Posts Tagged ‘transportation’
Road Signs To Tell It Like It Is This Year [Imagecache]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 2nd, 2010
With an unexpected snowfall blanketing much of the East Coast for New Years, someone—either a traffic worker with a sense of humor or an average Joe with a sense of civic duty—reprogrammed this New England traffic sign.
This time last year we posted a quick bit on how weirdly easy it was to hack road signs. Before that post lead to the rash of hacks, usually featuring some permutation of zombies, Nazis, and the Apocalypse, Mark mused:
You should never hack a road sign as part of a prank. But what if you know that there really are Zombies ahead? What then??
Well, it seems like some New Englander found that the roads were, in fact, wicked slippery and thought it prudent to warn his fellow drivers such. A further message to my driving bros: winter driving is hella dangerous as it is, save the texting for when you reach your destination. [Reddit]
The Travel Times to Every Spot on the Globe [Infographic]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
This map by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre examines the travel times from any spot on the globe to the nearest city of 50,000 or more inhabitants by land or water. The surprise?
As NewScientist observes, less than 10% of the world is more than two days away from a major city using ground-based travel. That stat only jumps to 20% when scaled to the Amazon, where river and expanding road networks have made even jungle terrain semi-assessable.
Also, nobody fucks with the cold climates.
On one hand, the map is a testament to human advancement and expansion. On the other, well, there are a buncha roads in what was once pristine jungle. (Yeah, I saw Avatar twice.) [Flickr and NewScientist via Neatorama]
The RK Racer Motorycle Can Thrill You and Stab You In a Million Different Ways [Motorcycles]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
I'm not sure what to make of the Racer from RK Concepts. It looks fast, but maybe juuuust a bit over the top. Plus I'll bet that bikini babe walked away with a stab wound from sitting on it.
If you are into the design, you might be interested to know that it runs on a a Buell 1200, it has a 27-degree rake, 23-inch tires and the gas and oil tanks are fabricated out of glass—which, like a lot of things on this bike, doesn't seem safe. Still, I gotta give RK Concepts credit for pushing boundaries here. [RK Concepts via Cyril Huze via Born Rich via DVICE]
Nimbl Wheelchair Has Hubless Wheels and Go-Go-Gadget Seat [Wheelchair]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 28th, 2009
The Nimbl wheelchair, designed by Lawrence Kwok, is intended for use in a home that hasn't been retrofitted for full handicap access. But why stay home when your wheelchair looks this good.
The Nimbl, living up to its name, features hubless wheels with a short wheelbase for increased maneuverability. But that's not the only unique feature of the chair's design.
The Nimbl also sports a motorized seat that can lift the operator several feet in the air, activated by a control panel in the chair's armrest. Though its currently only a concept, it wouldn't hurt current wheelchair makers to take note of the Nimbl's form or its function. [designboom]
Art Lebedev’s Transparentius eliminates opacity, improves road safety
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 22nd, 2009
[Thanks, Dennis]
Art Lebedev's Transparentius eliminates opacity, improves road safety originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Art Lebedev Studio | Email this | Comments Energy-Efficient LED Traffic Lights Are Backfiring In a Deadly Way [LEDs]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 17th, 2009
Oops. It appears that old fashioned, power hungry incandescent lights have one major advantage over LEDs—they get hot enough to melt snow. Unfortunately, cold weather cities are discovering this glaring oversight the hard way.
Obviously, if the lights are not melting snow, motorists are going to have trouble seeing the signals after a storm. So far, this problem has resulted in dozens of accidents and at least one death. Solutions are being tested in several states that range from weather shields to heating elements to water-repellent coatings. In the meantime, city crews must continue to stay on top of the problem and dust off the lights by hand. [Yahoo]
Vexia Econav GPS nags you about your driving
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 17th, 2009
Vexia Econav GPS nags you about your driving originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
M.I.T. Ushers in Biking 2.0 With Copenhagen Wheel [Bicycles]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 15th, 2009
Today at the COP 15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, M.I.T. students introduced the technologically advanced Copenhagen Wheel. In addition to including various sensors and Bluetooth capability, the tire stores kinetic energy from braking for a later burst of speed.
The makers of the Copenhagen Wheel from M.I.T.'s SENSEable City Laboratory claim that the new features mark the advent of "Biking 2.0," a new era based on smarter bikes and easier rides. The wheel is certainly a step in that direction; it includes sensors for detecting distance, speed, direction, all of which are beamed via Bluetooth to the rider's iPhone. The wheel also includes a built-in lock that sends the rider a text if tampered with.
But the most notable feature of the Copenhagen Wheel is its KERS or Kinetic Energy Recovery System, a mechanism by which energy from braking is stored up for later use, giving the rider a boost when going up a hill or speeding through traffic. Some bicycle purists have already dismissed the wheel as a novelty while others suggest that M.I.T. has succeeded in reinventing the wheel. [MIT via Inhabitat]
DesignLine turbine hybrid buses take off in NYC, could multiply soon
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 12th, 2009
Capstone's CMT-380 has proven that turbines, batteries and an unconditional love for Ma Earth actually can get along within the confines of an automobile, and now it looks as if the same type of technology will be touching a lot more lives in and around New York City. DesignLine, a New Zealand-based company with an "experimental turbine hybrid" of the same name, is currently being used in three buses in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and unlike petrol-powered alternatives, these are said to be as "quiet as a tomb." They're also environmentally friendly, omitting internal combustion altogether and relying on spinning turbines to recharge a Li-ion battery that powers the wheels. If the trial goes over well, 87 more of the $559,000 buses could be ushered into operation, and you'll know one's coming due to the shocking absence of creaking, sputtering and black haze rounding the bend to your stop.[Thanks, Yossi]
DesignLine turbine hybrid buses take off in NYC, could multiply soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |New York Times | Email this | Comments FedEx Senseaware tracks everything about your package, probably causes OCD
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on November 27th, 2009
FedEx Senseaware tracks everything about your package, probably causes OCD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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