Posted: 16 Oct 2013 04:15 AM PDT Ford has being showing off the new Obstacle Avoidance system at a facility in Lommel, Belgium. The equipment, once fitted to a car, can take control of the steering wheel when it detects the risk of a collision. The car manufacturer explained that the system would warn the driver of danger first and then if the driver did not react it would take over the controls. It is able to scan up to 200m ahead using three radars, a number of ultrasonic sensors and a camera, which are all installed into the car. A built-in display shows a warning sign and sounds a chime if it detects the possibilty of an accident. If necessary it then applies the brakes and scans for a gap in the road so that it can steer the car away from danger. “You’re driving down the road and a pedestrian or something comes out from either side of your vehicle from your peripheral vision where you don’t have a good look at it,” said Barb Samardzich, vice-president of product development at Ford’s European division. “Obstacle Avoidance can sense that the pedestrian or that object is coming across the front of your vehicle. If it doesn’t sense you responding accordingly in your vehicle by braking or manoeuvring, it will take over.” Ford is not the only manufacturer working on this project, BMW, Fiat, Daimler, Volvo and Volkswagen are also aiming to reduce the number of severe collisions. The companies will share data resulting from tests so that they can develop their own systems. Ford explains that fewer than on-third of all drivers involved in rear-end collisions had attempted to steer in a way to avoid the accident. As the result it shouldn’t be too difficult to convince motorists that this is a necessary and life-saving innovation. “The logic behind the technology is impeccable – anything that can avoid a potentially dangerous situation that can cause injury or death sounds like a good piece of equipment,” said Tim Urquhart, senior analyst at consultants IHS Automotive. “Obviously it will come at a price. But there will be less resistance to a piece of technology like this than there will be to the concept of totally driverless cars. “But autonomous vehicles are already being tested by Google, Daimler and others, and taking steering control in an emergency situation is obviously a pretty significant step along the road.” |
Posted: 16 Oct 2013 03:30 AM PDT Do you remember when you first saw a plasma television? I do, I remember seeing one in a local retail park when they first appeared in the UK many years ago. The fresh look and clean crisp picture quality was unlike anything I had ever laid my eyes upon. The market quickly flooded and many people followed suit in the plasma TV sphere, but Panasonic always remained in the top spots for their immaculate designs and sheer quality of image on their plasma models. It is nice to reminisce about tech history, but it appears as though Panasonic’s days in the plasma TV market are at an end.  In a long rumoured move, the Japanese electronics giant is planning to exit the market by March 2014 when its current fiscal year comes to an end, sources well-known to the the situation informed Reuters. The news that Panasonic was contemplating a departure from the market was first reported by the Japan-based newspaper Nikkei in back in March this year, but this reported timetable is sooner than some analysts had expected. Although Panasonic’s plasma TVs are considered among the finest on the market, such a move might help the company repair its ailing operations, which currently, is losing billions of dollars. In November last year, Panasonic announced it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of March, just a few months after it laid off 36,000 employees in the previous fiscal year. By cutting its television operation, the company could save it some much needed cash and thereby allow it to focus on other industries within the market. Panasonic had previously hinted that its retirement from the plasma business was almost upon us, telling CNET that its latest high-end plasma would likely be the last generation of plasma TV development the company would undertake. Overall global shipments of plasma TVs declined 21 percent in 2012 compared with only a 1 percent decline for LCD TV’s. That drastic fall follows years of market share decline for plasma, corresponding to the increasing dominance of LCD. The exit would be timely as interest in plasma TVs continues to wane. |
No comments:
Post a Comment