avoid

Velcro wrist braces. Padded keyboard rests. Office chairs like beach balls on steroids. All ergonomically designed to prevent and treat workplace repetitive strain injuries (RSI) like carpal tunnel syndrome caused by sitting and typing all day, every day. One of the best things you can do about RSI is to make the problem part of the solution. RSIGuard Stretch Edition collects a variety of ergonomic tools in one easy-to-use package. Its Break Timer uses realistic models to suggest stretch breaks when you need them and leave you alone when you don't. The AutoClick tool cuts down on mouse clicks, … Read more

Android in the dash remains a hot question (while many of you wait for iDash!) and so is the kind of fuel that goes in your car. Let's sort this out once and for all.

Imagine a situation where a kid chases a ball into a street. Even for drivers with lightning-sharp reflexes, there might not be enough braking distance to avoid impact. But Toyota's next-generation crash avoidance technology may be able to solve that problem by steering the vehicle out of harm's way.

Designed in part to reduce pedestrian fatalities, Toyota's Pre-Collision System (PCS) with collision-avoidance assist uses stereo camera and millimeter-wave radars installed around the vehicle to identify objects in its path. If the system calculates that there isn't enough time to brake and that a crash with an … Read more

Many cars are equipped with crash avoidance technology, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says the Volvo's City Safety is the most effective at reducing low speed crashes.

By examining property damage liability claims, the IIHS determined drivers of Volvo XC60s outfitted with City Safety file 27 percent fewer at-fault driver claims than owners of comparable midsize SUVs without that technology. That means that XC60 owners are less likely to be involved in low-speed crashes in which they are at fault, namely rear-ending the car in front of them in traffic.

City Safety is standard feature on … Read more

Most automotive crash avoidance systems are on the lookout for objects directly in front of the vehicle, but Ford is working on technology that's also going to help prevent cars from getting T-boned at intersections.

Ford's Automatic Braking Intersection Collision Avoidance System (ABICAS), which is under development, uses radio-based wireless sensors rather than camera-based sensors to detect other vehicles outfitted with the same technology within a 360-degree radius. Using vehicle-to-vehicle communication, GPS, navigation maps, and complex traffic algorithms, the ABICAS can alert the driver of possible accidents at an intersection and intervene by alerting the driver and activating … Read more

To date, most safety features have been about protecting vehicle occupants in a crash, but more manufacturers are adding active safety technology to vehicles that prevents accidents from occurring in the first place.

Nissan announced Tuesday its Forward Collision Avoidance Assist concept, which uses radar sensors to monitor the distance and relative speed of objects in front of the vehicle and delivers early alerts to warn of impending accidents. If the driver doesn't slow down quickly enough, the system will also intervene to prevent an accident by pushing up the accelerator pedal and partially applying the brakes to assist … Read more

Nissan has developed a mini robotic car that can move autonomously in groups while avoiding crashing into obstacles (including other cars).

The Eporo, Nissan says, is the first robot car designed to move in a group by sharing its position and other information. The aim is to incorporate the technology into passenger cars to reduce accidents and traffic jams.

Although a group of Eporos may look like a gang of cybernetic Jawa, Nissan says the cars' design was inspired by the way fish move in schools.

An evolution of the bumblebee-inspired BR23C robot car unveiled last year, the Eporo uses … Read more