radar

With GPS devices popping up in everything from cars to cell phones these days, getting lost is getting harder. But what are the GPS-dependent to do when a blocked satellite signal confuses their wanderings (besides panic and curl up in the fetal position)?

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University think they've come up with a solution: a shoe radar system that likely will never make it onto the average Joe's sneaker but could have implications for the military and those who work in mines, tunnels, and other remote or high-risk environments.

The prototype system involves a portable radar sensor that attaches to a shoe's heel and also hooks up to a small navigation computer that tracks the distance between your heel and the ground. If that distance doesn't change over a set period of time, the computer figures your foot is stationary.

The low-power system works in conjunction with an inertial measurement unit, or IMU, an electronic device that measures acceleration and deceleration to determine speed and distance traveled. IMUs are frequently used to supplement GPS devices once a satellite signal drops (if you entered a remote canyon, you could use the IMU to retrace your steps to the last known GPS location and find your way back out).

But IMUs can be faulty, as minor errors can accumulate, leading to an increasing difference between where the system thinks it's located, and where it's actually positioned. … Read more

Find My Phone is a free app that can help you locate your missing iPhone 4, iPad, or fourth-generation iPod Touch, and it can even remotely lock or wipe all data from the device. This free, app-assisted service (which requires iOS 4.2, as well as setting up a MobileMe Free account) was previously available only to paid MobileMe subscribers.

Not surprisingly, you will likely never use this app from your device itself, but rather from your Mac (you just go to me.com/find in your browser) or from another device (one that you own, or a friend's--any … Read more

Jeep made great strides with the new Grand Cherokee, coming up with a premium SUV showing off very nice cabin trim and full-featured electronics. What really impressed us is the Grand Cherokee's comfortable on-road manners, and its ability to tackle very rugged terrain. We weren't quite as impressed with the power train, which lags behind other automakers' level of technology. And the cabin tech interface is a little rough. But features such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection, and an available Wi-Fi hot spot show that Jeep is looking toward the future.

Check out our 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 Limited review. … Read more

DETROIT -- Global platform sharing and safety regulations are driving automotive technology at a frenetic rate. Supplier TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. says it can capitalize on this trend with its safety technologies.

For example, TRW offers lane-keeping assist technology, which steers a car toward the middle of a lane when a camera sees a driver is drifting toward a divider line.

The industry downturn cut TRW's global revenue 23 percent in 2009. But the suburban Detroit supplier has rebounded. For the first nine months, revenues jumped 30 percent to $10.67 billion and net income was $630 million, compared with a loss of $86 million a year earlier.

TRW's largest business lines are chassis systems and occupant safety systems. But its active safety electronics segment -- the company's smallest -- is poised to grow the most from the globalization trend in platforms and safety rules. The segment accounted for only 5 percent, or $600 million, of its global sales of $11.6 billion last year

'A great enabler'

"The march toward global platforms has enabled suppliers to commonize components across a wide array of global vehicles, and the amount of divergence in regulations is closing every day," said Michael Robinet, director of global production forecasts at IHS Automotive Group in suburban Detroit. "That becomes a great enabler for TRW."

TRW isn't the only supplier benefitting from those trends. Other suppliers of active-safety gear include Continental AG, Takata Corp., Denso Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH and Delphi Automotive.

One side effect of global platforms is that new technologies are being rolled out in previously low-tech markets, Robinet said.

"Electronics are a whole new area of expansion because of common vehicle architecture," he said. "The fact that the world is getting smaller is a good thing for the proliferation of technology."

The global market for camera-based lane departure warning or assistance systems is small now but will continue to grow, said Martin Thoone, TRW's vice president of electronics engineering.

"The majority of the business will remain in Europe and Japan," he said. "But we're predicting a quarter of the business will be in North America by 2014."

Europe accounts for 58 percent of TRW's business. North America makes up 26 percent, and the rest of the world accounts for 17 percent. … Read more

Automakers started using the term crossover this decade referring to vehicles that combined the comfortable ride of a car and the carrying capacity of an SUV. But Porsche's idea seems to have been to combine SUV qualities with the handling of a sports car. The new Cayenne S uses an array of handling and stability technology to attack turns with almost the aggressiveness of a 911.

The 2011 Cayenne S sees some important tech updates, such as the inclusion of torque vectoring on the all-wheel-drive system, putting a little more twist on the outside wheel when cornering, and some … Read more

Escort is a brand that's probably best known for its line of radar and laser detectors, but it got its toes wet in the world of GPS with its Entourage line of GPS vehicle locators last year. Today, Escort has stepped further into the world of GPS with its first portable navigation device, the Passport iQ (unless you count the SmartMirror, which is hardly portable). And because old habits die hard, they've crammed a radar and laser detector into its chassis for good measure.

Superficially, the Passport iQ looks like a standard portable navigation device. It's got a 5-inch touch screen, displays 3D Navteq-supplied maps, and mounts to the windshield with a suction-cup mount. The unit features spoken turn-by-turn directions, graphic lane guidance, and--like many GPS navigators we've tested--displays the current speed limit where available. However, where normal GPS devices may offer the ability to overlay POI icons for gas stations, hotels, and the like, the Passport iQ is able to overlay Escort's Defender Database icons marking red light cameras, speed cameras, and known speed traps. A 90-day trial of the Defender Database is included with the unit, after which a subscription will be required.

Things get interesting when Escort mentions that it has integrated a fully functional radar and laser detector based on its Passport 9500ix detector.… Read more

Convertibles are a blast in sunny weather but lose their charm on cold, rainy days. Mercedes-Benz couldn't do anything about the rain, but the E550 Cabriolet is still comfortable when it is cold out. Heated seats and its Air Scarf technology, a system that blows warm air over your neck from the headrests, coddle the driver and front passenger in a cozy cocoon when the mercury drops.

Mercedes-Benz accentuates the E550 Cabriolet's other luxury appointments with some fairly impressive sport handling, giving the car an exciting edge.

Check out our 2011 Mercedes-Benz E550 Cabriolet review.

Radar detectors are clunky things, suction cupped to your windshield with a big cord running down to a power point. But Cobra has found a way to lessen its new radar detector's footprint, by connecting it with an iPhone.

Using an iPhone as the display for Cobra's iRadar, the actual detection module becomes a small, 4.5-inch-long unit with a height of just over an inch. It would look fine mounted permanently at the base of the windshield in most cars, or in front of the rearview mirror. Although you will still have to run a power cord … Read more

The executive sedan ranks are populated by the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S-class, Audi A8, and the Lexus LS 460. Amongst these nameplates you would not expect to find Hyundai, but the Korean automaker has assumed the role of upstart crow, doing a lot of things that, given its brand history in the U.S., it should not be capable of doing.

Its latest foray into upsetting the status quo comes in the form of the 2011 Equus, a luxury sedan designed for the moneyed classes. But in typical Hyundai style, it will probably undercut its competition in price, without sacrificing features. Hyundai let us spend a day driving the Equus before it goes on sale in early November. Pricing had not been announced at the time of our drive.

Chauffeur not included

The Equus looks imposing, a big, meaty sedan where a chauffeur would not be out of place. Its grille and front end share design with the Hyundai Genesis sedan, Hyundai's next largest car. Hyundai's design language, Fluidic Sculpture, seen prominently on the new Sonata, also makes itself known on the exterior of the Equus, albeit in a subtle manner. Witness the slight arches over the rear wheels that disappear in the rear doors, or the contours on either side of the hood that drift down towards the bumper. … Read more