Video: Honda's Asimo + Kinect = Creepy animatronic hokey-pokey

Filed under: Etc., Japan, Technology, Videos

When the end of the world comes, it will arrive on the shoulders of dancing robots. The researchers behind Asimo, the humanoid robot from Honda, have tapped into the muscle behind the Xbox Kinect system to allow users to control Asimo using nothing more than their own body movements. With self-collision safeguards and upper and lower body correlation programming in place, the adorable face of our robotic overlords is moving more like a human than ever before. What's more, Aismo can now utilize a database of text-inspired gestures as a form of communication.

Why does this matter? In the past, programmers had to individually code the movements in each of Asimo's joints in order for the robot to be able to perform a simple task. The design required a symphony of programming just for the robot to be able to walk across a stage. Now Asimo merely requires a human to move naturally in order to instruct his joints. It's a massive step forward. We're guessing it wouldn't take much to be able to record those movements for future replay, either. Hit the jump to check out the video.

Continue reading Honda's Asimo + Kinect = Creepy animatronic hokey-pokey

Honda's Asimo + Kinect = Creepy animatronic hokey-pokey originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/02/hondas-asimo-kinect-creepy-animatronic-hokey-pokey/

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What's the greatest American racing car? [Video]

Apologies to the Discovery Channel, which produced the recent special "America's Greatest Racecar" about the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, but we've been wondering the very same thing. And so we put it to you, America's greatest commentariat. What's the greatest American racing car? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/jalopnik/full/~3/lB843IqmK9E/whats-the-greatest-american-racing-car

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IBM Studies Navigation That Takes You Where The Advertisers Want You

Quick, what’s the point of having a navigation system in your car? To get where you want to be going, right? Well, IBM has another idea: maybe instead of taking you where you want to go, navigation systems should be offering to take you where a paying advertiser wants you to go. Say, right past [...]

Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/09/ibm-studies-navigation-that-takes-you-where-the-advertisers-want-you/

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Video: Drag racing Buick Regal driver loses best seat in the house

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Etc., Videos, Buick, Humor

The only better place to watch a drag race than from the other side of the wall is behind the steering wheel. Then again, that depends on what car you're driving. This gentleman enjoyed the view from the driver's seat of his hopped-up 80's Buick Regal for the holeshot, or just until his seat went from upright to permanently reclined in 1.2 seconds.

All of which just goes to show how souping up a car can sometimes reveal hidden weaknesses in the most surprising ways. Our advice: Do some crunches, get back out there and try again! Check out the disaster-averted hilarity after the jump.

Continue reading Drag racing Buick Regal driver loses best seat in the house

Drag racing Buick Regal driver loses best seat in the house originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/30/drag-racing-buick-regal-driver-loses-best-seat-in-the-house/

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Presenting the First Car and Driver/Car Town Design Contest Winner

As the Facebook fiends among you are already aware, we recently announced a partnership with the game Car Town. Our first in a series of monthly contests has now concluded, and here are the results! September’s challenge was to wrap a Honda Accord in a ?Back to School? design. Last week, our editors chose their [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/0oPD_JxdGAw/

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2010 Land Rover LR4 Test Drive: New Refinement for Off-Road Juggernaut

If there were one major aspect that impresses about the Land Rover, it is the extraordinary breadth of capability shown by the company's cars, not least the LR4 we sampled in Scotland recently.

Source: http://feeds.popularmechanics.com/~r/pm/blogs/automotive_news/~3/M1y8WRB-FMw/4329657.html

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Nissan addresses Leaf battery life, replacement costs

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan

Hundreds, not thousands.

That's the word from Nissan's chief vice-president of global marketing communications, Simon Sproule, who believes that after five years of repeated use, the battery pack in the Nissan Leaf may require some maintenance, but not complete replacement.

Nissan states that after five years (or 60,000 miles) of use, the Leaf's battery pack will still retain at least 80 percent of its original 24-kWh capacity. But if the pack dips below that 80-percent threshold, then Nissan says individual module swap outs - not entire battery pack replacements - will be the most likely solution. Sproule stated:

There's been a lot of debate online about the replacement cost of the battery and it's very unlikely that anyone's going to have to replace the entire battery pack. Typically people will need to replace modules and we can open up the battery pack and do that. There's been a lot of chatter online about tens of thousands of dollars or euros to replace a whole battery pack, but really you want to focus on the modules and these will be in the hundreds, not the thousands.

As for the common concern that daily use of a quick-charge (Level 3) station will degrade battery life, Sproule responded:

If someone uses the fast charging system every day, they would be doing more than 200 miles [daily] and on an annual basis that would be over 70,000 miles. There aren't many people that drive 70,000 miles a year in any car so it's an unlikely scenario that someone would be fast charging every day. The constant heavy recharge cycle is the extreme and we engineer for the extreme but the reality day-to-day will be nowhere near that.

Looks like Sproule has his hands full dispelling Nissan Leaf myths.

Nissan addresses Leaf battery life, replacement costs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://green.autoblog.com/2011/09/30/nissan-addresses-leaf-battery-life-replacement-costs/

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Mike Ryan Drifts His Pikes Peak Freightliner, Video Is Epic

To most folks, semi trucks are merely society?s beasts of burden?the unemotional, unwieldy, and unsexy polar opposites of race cars. This is why we so dearly love the FIA’s truck-racing series, which sees purpose-built rigs comically (they can’t help it) duking it out on track, and it is precisely why we can’t stop watching the [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/8do1nbj5hQ4/

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Toray TeeWave AR1 Concept - EV sportscar from Gordon Murray Design

When we last heard from Gordon Murray, the legendary ex-Formula One and supercar penman had pretty much completed development on his firm's diminutive T.25/T.27 City Car and unveiled his personal fantasy take on the next-generation Batmobile currently being featured in the new "Batman Live" stage show.

Source: http://rss.kbb.com/~r/kbb-car-news/~3/Stxrv_qPrqI/

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California Mandates Red Stickers Of Shame For Salvage Cars

The Red Badge of Courage it isn’t, but a new California law aims to out any salvage skeletons in cars’ closets. On Monday, Governor Jerry Brown signed off on the requirement, which among other provisions, directs all Golden State car dealers to add red warning stickers to vehicles with salvage titles. Dealers are already obligated to...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCarConnection/~3/EvdCC1kVQXM/1066659_california-mandates-red-stickers-of-shame-for-salvage-cars

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Tesla expands in Europe with showroom opening in the Netherlands

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, Europe/EU

With the Model S slowly making its way through the pre-production process, Tesla Motors is expanding its operations in Europe, starting with the construction of a showroom and service center in the Netherlands.

In anticipation of continued success, Tesla swung open the doors to its showroom in Eindhoven, Netherlands and has raised the curtain on Europe's largest Tesla-only service center. Tesla Service Eindhoven boasts hoists to lift five Roadsters at a time and includes an on-site battery assessment center and repair facility with specialized electric vehicle equipment. The reason the location is ready for multiple Roadsters at once is that Service Eindhoven will cater to Tesla owners in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, France and northern Germany. In conjunction with the opening of Tesla Service Eindhoven, the U.S.-based automaker launched its Dutch-language website.

Continue reading Tesla expands in Europe with showroom opening in the Netherlands

Tesla expands in Europe with showroom opening in the Netherlands originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://green.autoblog.com/2011/09/30/tesla-expands-in-europe-with-showroom-opening-in-the-netherlands/

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New Yorker gives away a day of weird free cab rides [Video]

Filmmaker Mark Malkoff knows the recession's tough on everyone so he rented a cab for a day to give a handful of New Yorkers a free ride. The only catch was you had to take a cab with a small, strange man with a love for Tony Danza. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/jalopnik/full/~3/6XQpSV76GfE/new-yorker-gives-away-a-day-of-weird-free-cab-rides

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2012 Fiat 500 Pink Ribbon Edition - fashioned to fight breast cancer

As we head into National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Fiat has announced a new limited-edition offering whose sales will help generate additional funding for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

Source: http://rss.kbb.com/~r/kbb-car-news/~3/bieSGjIXZY8/

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Video: Vision SCR still trying to make it into production

Filed under: Aftermarket, Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Design/Style

It looks like the Vision SZR is still clawing its way toward production. According to online video series Done In 60 Seconds, the specialty machine from Mar Vista, California will reportedly come equipped with up to 700 horsepower courtesy of a 6.0-liter V12, though cost-shy buyers could theoretically stick with the base 6.2-liter V8 good for a more modest 620 horsepower. With an aluminum chassis and a carbon fiber body, the Vision SZR tips the scales at 2,875 pounds in its heaviest configuration, which means that all that swoopy bodywork should scoot to 60 mph in the low-three-second range. If you like what you're hearing, get ready to wait for a while. Currently there is only one SZR in the world, and it apparently cost its creator $2 million to produce.

The first Vision SZR prototype turned a wheel back in 2005 (development dates back ten years), and the company has been soldiering forth on development ever since. As Chief Operating Officer John Misumi sees it, the SZR is a muscle car for the 21st century. While the design certainly isn't for everyone (we think it looks kind of like the 1990 Chevrolet Corvette CERV III concept car viewed through a funhouse mirror), we certainly appreciate Misumi's drive to create a one-of-a-kind performance vehicle. Hit the jump to watch a video of the SZR in action, and check it out in our gallery as well.

Continue reading Vision SCR still trying to make it into production

Vision SCR still trying to make it into production originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/30/vision-scr-still-trying-to-make-it-into-production/

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2011 VPG MV-1 Has Wheelchair Users In Mind

With all due respect to Janis Joplin, freedom is not just another word for nothing else to lose. For America’s 14 million adults using wheelchairs and scooters, freedom means mobility. Vehicle Production Group had them in mind when it designed its MV-1, the first purpose-built vehicle for members of the disability community and their...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCarConnection/~3/Kf4iBTGvG34/1066719_2011-vpg-mv-1-has-wheelchair-users-in-mind

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