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4 Posts tagged with the university tag
Eavesdropper
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avicosreplac.jpg

(Image via Technische Universitaet Muenchen)

 

I did not know how to turn off the change oil light in my car, it was not in the manual. What did I do? I checked youtube for the answer. Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TU) and Audi are about to bring a video manual you can talk to on all new model Audi cars.

 

The Avatar-based Virtual Co-driver System (AviCoS) is a animated avatar that can give the driver, or anyone in the car, detailed information on the vehicle using "natural-language dialog." Simply ask a question, and the system will deliver the answer. AviCoS uses an AI that can analyze complete sentences and answer using audio, images, or video on a embedded screen in the car. The avatar can also visually guide the user through the car, or point to areas of interest.

 

If the user is unfamiliar with a certain feature of the car, the touch screen lets the user enter the "Touch & Tell Mode." The user touches the area of the car where more information is needed, the avatar provides all the background information. While driving, all animations and graphical outputs are suppressed to avoid distracting the driver. However, voice communication will still work. " Overall, AviCoS provides comfortable and interactive access to multimedia content that goes far beyond the information contained in printed manuals. The self-explanatory system can be used without training, making it easy to get familiar with the operation of a vehicle," said TU Institute for Business Informatics' Dr Michael Schermann.

 

The development team stated that the next step is to sense the drivers mood through elevated speech patterns or tone of voice. When angry, the animations are suppressed.  In a time a difficulty, I would not care to see flashy animations, I suppose.

 

Eavesdropper

396 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: in:automotive, automotive, innovation, guide, car, manual, transportation, university, interactive, cars, on_campus, eavesdropper
Eavesdropper
1

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Here is a perfect example of, "I can not believe this has not been done already."

 

Aalto University in Finland is testing the use of hybrid technology in non-road, mobile industrial machinery. Think Prius versions of cranes, bulldozers, tractors, and diggers. Their concept is to capture of the energy from the work being performed by each machine that is lost when in operation. Like in hybrid cars, deceleration, braking energies are being absorbed as well as energy from such tasks as lowering a load. For the record, no one has attempted making hybrids in this area.

 

Head researchers Professor Jussi Suomela spoke of the impetus of the project, "These heavy duty machines are operated for long periods of time, so by the end of the day emissions and fuel consumption have added up. Being able to target them is a significant improvement." From recent experimental data, Suomela has show that involving such combustion/electric hybrids in work machinery has the potential to save 50% of the fuel costs in stand alone operation, and even more if the system is plugged into the power grid.

 

Now it is not a question of can it be done, but when can it be implemented. Great work, Aalto University.

 

Eavesdropper

748 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: industrial, innovation, transportation, university, hybrid, electric, alternative_energy, machinery, ev, on_campus
Eavesdropper
0

 

A driverless "POD" is whisking students to the other side of the campus at Masdar City (near Abu Dhabi). These EV vehicles go 25Mph and can reach a range of about 37miles on a single charge. So, charging every hour then? Built by a dutch company called "To Get There," these cars are trying to fill Masdar's dream of being a "zero carbon, zero waste, car-free city." RFID and other onboard sensors help the Personal Transportation System (PRT), keep it on task and able to avoid obstacles. Although this "city" provides a 1600 meter round trip for these PODs, they are setting a good example for everyone else.

 

Eavesdropper

512 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: transport, university, hybrid, ev, masdar, abu_dhabi
Eavesdropper
1

Brain driven car

Posted by Eavesdropper Feb 22, 2011

 

When I first watched this video I had one question, what if the driver spaces out for a little bit? Although my question was not answered, I did see an impressive video of the brain controlled car in operation. The "MadeInGermany" autonomous car designed by Autonomous Labs in collaboration with the Freie Universitat in Berlin, has been controlled by an iPhone, iPad, and now a EEG (electroenzephalogram) tool. The Drive-By-Wire system interprets electromagnetic signals produced by the brain, though I am not sure what they are thinking about exactly to produce the commands. The 21st century promises finally surface. 


Eavesdropper

792 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: interface, innovation, car, university, hmi, brain, on_campus, automonous, braindriven, eeg