YouTuber colinfurze has taken Star Wars fandom to the next level by building a full-sized replica of the land speeder Luke Skywalker drives in A New Hope.Showcasing some old-school metal-forming techniques used by coachbuilders, Colin is able to bring a small model of the iconic craft up to 1:1 scale.In fact, he uses the toy speedster replica to get the real things proportions and details right.The body sits atop a stripped-down golf cart, which he bought on eBay for 1,300 pounds (about $2,200). In fact, most of the parts used for the build were sourced from eBay, which sponsored the build.The final product is incredible, and the detail Colin managed to translate into the full-sized replica is immense, right down to the exposed engine cover and the interior. Colin doesnt mention how long it took to build the land speeder, but were guessing it was more than a few days. According to Colin, there have been other fibreglass reproductions, but this is likely the first steel speeder replica ever made.This isnt the first Star Wars build hes done, either; previous projects include an AT-AT tree house of sorts; and Darth Vaders TIE fighter. However, this is the first project hes done that actually moves, and can be driven.The channel is not limited to Star Wars stuff; hes also built a jet-powered go-kart, a hoverbike and a hot tub BMW.Still to come from the YouTuber is a video of the vehicle being driven, and he also says that it will eventually get a paint
Origin: This guy built a working ‘Star Wars’ land speeder in his garage
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Canadian university working on radar to detect kids forgotten in back seats
In the U.S., 751 children have died of heatstroke in cars since 1998.Getty Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario have developed an inexpensive sensor that triggers an alarm when children or pets are left behind in vehicles.Some vehicles currently warn drivers to check the rear seat when they exit the vehicle the system is triggered when the rear doors are opened before driving, suggesting a child might be buckled into a seat but dont actually detect if anyones there.In the U.S., its estimated an average of 38 children die each year of heatstroke after they’ve been forgotten and left behind in a hot car. In 2018 the number was 51, the highest on record.The Waterloo project was partly funded by a major automotive parts manufacturer and could be on the market by the end of 2020. It uses radar technology combined with artificial intelligence, and its inventors say it can detect unattended children or animals with 100-per-cent accuracy.The tiny sensor is designed to mount in the ceiling or on the rearview mirror. It sends out radar signals that are reflected back by both live and inanimate objects in the vehicle, and can penetrate the seats to look for rear-facing child seats. The AI then analyzes the signals and looks for breathing movements. If a child or pet is detected, the system sounds an alarm and prevents the doors from locking. Graduate students Mostafa Alizadeh, left, and Hajar Abedi position a doll, modified to simulate breathing, in a minivan during testing of a new sensor. University of Waterloo It addresses a serious, worldwide problem, said George Shaker, an engineering professor at the university, who said the system is so affordable it could become standard equipment in all vehicles.Because the device determines how many people are in the vehicle and where they are sitting, the information could also potentially be used to qualify for carpool lanes or toll rates. The researchers are also exploring the ability to monitor the drivers vital signs to look for distraction, impairment, fatigue or
Origin: Canadian university working on radar to detect kids forgotten in back seats
Tesla asks Apple to help nab alleged data thief working for Chinese competitor
Elon Musk during his presentation at the Tesla Powerpack Launch Event at Hornsdale Wind Farm on September 29, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. Tesla and Apple both suspect they were betrayed by driverless technology engineers who defected to the same Chinese startup.So, Tesla is now asking for Apples help in a lawsuit in which the electric carmaker accused an engineer who worked on its Autopilot program of taking thousands of highly confidential files when he went to work for XMotors.ai, the U.S. research arm of Guangzhou-based Xpeng.Along with typical information demands in the early fact-finding phase of the lawsuit that are spelled out in a court filing last week Tesla wants to see the engineers emails and have a forensic analysis conducted on his electronic devices the company founded by Elon Musk disclosed that it has also served the iPhone maker with a subpoena.The documents Tesla seeks from Apple arent specified in the filing, but the thinking may be that while the Silicon Valley titans are rivals in the ultra-hot self-driving space, they share a common enemy in Xpeng.Last July, prosecutors charged a hardware engineer in Apples autonomous vehicle-development team with downloading proprietary files as he prepared to leave the company and start work for the for Chinese company. The engineer has pleaded not guilty.Apple didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.The former Tesla engineer, Guangzhi Cao, acknowledged in a court filing that he downloaded copies of Teslas Autopilot-related source code to his personal iCloud account, but denies any wrongdoing. Cao has done precisely nothing with Teslas IP, having diligently and earnestly tried to scrub all of Teslas source code from his personal devices and volunteered to provide the company with complete forensic copies of any devices it wished to inspect, his lawyers wrote.Xpeng which hasnt been accused of wrongdoing by Apple or Tesla has said it plays by the rules and has denied having any part in the engineers alleged misconduct. The company has said that when it was notified in June 2018 that U.S. authorities were investigating the Apple engineer, his computer and office equipment were secured and he was denied access to his work and subsequently fired.Xpeng, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Foxconn Technology Group, is among the startups in China striving to reshape the auto industry as the worlds biggest market promotes new-energy vehicles in an effort to clean its air and cut its reliance on oil
Origin: Tesla asks Apple to help nab alleged data thief working for Chinese competitor
VW’s working on tech to keep you from getting sick in autonomous cars
Motion sickness sucks. For the percentage of the population who are susceptible to this rotten affliction, simply going for a drive with someone else at the wheel is cause enough to turn greener than a twenty-dollar bill, money soon to be spent on a bottle of Febreze to get rid of the smell. The crew at Volkswagen, mindful that bouts of sick can come on even faster in a self-driving car, are working on ways to quell the queasy. At its root, the confusion between the motion your eyes see and the motion your body feels. This is why your author cannot read for an extended time as a passenger. According to VW, about a third of all people are susceptible to it – women more than men, children more than adults – but under the right conditions, anyone can suffer. At the VW research labs in Wolfsburg, scientists are studying what can trigger car sickness and potential ways to help prevent it from happening in a future where the car can mostly drive itself. In one test, researchers are exploring whether changes to the vehicles themselves might help prevent motion sickness, such as via special movable seats that can react to driving changes; and an LED light strip on the door panel that illuminates in green or red. The latter is intended to provide a visual cue for the passenger of braking or acceleration. Out on the test track, volunteers don various sensors and cameras designed to measure pulse, skin temperature, and changes in skin tone. On a 20-minute drive, the sedan will use Automatic Cruise Control to follow a semi-autonomous Passat. During this particular test, a tablet plays video of swimming fish for the volunteer to watch. As the car drives, the volunteer rates their state of health on a tablet. For most, it doesn’t take long to feel ill. VW’s boffins are hoping their inventions can help remove that feeling, though they haven’t released that data quite yet. Autonomous cars are coming – not today, not tomorrow, but eventually – and it’s research like this that’ll help deal with problems most of us haven’t thought of yet. Until then, the rest of us can just keep a bottle of Febreze
Origin: VW’s working on tech to keep you from getting sick in autonomous cars
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