As Apps Move Into Cars, So Do More Distractions

THERE have been the sexy horsepower wars and dull best-in-class fuel-efficiency battles. Now automakers are fighting an undeclared, escalating war over in-dash apps, worrying regulators about even more distracted driving. Automakers say they are concerned too, but that hasn’t stopped them from connecting smartphones to in-dash systems and putting Internet-based information into so-called connected cars for 2013.
More>>

TRB Webinar: 2013 TRB 92nd Annual Meeting -- How to Survive and Thrive

On September 28, 2012, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, TRB will hold a webinar designed to help both new and returning Annual Meeting attendees get the most out of their meeting experience.
More>>

Schneider sets up smart traffic system in Riyadh

Schneider Electric said that its recent acquisition Telvent, a leading real-time IT solutions provider, has implemented its first intelligent transportation system on King Abdullah Road in Riyadh. The first smart transportation system to be implemented in Saudi Arabia, Schneider Electric’s SmartMobility manages interurban expressway traffic through a centralized platform.
More>>

Xin Zhang, who graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and now works for Google, delivered Secure and Scalable Fault Localization under Dynamic Traf

Xin Zhang, who graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and now works for Google, delivered Secure and Scalable Fault Localization under Dynamic Traffic Patterns, co-authored with CyLab Technical Director Adrian Perrig, and by Chang Lan of Tsinghua University.
More>>

IEEE Technology Time Machine 2012: Siemens the Car Maker

“We’re moving from data-poor to data-rich highway management systems,” Haoui says, thanks to better sensors and wireless technology to collect and move data around much faster and more reliably. And in 10 years, he predicts, “most of that data will be in the cloud.” Where else?
More>>

Converting existing cars to EVs slowly becoming practical

The kit for the Honda Civic, model years 2001 to 2005, was the brainchild of a team at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Chances are you’d need a mechanic to install it, where it would take two to three days at most shops. The other consideration is the engine and transmission, along with other unneeded collateral systems, can be resold to help defray the expense of conversion.
More>>

Drone Lobbying Ramps Up Among Industry Manufacturers, Developers

While privacy advocates fret over the implications of going from 300 licensed drones to as many as 30,000 by 2020, the industry is salivating over myriad applications that include agriculture, energy exploration, weather research, traffic control, wildlife tracking and movie production, to name a few.
More>>

High-Tech Bridges Marry Function and Beauty

Thanks to the growth of modern technology, new and existing bridges are incorporating highly advanced design features and construction to ensure efficiency and safety. From an arch bridge with a dynamic light display that can tell you whether there’s a full or crescent moon to structures that collect data about bridge conditions with sensors, bridges are becoming smarter on a global level. Check out the smart bridges below, and let us know in the comments if you have a smart bridge in your town.
More>>

New electric car conversion kit will charge your car (and wallet)

PITTSBURGH — That old Honda in your driveway — maybe it's in need of a valve job? Transform it with an electric conversion. A team at Carnegie Mellon University here in Pittsburgh has come up with an all-included kit to make your 2001-2005 Civic a zero-emission battery car. Converting an existing car instead of buying a new one is good for the planet, and the old beater will have a new lease on life.
More>>

Today’s Sociotechnical Problems Require a New Field of Study

The challenges of running the transportation system in Mexico City present more than just an engineering problem. With a population of 22.9 million people, according to the latest count, it ranks as the largest metropolitan area in the Western hemisphere and the seventh largest in the world. It’s the combination of complex engineering factors, combined with equally difficult human considerations, that makes such problems, known as complex sociotechnical systems (CSS), so frustratingly difficult to address. That is why some authorities, such as MIT professor Joseph Sussman, argue that these systems should be the subject of a new field of academic study. Sussman made his case in a lecture just several weeks ago.
More>>