rover

Skateboard down stairs with the Stair Rover

How do you go down a flight of stairs on a skateboard? Those with sufficient skill can usually grind down the supporting handrail like a champ, for one, while people such as myself tumble down wildly hoping not to break any bones.

Designer Po-Chih Lai's Stair Rover could alter the way skateboarders tackle the stair challenge.

Lai, a recent graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, also refers to his creation as a stairboard. The device lets the user ride down stairs by tapping the unique balancing act found in the eight wheels and specifically designed set of aluminum Y-frames at each end of the board. … Read more

NASA details looming Mars rover landing, '7 Minutes of Terror'

In just 41 days, on August 5, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover will touch down on the Red Planet, and this will be no ordinary landing. In fact, NASA has dubbed the descent "Seven Minutes of Terror."

"When people look at it, it looks crazy," senior EDL engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Adam Steltzner said in a new video by NASA on the rover landing. "It is the result of reasoned engineering thought, but it still looks crazy."

The recently released video (see below) outlines exactly how crazy the feat of landing … Read more

NASA's new Mars rover, Curiosity, kills time on Twitter

NASA's newest Mars rover, Curiosity, has a lot of time on its hands these days--so naturally it's spending a lot of time on Twitter.

The $2.5 billion science laboratory on wheels is in the middle of a 352-million mile trip to the Red Planet with an anticipated arrival date of August 5, 2012. If you're wondering exactly how fast that means Curiosity is traveling through space right now, well... you could just ask it, like @KristineKisky did, eliciting this response that's sure to confuse all non-space nerd-type people:

Curiosity has been actively tweeting and answering fan tweets since before its launch at the end of November. It's even developed a fairly sophisticated--if incredibly geeky--sense of humor and pop culture sensibility, with gems like Super Bowl weekend's "Think Brady & Manning throw long spirals? I'll go 352+ million miles to "touchdown" in Gale Crater." Or "30 Seconds to Mars? More like 241 days to go!"… Read more

Geneva auto show plays host to exotic power and futuristic frugality

Switzerland has set itself as neutral ground in Europe, a role it plays every year between the automotive manufacturing powerhouses of Germany and France. The International Motor Show in Geneva gives equal time to not only the regional automakers, but interlopers from the United States and Asia.

Geneva's proximity to the wealthy gearheads of Monaco also assures a good mix of exotic and specialty carmakers. CNET will be covering the show's press days, sending back photos, video, and stories during the week of March 5.

Here are some of the cars we expect to see. … Read more

Convertible Range Rover Evoque follows in ill-conceived footsteps

It wasn't the first convertible crossover to reach production, but I was hoping that the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet would be the last. Unfortunately, Land Rover will also be peeling back the top of its own Range Rover Evoque crossover at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show next week.

The Range Rover Evoque Convertible will feature a power retractable cloth top with a glass rear window pane. A Roll Over Protection System (ROPS) protects passengers in the event of a rollover by instantaneously popping up roll hoops behind the rear passengers when the vehicle senses that it's about to roll. … Read more

Car Tech Live 252: Is your car poisoning you? (podcast)

Not all the toxics in your car from from the tailpipe. There's a new ranking out this week that finds the worst polluters inside the car and offers some hint of how you can shop to avoid sitting in a toxic chamber when you buy a new car.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 252 SHOW NOTES

2012 Range Rover Evoque: What's all the hype about?

The stylish new Range Rover Evoque has been collecting awards like a blue whale in a patch of krill. And considering its high-tech, efficient engine and off-road capability, most of those awards are deserved.

But in the area of cabin electronics, it falls short of its luxury car competition. Where other car companies are beginning to explore connected in-car systems, the Evoque is just covering the basics of navigation, digital audio, and a Bluetooth phone system.

That is not to say the Evoque's cabin electronics are bad. The response of the touch screen may be a bit pokey, but … Read more

Personal Rover is Segway's awkward cousin

Segways are expensive. If you don't want to drop $6,500 and you also don't want to have to walk anywhere, the Personal Rover Electric Transportation Vehicle will do the job for just $999.

The Personal Rover looks like the result of a mad scientist mating together a Radio Flyer Wagon, a skateboard, and a set of skis.

It sports an 800W motor that can carry a rider up to 12 miles at up to 15 mph. Steering is conducted with what looks like a couple of ski poles.

The Rover is made more for open areas than … Read more

Mars rover: The next generation

Make way for Curiosity, a car-size Mars rover that will pick up where Spirit and Opportunity left off. It launches this month, and will arrive on the Red Planet next summer.

$2.5 billion Mars rover departs Earth, heads for red planet After a flawless launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, NASA's costly Mars Science Laboratory rover is safely on the way to Mars for a bold mission to study the habitability of the red planet. (Posted in Space Shot by William Harwood) November 26, 2011 3:17 a.m. PT

Ambitious Mars Science Lab rover set for Saturday launch … Read more

2011 Frankfurt auto show: Land Rover Defender Concept

The Land Rover Defender hasn't been updated in 25 years. That's about to change dramatically.

The Defender has always been a sort of farm implement in the Land Rover lineup: stout, solid, and chunky. This new concept features huge ride height, an alloy frame, four-cylinder motors, and maybe a hybrid.

(CNET's full coverage of the 2011 Frankfurt auto show)