Archive for category Car Gadgets
SafeDriver Wireless Vehicle Monitor
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on March 12th, 2010
There are times I genuinely feel sorry for teenagers these days. Usually a lot of people grumble about all the new electronics that kids get to use, that they never got to have as kids. Personally, I really have no desire to be a kid in this day and age. When you’re in high school you’re going to cause a certain amount of mischief. I was one of the many that enjoyed driving fast down back roads. Had my parents had this device I’d have never had any fun. Now that being said, it’s an awesome day and age to help parents make sure their kids aren’t up to anything.
This SafeDriver Wireless Vehicle Monitor is easy to install and has a tamper-proof pin number. The device records the highest speed traveled on their trip, plus it keeps track of any sudden braking. It’ll also let you know the distance traveled, so you know if they did any extra driving that they weren’t supposed to be doing. You can purchase it for $69.99 through Think Geek.
Source: ChipChick
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SafeDriver Wireless Vehicle Monitor
ExiTool: For those who fear being snagged by the seatbelt
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on March 10th, 2010
I have a mother that cannot stand watching films where the main characters drive into water. I think she has an irrational fear of drowning in a car, and films that show characters caught in their seatbelt don’t help. In all honesty, I have no idea if a car’s seat belt will malfunction like that if it hits the water, but if you have this same fear as my Mom, you might want to get the ExiTool.
The ExiTool is what its mixed name implies, a tool that gives you an exit. It is designed to affix permanently to the seat belt strap itself, and be there when it is needed. I am assuming that needed is the day when your seat belt jams when you don’t want it to. You have a device with a blade that will allow you to cut yourself out, and you can make your escape.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve not certain if a seat belt will malfunction in water. I thought the whole point of a seatbelt is to keep us safe. You know, “seat belts save lives”. This was drilled into me during Driver’s Education. I remember one film that showed a cop or medical guy (I don’t remember) say “I never pulled a dead body out of a seat belt”.
But hey, it might be just that little bit of precaution that you need or want for just $27. It also has an LED light as well.
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ExiTool: For those who fear being snagged by the seatbelt
BoostApak lets a child carry his or her own booster seat
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on March 8th, 2010
One of the first thing that any parent learns is how to set up a booster seat, and how to plan when your toddlers have to move from car to car. Unfortunately, most booster seats are hard and bulky, and not easy to shift around at all. I once had to take a rental car back with my son in it, and then had to walk home holding the booster seat. I’ve had more pleasant walks.
Fortunately, BoostApak have not only figured out a way to fold up a booster chair into a convenient backpack, and they have designed it so the child is the beast of burden for it. I suppose that “beast of burden” is a cruel term, but considering that most parents get the job of carrying way too many things, it is good that the BoostApak has made their device to be put on little kids’ backs. There are times when kids actually want to help out their parents, and this would be a good way to get them involved.
The BoostApak is designed to ergonomically fit, or “to protect growing spines and encourage better posture”. It is good for children ages 4 to 11. You should be able to get the BoostApak sometime in April, but there doesn’t seem to be a price. I believe that it’s release will be only in the UK, for now.
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BoostApak lets a child carry his or her own booster seat
Driving Simulator from Honda
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on March 4th, 2010
You know what I think is really hysterical? We have these flight simulators to help out would-be pilots, but when it comes to teenage drivers, we just put them behind the wheel with a driver’s permit.
Why can we not put them in a simulator? After all, pilots who land airplanes for the first time often say: “it was just like the simulator”. If we can give this amount of realism to pilots in training, then why not make a realistic driving simulator?
I am guessing that this is what Honda was trying to do with this driving simulator. If you put your fifteen-and-a-half-year-old behind the wheel, then it’s probably as close to driving on the road as it can be.
It has three LCD displays to give the realistic feeling of a windshield view. The software includes programs that can make night driving, driving in fog, and highway driving. I wonder how it can do with traffic. I’m not certain what happens if the driver crashes, but I’m guessing there will be some virtual cracks on the screen with the word “CRASH”. Oh, wait, that’s what they did on the old-school version of Flight Simulator.
I’m sure a lot of you have probably realized that this driving simulator “just can’t be as good as getting behind the real wheel deal” which any pre-16 teenager wants to do anyway. Granted, you should make a rear window display or something if you want future drivers to practice parallel parking and backing around a corner.
Well, the device itself is $66,000, which is hardly worth paying for, no matter how many drivers that you will have in our family.
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Driving Simulator from Honda
Turn your car into a tank
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on February 15th, 2010
This next device is the best thing to come out of Russia since the those Daywatch and Nightwatch films.
This contraption is able to take an ordinary car and turn it into a tank. Apparently, it uses a continuous tracked platform to create a better monster truck than the Legendary Bigfoot.
Too bad you can’t just drive up on this thing with a pair of ramps and be tank treads. According to my source, the wheels must be taken off the car in order to get this to work, so I’m guessing that the axle needs to be attached to this somehow.
I can imagine a good use for this. You see, I always had this idea that I was going to buy a big house out in the middle of nowhere and drive out to Costco every few months for supplies. Now, if it snows really hard, how am I going to get out of my driveway?
Tank treads, that’s how! Yeah, my car’s a tank now! How do you like that, other motorists? Oh, you want to pass me? Oh, I’ll pass over you. Monster truck madness! Yeah.
Anyway, there is a video below, but it is sadly all in Russian. But it is enough to show how it will work.
I can’t imagine putting anything but a truck on this. I wouldn’t mind seeing a picture of a Fit or Volkswagen on tank treads.
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Turn your car into a tank
DIY Wi-Fi Detecting Bumper Sticker
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets, DIY Gadgets on February 2nd, 2010
You probably remember the Wi-Fi detecting t-shirt that allows for you to light up every single time the shirt detects a signal. Well now someone has taken that same shirt and found a way to turn it into a bumper sticker. That way you have all of those wi-fi detecting abilities while you’re on the road. Of course it’ll require you to do a little work all on your own, but then your car will be branded with the area’s Wi-Fi capabilities.
Just go to the Instructables page and they lay everything out for you. Including giving you a link for the cheapest place to buy the shirt. In addition to the shirt you’ll need some double stick tape, a 12v to 5v USB car adapter and some industrial double stick foam tape. Then just follow through on the steps that they have listed. After you’ve finished with the project all you have left is to decide whether to face it towards the inside for your own viewing pleasure. That or you could show it off out the back of the window for the rest of the world to see.
Source: TechChee
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Working Desktop V Twin Engine runs on butane
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on January 24th, 2010
If you have a thing for engines, then this Desktop V Twin Engine is the best way to keep it always on your mind while you’re at your desk. It’d be great for those that enjoy working on engines but are actually in an office job all day long. That or it would endlessly torture you by keeping your real love on your mind all day long while you’re doing tediously dull tasks. On the bright side it’ll give you something to play with on your lunch break.
The fully functional engine runs on butane. When you have a full tank of it, the engine will run for about ten minutes. It’s as loud as a kitchen blender and is optimally balanced to keep the vibrations to a minimum. The German engine features two aluminum 1 ½ cc cylinders and stainless steel exhaust pipes. To get it started just fill it up with the required butane and turn the solid brass flywheel. An electrical impulse will then be sent to the two spark plugs that will in turn ignite the fuel within each cylinder. Since the engine is so exposed you’ll get to watch the movements of the valve rods, crosshead and crankshafts. You may want to keep this in a well ventilated room though, since despite that it does have a non-toxic exhaust it will still probably have a little bit of fumes. The engine is a bit pricey for those interested in it, it will cost you $1,000 through Hammacher Schlemmer.
Source: FunniestGadgets
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Working Desktop V Twin Engine runs on butane
Augmented Reality could give drivers some much-needed X-ray vision
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on January 18th, 2010
I have written several posts about Augmented Reality and how cool it is, but I’m sure that most of you are wondering what it is good for, other than some entertaining special effect.
All that is about to change as Yaser Sheikh of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has figured out a way that Augmented Reality can save lives.
Just watch the video to see what it is about, and you will see how useful AR technology could be. Haven’t you ever had to make a left turn into a blind corner? Wouldn’t it be handy if you knew that there was a car coming? An accident could be prevented.
The technology uses two cameras in order to make this X-ray vision trick possible. One camera has to be placed around the corner, and the other would have to be in the automobile that the user is driving. From there, the two images are synced together, super-imposed, and the driver can now see through walls. I am assuming that the driver wears some specialized helmet or has a display on their dashboard.
I suppose that the proper implementation of this tech could rid the world of blindsiding accidents as we know them. Howerver, using AR technology like this could flood the driver with multiple images that could make make one doubt what is reality, and what is augmented reality. Still, I think that drivers could get used to it, maybe.
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Cobra XRS 9970G has color touchscreen
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on January 5th, 2010
When I first saw that Cobra had invented a fuzzbuster with a touchscreen, I couldn’t help but think that this was some device to get rid of lint or other forms of fuzz, and wondered why a device like that would need a touchscreen.
However, the Cobra XRS 9970G is a fuzzbuster that is designed to avoid the fuzz that we all hate: the type that give speeding tickets. Of course, these are illegal in some states, but they are handy for staying off the cop-radar in the states that do not outlaw them.
One of the biggest problems with these fuzzbusters is that they are very hard to program and use. It’s one of those devices that has a manual, and you probably need to use it. The 9970G’s touchscreen makes it very user-friendly, and allows for simple setup and use.
The 9970G also has a GPS chip with “15 laser/radar bands alerting duties”. It also has an AURA database that will keep the user alert of traffic cameras, dangerous intersections, and my least personal favorite, speed traps.
The Cobra XRS 9970G weighs about 6.5 oz and is only 5 x 3 x 2 inches. That’s small enough to be out of the way, but still ready when needed. It will cost about $389. You might want to add up all your speeding tickets over the past few years and determine whether or not this is a wise purchase. That, or you could just slow down…
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New Cortexa touchscreens from Smarthome
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on December 19th, 2009
Smarthome has just announced its new range of Cortexa touchscreen displays to the masses, where they will come in 8.4″ and 15″ touchscreen formats. Well, most homes these days still use traditional switches and aren’t all that smart, but it works for the majority of folks out there. For those who always want to live life on the cutting edge with the latest and greatest at their disposal, they would do well to check out what Cortexa has to offer with the recent introduction of their new touchscreen displays. Apparently, these won’t be crazy expensive, but are affordable yet offering power and performance for the home DIY enthusiast to develop a unique, reliable and complete home automation product suite.
Cortexa’s new range of touchscreens are powerful and run on fast processors to keep it ahead of the game. You get flush mounting and acrylic bezels for that artistic touch to make it blend well with your interior (for most designs, anyways), while capacitive soft-touch configurable buttons are a snap to use and press. Webcam support is also thrown in for added effect. Cortexa’s robust solid-state touchscreens will open up access to the Cortexa Home Automation Controller, and one is able to use third party web-based or Windows based applications through a simple configuration process. Don’t worry about leaving the earth habitable for the next generation – these new Cortexa touchscreens are RoHS compliant, energy-efficient and reliable enough to function for years, with an always-on service via the XPe embedded OS to help you out of tight spots.
These touchscreens are perfect for those who run web-based or Windows based applications where an in-wall location and touch access are considered to be essential. In an everyday use device such as this, one would expect the Cortexa touchscreens to deliver robust, solid-state and unwavering stable performance, which it promptly does so thanks to a low-heat, high performance fanless processor. Prices range from $1,750 to $2,550.
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New Cortexa touchscreens from Smarthome