car-to-traffic light communication system, but the automaker has stepped things up considerably with a recent demonstration of its new Travolution system, which not only lets cars communicate with traffic lights, but other cars as well. The basic idea is the same as before: to cut down on pollution and fuel-consumption by reducing idling at stop lights and, in some cases, the need to stop at all. To do that, the system relies on a combination of WiFi and 3G, which currently lets Audi's 15 test cars communicate with some 150 traffic lights in Ingolstadt, Germany -- and with each other to further avoid accidents. What's more, the system can now also even take control of the vehicles in some instances to prevent them from running a red light, and it will give drivers a heads up about the status of upcoming traffic lights -- saying, for instance, if the next light will be red or green if you continue at your current speed. As if that wasn't enough, the system also helps keep track of traffic jams, and Audi has even thrown in online payment at gas stations and parking garages for good measure. Head on past the break for the complete press release. Update: Video after the break! [Thanks, Christopher]
LED traffic lights don't melt snow, do cause accidents
A number of cold weather American states are reporting their dismay at finding out that LED traffic lights are so energy efficient that they do not produce enough excess heat to dissipate any snow that covers them. It turns out, perhaps in an homage to bad engineering everywhere, that the inefficiency of incandescent light bulbs was previously relied upon to keep traffic signals unimpeded. The new LEDs do not achieve the same effect, which has resulted in a few accidents and even a death being blamed on obstructed traffic lights. Feel free to apply palm to face now. It's not all gloomy, though, as the majority of people are said to treat a dysfunctional traffic light as a stop sign (how clever of them), and a tech fix is being worked on as we speak.
Art Lebedev outthinks the room with square Luxofor traffic lights
We can only imagine that at least a few staffers over at Art Lebedev Studios get paid to do nothing but conjure up ideas, because this one is just marvelous. And marvelously simple, but that's beside the point. The Luxofor traffic light concept improves upon a nearly archaic design that still relies on spherical fixtures when there's really no need. Lebedev's team asserts that using square lights backed with bright laser diodes would make better use of the available space and provide a more noticeable signal to drowsy motorists. The roar of "why didn't I think of that?" being simultaneously stated is downright deafening.[Via Electronista]
Intersection sensor activator puts an end to cyclist discrimination
You're a good person with noble motivations -- you ride a bicycle instead of driving because it's healthy and it doesn't have a disastrously negative impact on the environment. We salute you, but not all of society appreciates your virtue like we do. In a sinister and systematic oppression of cyclists (we're absolutely certain it's intentional), many traffic lights are governed by sensors in the pavement that give a green light only after they've detected the change in inductance when a large metal car pulls up. Before you take up arms, though, take a look at this recently-patented device that sends out a signal that fools the sensors so cyclists don't have to wait for a car to unwittingly play good Samaritan -- we suppose we'll try this out just in case before we incite a violent revolution.[Via Core77]
Mischievous duo plead not guilty to LA traffic hacking scandal
We've seen our fair share of scheming and conniving, but a duo of engineers that were previously employed by LA's Automated Traffic Surveillance Center allegedly pulled off one of the most impactful jobs we've ever heard of. Both men have just pled not guilty to charges of "manipulating traffic signals to disrupt transportation across the city in the run-up to a union protest last August," a case which pins them with deeds such as identity theft and illegally using those 1337 skills to wreck havoc. In a situation eerily similar to that seen in The Italian Job, the pair overrode intentional barriers to access the traffic light system in LA, and proceeded to not only force lights to stay red for extended periods of time in some of the city's most critical and congested intersections, but locked out city officials from entering back in and reversing the changes as well. Ranking right up there beside the numerous ATM hacks we've seen, this job led to massive amount of chaos in the following days, creating gridlocks in some areas that reportedly took "four days" to totally clear out. If convicted, the two could face several years in prison, but if not, we're sure risk-loving tech executives everywhere are drooling to pick these two up and put 'em to (honest, law-abiding) work.[Via The Register]
NES pad + anything = art
Jonic over at Re:Retro provides some heated commentary on the latest example (pictured right) of the iconic NES pad being commandeered for use as art. "That's right folks... To be considered an artist paying homage to the video games of days gone by all you have to do is glue a NES pad to absolutely anything you damn well please! I mean, some fucker will blog about it!"I don't want to get into the whole "what is art?" debate on this humble blog post, but I agree that slapping a game controller on a traffic light button is stretching the definition a little. Still, that's not to say there aren't guides for turning the NES controller into something practical. In the past we've linked to how-tos for turning the NES controller into a laser mouse and a USB gamepad. There's also a guide for making a NES controller digital audio player which will add that little extra touch of nostalgia to your daily NES tune chillout session. That's if you're not busy performing music on your NES controller musical instrument. There's even a guide for turning the NES pad into a TV remote. That's the last NES pad mod we're gonna link to, we promise. OK, one more.
