You Walk
Saw this hilarious billboard on the outskirts of Pontiac the other day. Rough neighborhood, I guess.
Pimp your ride with augmented reality — Part I
Ten years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find a 32-bit processor in your car. Now, some cars have 4 or more 32 bitters: one in the radio, another in the telematics module, yet another in the center display, and still another in the rear-seat system.
Heck, in newer cars, you’ll even find one in the digital instrument cluster — the QNX-powered cluster in the Range Rover, for example. Expect to see a similar demand for more compute power in engine control units, drive-by-wire systems, and heads-up displays.
The Range Rover cluster displays virtual speedometers and gauges, as well as warnings, suspension settings, and other info, all on a dynamically configurable display.
What do most of these systems have in common? The need to process tons of information, from both inside and outside of the vehicle, and to present key elements of that data in a safe, contextually relevant, and easy-to-digest fashion.
The next generation of these systems will be built on the following principles:
- Fully integrated cockpits — Vehicle manufacturers see system consolidation as a way to cut costs and reduce complexity, as well as to share information between vehicle systems. For instance, your heads-up display could discreetly let you know who is calling you, without forcing you to take your eyes off of the road. And it could do this even if the smarts integrating your phone and your car reside in another cockpit component — the telematics module, say.
- Augmented reality — With all of the data being generated from phones, cloud content services and, perhaps more importantly, the vehicle itself, presenting the right information at the right time in a safe way will become a major challenge. This is where augmented reality comes in.
Augmented reality is a cool use of cameras, GPS, and data to create smart applications that overlay a virtual world on top of the real world. Here are some of my favorite examples:
AR Starbucks cups — Use your phone to make your coffee cup come alive:
AR Starwars — Blast the rebel alliance squirrels!
AR postage stamp — Add a new dimension (literally) to an everyday object:
And here are a couple more for good measure:
AR ray gun — Blast aliens around the house!
Wikitude AR web browser — Explore the world around you while overlaying social networks, images, video, reviews, statistics, etc.
Stay tuned for my next post, where I will explore how AR could enhance the driving experience for both drivers and passengers — Andrew.
I've always wondered about Android support...
Clearly, it's pretty tough to stay on top of the Android release game. One very good reason for car makers to be wary, as they'll be bound to move even slower than handset makers.
Coda: Does Anyone Care?
The Coda is an all electric sedan built on a Chinese copy of a Mitsubishi compact sedan chassis, stuffed with batteries and electric motors. It looks cheap. But it will cost $40,000 like the Focus BEV, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf high trim model.
Does anyone really want one at this price?
The need for green in automotive
The need for environmentally friendly practices and products has become so painfully obvious in recent years that it’s no longer possible to call it a debate or a controversy. Nowhere is this more conspicuous than in the automotive industry.- “The personal automobile is the single greatest polluter as emissions from millions of vehicles on the road add up.”— US Environmental Protection Agency
Working at QNX has given me insight into just how complex the problem is and how going green in automotive is not going to be a revolution. I've come to realize that it will require a good number of players on a large number of fronts.
 |
| An example of what happens when your car takes way too long to boot. :-) |
To prevent such undignified delays, these systems typically do not power down completely. Instead, they suspend to RAM while the vehicle is off. This lets the system boot ‘instantly’ whenever the ignition turns over. But because there’s a small current draw to keep RAM alive, this trickle continually drains the battery. This might have minimal consequences today (other than cost to the manufacturer, which is a whole other story) but in the brave new world of electric and hybrid cars, battery capacity equals mileage. Typical systems thus shorten the range of green vehicles and, in the case of hybrids, force drivers to use not-so-green systems more often. More importantly perhaps, these systems give would-be buyers ‘range anxiety’. Indeed, according to the Green Market’s Richard Matthews, battery life is one of the top reasons the current adoption rate is so low.
A little-known feature of QNX technology helps solve this problem.
Architects using the QNX OS can organize the boot process to bring up complex systems in a matter of seconds. Ours is not an all-or-nothing proposition as it is with monolithic operating systems that must load an entire system before anything can run – Windows and Linux are prime examples. QNX supports a gradual phasing in of system functionality to get critical systems up and running while it loads less-essential features in the background. A QNX-based system can start from a cold boot every time. Which means no battery drain while the car is off.
And while this is no giant leap for mankind it is certainly a solid step in the right direction. If the rest of us (consumers, that is) contributed similarly by trading in our clunkers for greener wheels, the industry could undoubtedly move forward in leaps and bounds. I suppose this means I’m going to have to take a long hard look at my 2003 Honda Civic.
Smelly Anarchists Begone!
NYC has finally had enough of the Occupy Wall Street crowd in Zuccotti park. A judge has denied a lawsuit for a restraining order against NYPD, on the grounds that
To the extent that City law prohibits the erection of structures, the use of gas or other
combustible materials, and the accumulation of garbage and human waste in public places,
enforcement of the law and the owner's rules appears reasonable to permit the owner to maintain its
space in a hygienic, safe, and lawful condition, and to prevent it from being liable by the City or others
for violations of law, or in tort. It also permits public access by those who live and work in the area
who are the intended beneficiaries of this zoning bonus.
The movants have not demonst rated that they have a First Amendment right to remain in
Zuccotti Park, along with their tents, structures, generators, and other installations to the exclusion
of the owner's reasonable rights and duties to maintain Zuccotti Park, or to the rights to public access
of others who might wish to use the space safely. Neither have the applicants shown a right to a
temporary restraining order that would restrict the City's enforcement of law so as to promote public
health and safety.
Presumably, now the NYPD will begin moving the squatters out of Zuccotti park, so that the damage can be repaired.
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What are you looking at? Uh!?
What are you looking at?! (slap)
Are you undressing me with your eyes?
Poor guy…you can't help it?
Is your heart beating? Is your head spinning?
Do you feel lost thinking that I could be yours forever?
(by the way has a slightly non-italian accent)