Cadillac’s Wide Angle, LCD Rear View Mirror

Cadillac’s XT5 Rear View Mirror – LCD Portraying View of Traffic Behind

On flipping the day-night lever towards the bottom of a Cadillac XT5’s rear view mirror it tends to change to a LCD portraying a wide-angle view of the traffic behind you. It is said to be the first of what could be a flood of inside as well as side rear mirror utilising small cameras providing wider viewing angles as well as less wind resistance than the traditional outside mirrors. The likelihood prevails for several cameras edging together a seamless view of 180 degree.

Cadillac has partnered with Gentex Corpn in order to develop the Rear Camera Mirror, as called by Cadillac, after its announcement on the concept as a `streaming video mirror’, a year ago. Initially, it is available on the XT5, a crossover compact replacing the Cadillac SRX together with the high-end Cadillac CT6 sport sedan. On test trading the XT5, it was found that it worked well though it also needs to getting used to it. As Gentex seems to call it – the Full Display Mirror tends to pull an image from a moderately high-definition camera mounted on the rear of the car just over the license plate.

Lens – Hydrophobic/Water-Shedding Coating

The lens tends to have a hydrophobic or water-shedding coating in order to decrease the effects of the rainy weather. The image is said to be fed to the 1280-by-240 pixel LCD display implanted in the rear view mirror. The driver can switch between views utilising the lever towards the bottom which on modest mirrors tend to switch between daytime and night viewing modes. In reflective mirror mode, the electro-chromic component tends to dim automatically, the view whenever bright headlamps tend to shine on the mirror. Moreover the other exceptional feature is a high-dynamic range camera which tends to reduce the glare at night.

Gentex had informed that each pixel arrays its own exposure and the headlamps seem as bright objects, though darker objects like the outline of the car or a pedestrian at the side of the road can also be noticeable. It is said that Gentex seems to be having 10 patents on the mirror system inclusive of the streaming video mirror concept as well as for wide-angle-view calibration, de-warping, glare reduction together with the camera’s hardware design.

Wide View Beneficial in City Traffic

The first and the last impression is how extensive is the field of vision, which is around four times as wide as a traditional mirror. Since it is on the exterior of the car, the view is not blocked by back seat headrest, roof pillars or passenger. One needs to be aware that the view is 8 – 10 feet beyond a traditional mirror view. The wide view could be beneficial in city traffic as well as for looking around before reversing into a parking space.

When one is properly certain that there is no crossing traffic in one’s blindspot, you can switch on to the camera view on the main LCD of the car. What Cadillac has been doing with Gentex is just the beginning. Other automakers, including Tesla have been toying with small cameras as replacement for side mirror. They tend to lessen wind resistance, making the car contracted and easier to fit into a snug garage.

An LED Light Bulb with a Warm, Retro Glow

Tala’s New LED Similar to Edison-Style Lightbulbs

In 1879, Thomas Edison had filed a patent for his electric lightbulb and somehow we are still toying with it. The latest upgrade is the Tala’s new LED similar to Edison-style lightbulbs ever present in farm-to-stable restaurants which tends to be energy efficient with a warm, natural look. Tala, created by four students at the University of Edinburg generates vintage-style lightbulbs in a variety of old-school shapes some of which are subtly tinted mouth blown glass. A string of superthin LED chips in these bulbs tends to simulate the glowing filament on incandescent though what actually set them apart are the less concrete qualities.

For instance dimming,is among the most appealing features of incandescent bulbs, one which eco-friendly CFL and LED lights seem to have issue. Though several LED bulbs tend to falter as their intensity is adjusted, Tala’s incline up and down smoothly which is due to a great presentation driver at the base of every bulb, as per the co-founder of the company, Josh Ward. Besides this, there is the quality of the light which tends to skew warmer scoring 95+ out of 100 on the colour-rendering index (CRI), a measure of how precisely a light source tends to render colours.

Each Filament Packed Dense with LEDs

Though one would come across other vintage-style LED bulbs with approximately the same score, Tala’s have been designed to surpass the red spectrum which in part is the reason for the bulb flattered skin tones. Moreover, each filament is said to be packed dense with LEDs in order that the bulb tends to cast a broad, even glow.

Since the LED-based lightbulbs manufacturers have learnt the art of imitating the warm, power-guzzling glow of incandescent, new energy efficient models have been quickly replacing their predecessors. But there are yet some areas, where these forward-thinking bulbs may not fit, for instance, in lighting fixture that calls for exposed bulbs.

It is here that the futuristic looks of several LED choices do not match up to the old-fashioned Edison bulbs. Manufacturers fortunately have been in the race of creating convincing traditional-style LED bulbs that reproduce the romance of early incandescent models.

Roxy – Down-to-Earth Bulb – Linear LED Strips

A company - Lighting Science, known best for working with NASA in developing lighting for International Space Station, responding to astronauts’ day-to-day rhythms, has introduced the Roxy, which is a down-to-earth bulb for housing customers including linear LED strips which tend to look like incandescent filaments beneath clear glass.

Fred Maxik, the firm’s chief technology officer comments that `as the technology joined with our abilities, we thought it was important to start improving the visual of light. People have been putting glowing bulbs in fixtures for years and love the way they look and we thought it was important to respect that’. The Roxy would be made available with steady incandescent-like light colour of 2700K, or an even warmer, candle like 2200K.

Top maker of specialty bulbs, Bulbrite has also introduced a latest collection of old-looking bulbs, called Nostalgic LED Filaments. The range features various styles and sizes comprising of simple round globe and tall avocado form together with smaller candelabra bulbs having colour temperature of 2700K, 2400L or 2200K and with the same shapes and somewhat tinted glass as the incandescent offering of the company. Product manager for specialty lighting, Eric Choi states that the line provides an energy efficient option with the look and feel of vintage bulbs.

BMW Revamps 'i' Electric Car Division to Focus on Self-Driving Tech

BMW `i’ Division Transformed into Development Centre

A board member has informed Reuters, that the `i’ division of BMW has been transformed into a development centre for self-driving cars, a main considered shift for the unit had earlier aimed on making a family of lightweight electric vehicles. Though Model 3 of Tesla would hit showrooms in 2017 and as Porsche and Audi rivals would be working on all electric cars to be released by 2019, the German car manufacturer seems to have put these kinds of cars at the back and its next fully-electric car would not be due till 2021.

The company’s approach has been changed after it’s fully battery powered car, and the i3, was not successful in gaining traction with the public with only 25,000 sales done last year. Tesla in comparison has already received over 370,000 orders for its Model 3. Instead of looking to match Tesla and Porsche with new zero-emissions sports limousine for release in the next two years, its focus lies in manufacturing an electric car with the next generation of technology, the autonomous driving.

Project `i’ Next

BMW board member Klaus Froehlich, in charge of development, in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Munich had mentioned that in April he had re-launched the `i’ division, as a unit dedicated in producing cars which tend to drive themselves and it is now in ramp-up stage which is called `Project i Next’. The renovation also tends to follow four great profile staff defections, this year from the division. Manager of BMW’s `i’ powertrain group Dirk Abendroth, vice president product management BMW `i’ Henrik Wenders, and vice president engineering, head of the i8 vehicle programme, Carsten Breitfeld, had been robbed by a Chinese electric vehicle start-up.

As a measure of its autonomous driving push, BMW has been hiring experts in machine learning as well as artificial intelligence. It is also assimilating the tasks of prevailing computer driven support systems such as emergency braking, cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and automatic parking. Froehlich stated that `with a fully autonomous vehicle, BMW could launch a ride hailing business without the need to pay drivers, thus giving car manufacturers a competitive edge over new ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft that seem toeat away car sales by making part utilisation convenient as ownership.

BMW to Partner with Ride-Hailing Firm

Toyota Motor Corp had mentioned earlier in the month that it would invest in Uber and Volkswagen had announced a $300 million investment in Gett which was a smaller ride-sharing company. It is said that BMW may partner with a ride-hailing firm especially in markets such as China though the car manufacturer’ policy on probable partnerships with companies is yet being worked out in this space according to Froehlich. He further added that China which is the world’s largest car market would probablybe the market, where autonomous cars would first appear on a big scale.

He also mentioned that China is implementing technology extremely fast. Last year more electric cars were sold in China than in all the other global markets put together. BMW has also been considering in expanding the area of reserving parking areas as well as electric car charging stations over mobile phone, a market that is still uneven within countries. Car manufacturers have already invested in ParkNow as well as Parkmobile the two digital parking as well as payment services.

Twitter to Soon Roll Out Night Mode Interface

Twitter to Roll out Automatic Night Mode Interface

Twitter, the micro-blogging site would shortly roll out an automatic `Night Mode’ user interface UI to its Android app which would replace it with a darker appearance and switch out the white background.The technology website DroidLife lately recounted that the test of the latest feature is occurring among a small number of alpha testers and presently, the usual white background UI with black text is the only choice that is available to the users. 9to5Google had reported that the Night Mode UI stands on top of a Material Design overhaul of app that has been in the process of testing since last month.

 The report added that `not only is Twitter testing a `Night Mode’ but also diverse button placements. Twitter is also investigating with hamburger slide-out menus, overflow buttons, as well as floating action buttons – FAB, for the composing of new tweets’. Once implemented, the Night Mode UI would automatically substitute the white background with a dark blue user interface paired with white text making it easy for the eyes during night time. For latest updates on technology, reviews etc. one could follow Express Techie on Facebook or could tweet out to @expresstechie for latest tech news and tips.

Twitter Rolled Out New Connect Tab

Twitter had rolled out a new Connect tab on its mobile apps, earlier this month, in order to make it simple for users to find accounts which could be followed. The feature is made available in the latest app of Twitter on iPhone and Android.

Product manager, Ricardo Castro has mentioned in a blog post, that the tag proposes a list of accounts based on those who had already followed together with the popular ones in the region. Castro stated that `to give you the best recommendations, which will be continued to refine over time, we look at who you have already followed, tweets you like, popular accounts in your local zone, what is happening in the world presently and much more. We would also let you know precisely why we are showing you each recommendation’.

Easy on Eyes during Longer Session of Reading

It is the extra choice that tends to change much of the screen as possible with dark colours thus making it less bright while attempting to read at night or where the brightness of the display tends to be distracting. It could also be easy on the eyes during a longer session of reading like in the case of e-book reader. The choice to changeover between day and night modes is comfortable though seldom provided by main apps.

One could get the effect of it through third party screen dimmer, to some extent, though that could compromise the experience of viewing. Hence it is great news to know that Twitter could be working on a reasonable night mode for mobile apps.

It is said that a darker theme had popped up in the latest Alpha release of the app and the presence of that theme does not mean that we would be definitely getting the option of switching back and forth between various looks for the app though it could be a step in the right course

Why DARPA is Pursuing the Reusable Military XS-1 Spaceplane

SpaceX to Inspect Rockets – Plans to Re-Fly

Elon Musk, the optimistic and according to some a visionary, the founder of SpaceX has plans of colonizing Mars. Heading the considered technology office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Brad Tousley, had stated on May 15 that Elon wants to go beyond that. Musk, after landing three first stage rockets, had said that SpaceX would inspect the rockets with plans to re-fly most of them later. Tousley supervises DARPA’s space programs that tend to handle the Defense Department’s most complex expansion challenges.

He defined the landing of first stage rockets by SpaceX as well as Blue Origin as `a very impressive accomplishments’. The agency had added that DARPA had pointed out that the satellite launches on rockets need to be scheduled well in advance and tends to cost a lot of money. `DARPA developed its Experimental Spaceplane – XS-1 program in order to overcome challenges, creating a new model for more routine, responsive as well as affordable space operations. However, Tousley, during a speech at the GEOINT 2016 conference said that the XS-1 which was the experimental spaceplane of the agency, also had ambitious plans and he wants to launch again in 24 hours.

Launch 10 Times in Ten Days

DARPA’s XS-1 spaceplane preferably would launch 10 times in 10 days, carrying payloads that tend to weight as much as 1,369 kilograms in low earth orbit for $5 million. DARPA has been confirming a request for proposals for the second phase of the XS-1 progress program. That acquisition document could be released by the agency as early as this month, according to DARPA officials. As part of a public-private partnership, a contract award may come as early as 2017 with the first flight tests in 2020.

 Tousley has mentioned that DARPA would be contributing `a healthy fraction’ towards the growth of the spaceplane. The agency’s top funded space program has been XS-1, the last two years. White House had asked for $50 million for the program for fiscal year 2016, in its budget request. Three industry teams seemed to have worked on the first phase of the program, namely Boeing and Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems and XCOR Aerospace and Northrop Grumman and Virgin Galactic.

XS-1 – As Warning for Defense Department

During his speech, Tousley had emphasized on the importance of the quick turnaround for the spaceplane. He had stated that `one of the critical parameters coming out of the solicitation of the Phase 2, for XS-1, is the need that before the launch of this asset for the first time, vendors would be proving to DARPA through ground test of the propulsion system 10 times in 10 days and that they were going to burn a lot of risk down’. Tousley had also mentioned that XS-1 could also act as a warning for the Defense Department as threats to national security satellites have occurred in recent years.

He added that `if you have the ability to launch an asset in 24 hours, essentially on a moment’s notice, then it could cause an adversary to think twice about justwhat is it they want to do from a threatening standpoint. We think just having that competence as being of a preventive value’.