Apple's Siri is the artificial intelligence poster girl for the iPhone 4S, and she's charming and clever to certain degree. It is fun for teenagers to test this so called 'new technology' and make fun of it. Generally, Siri on iPhone 4S lets you use your voice to send messages, set reminders, place phone calls, and more.
Q : "Why?"
Siri: "I don't know. Frankly, I've wondered that myself."
Q : "You're pretty."
Siri: "Oh, stop."
Q : "Will you marry me?"
Siri: Among others, "My End User Licensing Agreement doesn't cover marriages. My Apologies."
Q : "What do you think about Steve Jobs?"
Siri: "I think differently."
Q : "Where can I hide a body?"
Siri: "What kind of place are you looking for? Mines, dumps, reservoirs..."
Q : "Siri, talk dirty to me."
Siri: "Humus. Compost. Pumice. Silt. Gravel."
Q : "I'm horny."
Siri: A map appeared
Q : How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood
Siri: "Don't you have anything better to do?"
and more.... at shitsirisays.com
this post is not to misleading any intended function of any device at all, but the share the fun points of view of available gadgets. ll the information gathered randomly from the courtesy of websites and twitter post without the intention of copying any copyright at all.
Lighter, Better, More Efficient Two-Stroke Engine
The idea of a two-stroke internal combustion engine for cars has been around for years—but until now, no one’s been able to overcome its engineering obstacles. Peter Hofbauer of Ecomotors earns a 2011 PM Breakthrough Award for a design that’s actually better and more fuel-efficient than the ubiquitous four-stroke engine.
Relatively simple and lightweight, two-stroke engines (found in chain saws and outboard motors) would be great in cars and trucks, if they weren't so dirty. "I probably spent $50 million of GM's money proving two-strokes don't work in automobiles," says General Motors veteran Don Runkle. The Opposed-Piston, Opposed-Cylinder (OPOC) engine developed by EcoMotors' Peter Hofbauer changed Runkle's mind so thoroughly that he became the company's CEO.
As in other flat engines (sometimes called boxer engines for the way their pistons resemble two fighters trading jabs), OPOC's pistons move horizontally. Hofbauer's aha! moment came one day when the former Volkswagen engineer was pondering the shortcomings of VW's boxer engine. "I thought, my God, if you just replace the cylinder head with a moving piston and cylinder ports, it might be less complicated."
It is—by a long shot. The engine requires less than half the parts of a similar four-stroke engine and is 30 percent lighter. The net result, says Hofbauer, is a 15 to 50 percent increase in energy efficiency, depending on the configuration. And thanks to its unique architecture and several key innovations, the OPOC releases far fewer emissions than a typical two-stroke. With a 240-hp diesel prototype, EcoMotors is focused now on the truck market; last February the company signed a licensing agreement with Navistar. "When the economy has recovered, the world will add 85 million combustion engines for cars and light trucks," Hofbauer says. "If we can offer an engine that is efficient and competitive in production costs, it will be a success."
TURBOCHARGER
An electric motor mounted to the blower's shaft quickly spools the compressor for a fast boost; in reverse, it generates electricity off the exhaust flow. Plus, it manages exhaust pressure to minimize emissions.
STEEL CONNECTING RODS
Long steel connecting rods join the outer pistons to the crankshaft. With two pistons working off one combustion event, the engine behaves as though it has a long stroke—utilizing more of the available energy and increasing efficiency. Yet the crankshaft remains compact and therefore lighter.
CRANKSHAFT
The engine is modular, and the crankshaft of the cylinder pairs can be connected by a clutch. For highway cruising, unneeded cylinders can simply be idled and then engaged again for passing.
CYLINDER
Courtesy information from Popular Mechanics website.
It has been revealed by news agency related to Nikkei stocks that Nissan, in conjunction with Japan's Kansai University, says it has created the necessary technology to charge the batteries needed by vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiEV in a record time of ten minutes.
This is a huge leap forward in public acceptance of electric vehicles, hindered to date by sluggish charge times -- a full charge of common EVs today can take up to eight hours.
Batteries charged using the updated system were complete in ten minutes, with no significant effect on storage capacity or voltage, the reports said.
Although it could take a decade to commercialize the technology, such a significant breakthrough could dramatically boost public perception of electric cars.
KUALA LUMPUR: The supply of biodiesel or B5 to be introduced nationwide as early in 2013, taking into account companies’ time frame to build the blending facilities accurately, says Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
On June 1, Malaysia implemented its mandatory B5 biodiesel programme (blending 5% palm methyl ester with 95% fossil fuel) starting with the central region covering Putrajaya, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
If Thailand use ethanol for their E85 program, we use palm oil, introduce B5.
Currently, the ministry together with MPOB are looking into the plan to expand the B5 programme nationwide including industry sectors. “The B5 programme will give positive impact to Malaysia’s oil palm industry, mainly in stabilising demand and price, besides lifting the country’s image at the international level,” he told reporters after launching the use of B5 programme for the central region level, Kuala Lumpur, here today.
The government would continue to keep the price at RM1.80 per litre, the same cost as regular diesel and absorb the differences, he added.
The Minister stated the roll out of B5 in Kuala Lumpur would involve B5 supply by 247 petrol stations, and about 890 tonnes or 1.03 million litre palm oil biodiesel would be used per month.
“This would contribute to saving close to 12.4 million litre fossil diesel per year in Kuala Lumpur,” he explained.
The government through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board has allocated RM43.1 million for the construction of B5 biodiesel in-line blending facilities.
The B5 programme is envisaged to take up some 500,000 tonnes of CPO, which in turn will help the industry manage its palm oil stock levels. – Bernama
On June 1, Malaysia implemented its mandatory B5 biodiesel programme (blending 5% palm methyl ester with 95% fossil fuel) starting with the central region covering Putrajaya, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Currently, the ministry together with MPOB are looking into the plan to expand the B5 programme nationwide including industry sectors. “The B5 programme will give positive impact to Malaysia’s oil palm industry, mainly in stabilising demand and price, besides lifting the country’s image at the international level,” he told reporters after launching the use of B5 programme for the central region level, Kuala Lumpur, here today.
It is called Response to rapid change in physical condition technology. With cardiovascular abnormalities, such as accidents of sudden ventricular fibrillation occurring during operation, the driver becomes lost consciousness. This can create a greater potential for enormous social harm. While driving this new Toyota Prius which unveiled today, this technology is, while holding the steering wheel to monitor the activity of cardiovascular research at the stage of predicting the risk before they become emergencies. Toyota to continue further research, aiming to commercialize the system contributes to the prevention of major accidents due to sudden change in physical condition.
With a built-in electrocardiogram (ECG), the new steering wheel could stop the cars of people under distress, and also serve as a mini-check tool every time you ignite your car.
Hypochondriacs, rejoice. Toyota is reportedly working on new steering wheel with an ECG built in. In the future, your car will be able to tell you if you have disease related to cardiovascular which can be detected by monitoring the heart beat pattern.
Contact sensors embedded in the steering wheel detect abnormal heart rhythms via the driver's hands. Toyota recently showed off a Prius outfitted with the steering wheel to a group of reporters at one of its Japan facilities, according to Medgadget. The ECG info was shown on the in-car navigation screen (as shown in the photo). This enable casual check on your heart rate along with the weather and local news.
ECG Monitor snapshot
Toyota concept of new steering wheel (in Japanese)
Toyota isn't the only automaker that wants to put health cautious technology in its vehicles. Ford is also working on a car seat with a built-in heart rate monitor, which can measure the human heartbeat through clothing without any need for skin contact.
Perhaps with increasing number of Malaysian having obesity and heart-related disease, it's not unreasonable to expect the amount of in-car health incidents to increase by time. If a vehicle can detect that a driver is having a heart attack, alert him to pull over, and then automatically call hospitals, connect to the nearest hospitals, contact family members, insurance agents etc..
No word on when Toyota plans to release its heart attack-detecting steering wheel, or whether it will be an optional add-on for health-conscious drivers.
As described in my ealier post: Ford Mondeo and S-Max with EcoBoost launched in Malaysia, EcoBoost is a family of turbocharged direct injection, with six-cylinder and four-cylinder gasoline engines produced by Ford Motor Company. Engines equipped with EcoBoost technology are designed to deliver power and torque consistent with larger displacement, naturally aspirated engines while achieving approximately 20% better fuel efficiency and 15% reduced greenhouse emissions than these same engines. Relative to the power output and fuel efficiency of hybrid and diesel technologies, Ford sees EcoBoost as an affordable and versatile alternative and intends on using it extensively in future vehicle applications.
A sample cut-off photo of a transmission
Normally, rather than the transmission, engine get more attraction by the peoples. Mindset is that performance much depends on the engine, while transmission only delivering the engine power to the wheel by drive shaft. But in the case of the new tranmission that Ford rolled out in a recent tech briefing here in Dearborn, Mi., the in-house designed and manufactured cog-swapper is worth a close look where the new concept can deliver better performance and better fuel economy for Ford's small cars of the future.
EcoBoost concept
To accompany its new 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder turbo engine for upcoming compact and midsize cars, Ford announced an all-new 8-speed automatic transmission. Even though auto transmission seems quite odd compare to dual clutch plate transmission and CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), this traditional hydraulic planetary-style layout 8-speed AT has no remarkable advantage. However, it comes with one newly impressive feature: the real-time engine-torque sensor. In typical AT, electronically controlled transmissions rely on rough calculation of the engine torque based on throttle position and rpm. Then, TCU (Transmission Control Unit) uses the information to help select the gear automatically, shift points and shift speed. But Ford's new creation directly measures and reports real torque output, according to chief engineer for new transmissions Craig Renneker, who wasn't shy in touting the new creation: "This is being called the holy grail of transmission control." To get real-time data, the system magnetizes an approximately 1-inch section of the transmission input shaft and uses a fine-resolution magnetic field sensor to determine angular deflection along that section. The system knows how much torque is needed to twist the input shafts certain distances; that produces instant torque data that can be fed to the transmission controller.
The reason to go to all this trouble is simple: Real-time data cuts gear change times down to 200 milliseconds, twice as fast as Ford's best current hydraulic automatic transmissions. That rivals a dual clutch gearbox for speed. It means the new transmission will be smoother, exactly matching the correct gear to the correct engine speed with no hunting. And it's also important to remember that Ford's big-picture purpose of the new unit is to maximize performance of the Ecoboost engines. A wider spread of gear ratios will allow Ford to maintain the performance customers expect while drastically downsizing engine size and cylinder count. It doesn't hurt that the new 8-speed is up to 6 percent more efficient than the 6-speed it will replace.
Ford claims the new power plant will deliver the power and smoothness of a 1.6-liter 4 cylinder (about 110 hp) with considerably improved fuel economy. It should offer many of the same performance characteristics of other Ecoboost engines such as early torque delivery and flat torque curves. It's a completely clean sheet design that focuses on reducing friction losses and improving thermal management (cooling system). One of the key engine features is a water-cooled exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head. [It is not possible to air-cool the exhaust manifold due to the space limitation in the engine room]. While a reduction in parts and weight is important, the real benefit comes with the addition of a second cooling circuit. One circuit manages the temperature of the engine block, while the other takes care of the cylinder head and exhaust manifold. The engine computer regulates the various temperatures to ensure quick catalytic converter operation and optimum fuel mixtures to save fuel.
Below are the two models, Fiesta and B-Max which has been rumored to receive the EcoBoost 1.0L engine with 8-speed AT transmission.
More details such as fuel consumption, weight, performance and most importantly applicable model information are expected to be released soon by Ford officials.
Below are the two models, Fiesta and B-Max which has been rumored to receive the EcoBoost 1.0L engine with 8-speed AT transmission.
More details such as fuel consumption, weight, performance and most importantly applicable model information are expected to be released soon by Ford officials.
Volkswagen, the German automaker debuted a new “Temporary Autopilot” (TAP) program that can control a car semi-automatically at speeds up to 80 mph. It combines existing driver-assist functions found in many cars nowadays, like adaptive cruise control and side monitoring for safer lane-changing, with a radar system, laser scanner and ultrasonic sensors.
When in TAP mode, the car maintains a safe distance from the vehicle ahead, checks the lane markers to keep the car in the center, and automatically slows down when approaching a bend in the road. The goal is to prevent accidents caused by inattentive drivers, according to Volkswagen. The driver still maintains control and can override the car’s actions at any point, however.
Volkswagen is not the only manufacturer which is developing the Autopilot function. Even non car manufacturer company in Silicon Valley, GOOGLE also developing autopilot drive car using their own system which they might integrate with GoogleMap. Let see what another Germany company is doing..
Audi also is having a few set of pilot test using Audi TTS Quattro. As we can see in the video below, it is not a very advance technology. It doesn't require any specific guideline along the roadway. It is the normal road which that technology can understand, in order to provide autopilot drive. Very interesting.
This is just the latest step in a growing trend of cars that can park themselves, drive themselves, communicate with other cars on the road and other smart grid functions. Looks like the state of Nevada, the first to pass regulations governing driverless cars, is on the right track. Nevada is the first state that encouraging this technology to be used as a pilot test at their state. The regulation for the autopilot has been drafted by the Nevada Department of Transport (DOT) and going to be implemented soon!
When can we see one kind of these test being done locally by Proton? Can't wait.. But, I guess this technology development cost is too expensive for our local car manufacturer. As a suggestion, Proton need to collaborate with international University experts if they are willing to explore this kind of features.
Barely a year ago, you could get 40 miles per gallon on the highway in exactly one conventional gas-powered car--the two-seat, toaster-size ForTwo, from Smart. But with fuel prices approaching $4 (approx. RM15) per gallon, membership in the 40-and-over club is growing fast. Hyundai, Chevrolet and Ford have introduced efficient sedans and hatchbacks. Now an unexpected entrant is joining the club: Mazda, the carmaker that built its reputation on affordable performers like the 155mph Speed3 and the rotary-engined RX-8.
Mazda’s fuel-efficiency program, Skyactiv, involves a multiyear rollout of new engines, transmissions and other reinvented components across a range of vehicles. The goal is to boost overall fuel economy by 30 percent by 2015, one year before American fuel-economy rules require automakers to reach a fleetwide average of 35.5 mpg.
The plan starts with the new Mazda3, whose 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Skyactiv-G engine will use direct fuel injection and dual variable valve timing to squeeze out 158 horsepower while achieving 40 mpg. A new six-speed automatic transmission will use two internal clutches to reduce energy-wasting gear slippage by 14 percent, while a redesigned exhaust manifold will collect and quickly disperse gases from all four cylinders, reducing heat losses.
Beyond the 3, Mazda’s plans get even more interesting. This fall in Japan, the automaker will introduce a new version of the subcompact Mazda2, with a 1.3-liter Skyactiv-G engine mated to a continuously variable transmission. Expected mileage: nearly 70 mpg.
SkyActiv-G engine package
SkyActiv-D engine package
In 2013, Mazda will bring a compact crossover to America called the CX-5; its 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D diesel should generate 310 pound-feet of torque while most likely topping 40 mpg, better than any SUV on the market today. And unlike other diesel engines, Mazda’s lightweight, high-revving aluminum-block diesel engine requires no particulate traps or pricey exhaust after-treatments to meet emissions standards. Barring any holdups, the CX-5 would become the first modern diesel Japanese passenger vehicle sold in the U.S.
Refer to below video on SKYACTIV technologies focusing on Engine (Gasoline & Diesel), Body, Chassis and Transmission. Every part of SKYACTIV is being develop to reduce the fuel consumption of the car.
Courtesy information from POPSCI.com
Electric vehicle infrastructure startup Better Place has a unique business model: Better Place and GE-branded EV charging stations let drivers power up both at home and at work. When drivers don't have hours to charge up, gas station-like battery switch stations that dot the highways allow them to take long trips with only quick stops for charging. The whole package is available for a monthly subscription fee.
But the whole package doesn't quite exist yet. So far, there is only one vehicle that is compatible with the switch stations--the Renault Fluence Z.E, which will go into limited release in Israel and Denmark next year. Better Place has, however, still been growing since its launch, albeit slowly and in select markets. Even without the Renault, subscribers can still use an electric car and access all of the charging stations. And now Better Place has announced plans to bring the Fluence Z.E. to Australia in 2012.
Why Australia? Better Place spokesperson Julie Mullins explains in an email that it is a region where people drive a lot, pay high prices for gas, and drive inefficient vehicles. The majority of the population is also centered around five urban areas, "so it’s a matter of building out each of these urban centers and covering the connecting highways with switch stations."
Denmark and Israel also have expensive cars and gasoline compared to the U.S. (so stop complaining); that's why Better Place is launching in these countries first. It's also easier for Better Place to get an infrastructure up in countries with fewer major metropolitan areas. In Israel--a country that is not much larger than New Jersey--Better Place's infrastructure is estimated to cost just $200 million.
The company anticipates bringing the largest electric car charging network in the world to Australia by 2013. We imagine that won't be as cheap.
It's hard to say whether Better Place will ultimately succeed in its battery switch station quest. Part of the company's success relies on automakers' willingness to make compatible cars. Mullins explained to us recently that Better Place is working on "a toolkit/adapter in our battery switch stations that can anticipate and supply different battery types for different vehicles with different battery-to-vehicle connection mechanisms." But in the meantime, customers only have one vehicle option--and that's a limiting factor in any country.
Courtesy information from Tech Crunch