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Win a trip to space, courtesy of Seattle’s Space Needle
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Science, Transportation,
To celebrate its 50th birthday, Seattle's Space Needle is launching a contest to send someone into space.
"The Space Needle was built when our country was in a global space race," Ron Sevart, CEO of the Space Needle said in a statement. "With space travel moving into the private sector, a new race has begun that focuses on the best of what the Space Needle has become–a symbol of the aspirations of today's world of technology and science. What better way than sending a person from our midst into space to mark our first 50 years and look into the exciting future that lies ahead."
The contest, dubbed Space Race 2012, kicks off Monday. Potential astronauts can enter online via the Space Needle Web site through November 30.
Click to continue reading Win a trip to space, courtesy of Seattle’s Space Needle
Gallery: Win a trip to space, courtesy of Seattle’s Space Needle
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AAA has announced their Mobile Electric Vehicle Charging vehicle, which aims to help you out if you're an owner of something like the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt and you run out of power when driving. The mobile EV charger will provide 15 minutes of charge time, which should be enough for 3-15 miles of drive time to allow the user to get to a charging station to fill up, so to speak. They'll be launching these as a pilot trial in six markets, including Portland, Seattle, San Francisco Bay area, Los ANgeles, Tampa Bay, and Knoxville. The rollout will begin in the summer and continue into the fall.
Read More 
| AAA
Gallery: AAA unveils America’s first EV mobile charger
Airbus says that by 2050 we’ll have transparent planes and biometric boarding passes
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Science, Transportation, Videos,
If you've ever been cheated out of a window seat on a flight, you'll appreciate the concept plane Airbus just revealed at an airshow in Paris. In its vision of what air travel might be like in 2050, the aircraft manufacturer showed a plane with a transparent fuselage, giving all passengers a panoramic view of what's outside.
"The idea is to have a technology for the fuselage that's a bit like bones of birds that allows to have large spaces that can turn transparent, in order to look outside and 'live' the panorama in which you are flying," Charles Champion, Airbus' head of engineering, told London's Telegraph (see video below).
Airbus didn't hold back its designers' imaginations in conceiving features for the future plane. Besides a see-through hull that would make Wonder Woman consider a copyright infringement lawsuit, the concept aircraft would also discard the traditional class system of first, business, and economy. Instead, the Airbus from the future would have three zones: a Vitalizing Zone, with "organically grown" seats that can massage you; a recreational Interaction Zone, with pop-up "pods" for things like private dinners and a holographic gaming wall; and a Smart Tech Zone, where the seats adapt perfectly to individuals' size and shape.
Gallery: Airbus says that by 2050 we’ll have transparent planes and biometric boarding passes
Ford to produce smart cars that warn each other of an impending collision
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Transportation,
Ford brought a small fleet of intelligent vehicles to San Francisco to showcase a technology that the company expects will be mainstream in about five years, from most automakers.
Two Ford Focus cars and a Ford Expedition were equipped with a technology called Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC), which basically serves as a car-to-car wireless connection that currently serves as a crash avoidance system in Ford's implementation, and as a wireless toll collection mechanism overseas. Eventually, it could even be used for entertainment purposes.
Although Ford demonstrated the technology in a parking lot outside of AT&T Park, the company isn't alone in developing the technology. Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes, Hyundai, and Kia are all working together, plus truck, bus, and motorcycle companies, said Mike Shulman, the technical leader in Ford's Active Safety Research and Innovation department.
"Next year, we're doing a model deployment in a city where there will be thousands of equipped vehicles and trucks and buses all sending out these messages, and then the goal in 2013 is to start a regulation that will require this on all vehicles. Then, maybe consumer electronics companies would start designing products that could be retrofitted onto existing cars, because everyone sees the potential," Shulman said.
"Maybe five years from now, cars will be equipped with this," Shulman added.
Click to continue reading Ford to produce smart cars that warn each other of an impending collision
Gallery: Ford to produce smart cars that warn each other of an impending collision
Deal of the Day: 84% off Monster iCarPlay FM transmitter for Apple
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Hot Deals, Portable Audio / Video, Transportation,
This Deal of the Day from eBay offers 84% off the Monster iCarPlay FM Transmitter for Apple devices. These let you play tracks from your iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad right through your car stereo. These usually sell for $119.95, and this deal brings it down to just $19, saving you a full $100.95. That's a discount of 84%. Even better? Shipping is free. If you're interested, head on over:
Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.
Read More | Monster iCarPlay sale
Gallery: Deal of the Day: 84% off Monster iCarPlay FM transmitter for Apple
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo hits “feather” re-entry milestone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Science, Transportation,
One of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceships on Wednesday completed a re-entry technique known as a "feather" configuration for the first time.
The SpaceShipTwo (SS2), known as the VSS Enterprise, has now completed seven solo flights since its December 2009 debut, but Wednesday's was the first that successfully tested out this re-entry procedure.
Virgin Galatic is Branson's commerical spaceflight program, which plans to take the average (albeit wealthy) tourist into space in the next two years.
The VSS Enterprise took off from a California runway this morning at 6:43am Pacific time attached to the WhiteKnight (WK2) carrier aircraft, the VMS Eve. The spaceship was controlled by Pete Siebold and Clint Nichols, test pilots from Scaled Composites, which designed and build the spacecrafts. Mark Stucky, Brian Maisler, and Brandon Inks manned the VMS Eve.
Click to continue reading Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo hits “feather” re-entry milestone
Gallery: Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo hits “feather” re-entry milestone
American Airlines will stream video to your devices while you fly starting this summer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Movies, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
Passengers on American Airlines flights are about to get a new perk. Instead of craning their necks to catch reruns of "Monk" and excerpts from "The Tonight Show" on tiny aisle TV sets, they'll be able to wirelessly stream content to their personal devices from the comfort of their own seats.
American announced Tuesday that it will begin testing an inflight streaming service, created through a partnership with Aircell, that gives customers choices of movies and TV shows that they can stream to Wi-Fi-enabled devices in the air.
"American was the first North American airline to launch inflight Wi-Fi, and today we again set a new industry standard as the first domestic airline to test inflight streaming video content," American's vice president of marketing, Rob Friedman, said in a statement. "We know our customers want to be connected on the ground and in the sky, so we are working hard to stay on the leading edge of connectivity through technology enhancements like this."
Gallery: American Airlines will stream video to your devices while you fly starting this summer
BMW announced ActivE, their all-electric coupe
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Transportation,
BMW has announced that it plans to lease 700 demo units of its first completely electric vehicle, the BMW ActivE. They'll start the trial this fall in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles, and parts of Connecticut, the company said in a statement. Consumers will have to pay $499 a month for a 24-month lease, plus a down payment of $2,250. Reservations start at the end of this summer.
"Based on the 1 Series Coupe, the BMW ActiveE will accelerate from 0-60 mph in under nine seconds, making it the first electric vehicle to combine the dynamic characteristics typical of a BMW with the zero-emissions benefits of driving an electric vehicle," BMW said in a press release.
When fully powered, the car's lithium-ion batteries last around 100 miles. The batteries also feature heating and cooling and can pre-condition your car to maximize power during various weather conditions.
Furthermore the dashboard features a set of instruments that track the amount of energy being consumed. Instead of a tachometer, for instance, you'll find indicators for battery consumption and charge time. And because the car is apparently very quiet, BMW has also installed a needle to let you know when a car at standstill is ready to drive again.
Click to continue reading BMW announced ActivE, their all-electric coupe
Gallery: BMW announced ActivE, their all-electric coupe
US House bars limitating lithium-ion battery shipments on planes
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Misc. Tech, Transportation,
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a law that would bar the Obama administration from limiting shipments of lithium-ion batteries by air.
The proposed rule by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the FAA would have eliminated exceptions for small lithium batteries, classifying them as "Class 9" hazardous cargo, and requiring a number of labeling and other safety regulations.
The House will have to reconcile its legislation with the Senate before President Obama can sign a unified joint bill, as Bloomberg noted.
There have been numerous incidents of batteries short-circuiting, and many of those have involved airplanes. (The last major battery incident involved Sony, in 2008; that recall then, however, did not cover airplanes.) The proposed rule noted that out of 21 and 44 incidents involving lithium batteries since 1991 involved passenger aircraft; of those, 16 involved carry-on luggage, and one involved checked baggage. Twenty-three incidents involved cargo aircraft, presumably in pallets of batteries being transported by air.
Click to continue reading US House bars limitating lithium-ion battery shipments on planes
Gallery: US House bars limitating lithium-ion battery shipments on planes
BMW DriveNow service improves upon ZipCar in every way
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Transportation, Videos,
We've gotta hand it to BMW for launching the innovative DriveNow service in its hometown of Munich. If you thought ZipCar was good, wait til you hear about how DriveNow works. Check it:
- The biggest feature is convenience. You pick up the car, and when you are done, you can leave it anywhere. No need to bring it back to a designated parking lot or garage. Just park it anywhere you find a spot, and you are done. An iPhone app tells you where the nearest available car is.
- You sign up for the service and get a sticker that goes on your drivers license. That sticker becomes the key that unlocks the car, so you don't need anything extra to carry with you.
- Gas usage is included in the price
- Parking is free in within city limits
As we said, the service has launched in Munich with a fleet of 300 BMW and Mini Cooper vehicles, and we assume that if DriveNow is found to be successful, BMW will roll it out elsewhere.
Gallery: BMW DriveNow service improves upon ZipCar in every way
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