Since most of us don’t have a muppet to take care of our speeding tickets, this little gadget may be useful for defeating speeding cameras. This RF license plate cover features motorized panels which can cover your license plates. Now with the push of a key fob button you can drive as fast as you want. So far we’ve only seen it for international style long plates, but for those who are interested it can be found here.
P.S. When the cops catch you, and they will, you didn’t get the idea from us.
Customs Border Patrol agents manning the crossing at San Ysidro in California, probably one of the busiest land border checkpoints in the world, have most of their work cut out for them. A drive-through x-ray machine, called the “Z Portal”, was unveiled there last week. Looking like a huge carwash, the machine will help uncover contraband, as well as stowaways being smuggled into the U.S.
Manual searches are time-consuming, even with the help of dogs to do the job. The Z Portal at the US – Mexican border in San Ysidro does it fast and thorough with the use of Z backscatter x-ray imaging developed by American Science and Engineering, Inc (AS&E). The technology can even detect plastic weapons and explosives by providing multiple views of photo-like x-ray images.
Border patrol agents have apparently taken a liking to the new technology as they claim it has already helped them seize a total of 3,000 pounds of drugs since its introduction. With safety issues arising from the use of the device, the driver and passengers can opt to have an agent drive their vehicle through the Z Portal for scanning. Furthermore, radiation emitted by the device is just a tiny fraction of what medical-grade x-rays actually produce – around 2,000 times less.
Not since Calvin relieving himself on your least favorite car brand has been so easy for a driver to show his/her feelings. "The Hand" remote controller window sign is a funny and useful gadget that signs how you feel towards the other drivers. For $40, this electroluminescent gesturing hand will allow to focus your attention completely on the road.
Just make sure you always have some expression always on. To correctly fit all the different gestures, the blank hand has six fingers.
Now that car keys have going electric (like having proximity sensors) have you ever wondered what else it may be able to do? How about a credit card?
BMW announced that it is working on what it calls a "multi-functional" key. Developed in cooperation with NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, the new key could be used by drivers in order to pay general shopping, paying at the gas station, public transport, parking and road tolls, replacing the need for cash or additional cards.
In the search for clean, renewable and cheap ways to power automobiles, is this what we’ll have to deal with?! Direct from China, Zhejiang 001’s mini car with solar top. The car can charge using only solar power in 30 hours and is capable of a 93 mile range. It is true that it can only transform 14 to 17% of the sun light but this is the normal percentage.
The price is a about $5,560. It’s good that it’s cheap, because if it were available here, you may need to buy two just to make it through the day.
Say good-bye to in-car conversation. 2009 will be the first year when more than half of the vehicles manufactured in America will be offered with support for iPod. So now on your trip to the local store, you will likely packing enough music for days. In 2008, 39 percent of new cars offered iPod support, but that number will jump to 58 percent next year.
According to Phil Magney, vice president of automotive research for iSuppli, the future sales of the vehicles will be seriously influenced by in-vehicle technologies. For example, due to the fact that Bluetooth technology is integrated in every phone, more than 82% of the 2009 vehicles will have it as an option or as a standard.
Azentek is an innovative developer of in-vehicle gadgets. They provide computer systems, GPS and fleet tracking solutions. The company is the creator of the SmartMirror – a rearview mirror with integrated GPS navigation, Bluetooth hands-free cellular connectivity, and backup camera capability.
According to retailers and dealers, customers have shown warm acceptance to this cool gadget because of its great features. People like the SmartMirror because it does not require alteration of the factory dashboard layout for installation. Since its introduction in August of this year, sales have been brisk and the demand for the device has grown.
SmartMirror comes in a simple package. The built-in GPS is a Samsung Sirf III with its touch screeen occupying about 4 inches of the right side of the mirror area. Onboard memory is 64MB with 2GB SD card for maps, pictures and e-books. Speakers are built-in and it features text-to-speech capability, 2D & 3D map images, plus Lane Assist. The GPS screen also doubles as a reverse camera display. The device incorporates Bluetooth technology which allows mobile phone hands-free interface and the ability to show incoming caller ID and call history onscreen.
SmartMirror may be a bit on the high end at a retail price of $800 but Azentek seems to have hit the sweet spot for in-car gadgets. As Pete Muller, Azentek’s VP of Sales & Marketing relates "The initial sales have far exceeded any of our expectations. We’ve had to ramp-up production at our factory just to meet the demand and consumers are currently on waiting lists just to get a hold of a SmartMirror."
The AirPod is the latest green car that will be launched on the market. The new vehicle is powered using compressed air system which uses the electricity in order to force the air to power the pistons of the engine.
The AirPod will have a top speed of 40 mph and a range of approximately 130 miles. The car can be refilled using a regular air compressor. AirPod will be available in U.S. by 2010 while the Europeans and India will get it sooner (and yet we’re not jealous.) No word about the price yet.
The are people that usually prefer having one thing good for everything, for example the 2 in 1 shampoo, the cleaner for glass, bath and floor and the list continues. But it is not a precisely a good option for gadgets cause sometimes more systems combined in one gadget may not be as useful as it seems. For instance the GPS system combined with a built-in gaming unit can’t be very useful. Let’s say you’re on a long trip and it’s one of the best time to play games but in the same time you need the GPS more than ever to guide. Not being able to do both actions in the same time what is the use of the complex gadget in the end? There is another device that tried to combine both systems, the PSP which now has also the GPS. And as a solution, the new PSP is smarter than GPS due to its Multilanguage GPS, the SD/MMC memory card, Bluetooth and a Samsung ARM9 400MHz processor.
Have you ever seen your kids bored in your long family trips? Well, today we have the solution: Carcade, a concept for an in-car videogame designed for the passengers, which actually captures the landscape and uses it as a videogame environment. For example trees and houses on your window will be recognized by the incorporated camera connected to a laptop, and then it will enter your game. Also, when the car accelerates, the game will become more difficult (that’s got to be safe.)
The bad news is that for the moment the game is only a concept. But who knows, maybe in the future you will be able to play you’re own live version of Midnight Club!
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