taurus

SRI shows the benefits of shrinking tech

MENLO PARK, Calif.--If you've seen the Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker," you know how dangerous bomb dismantling can be. But researchers have developed a system that they say can allow military and police to disarm explosives without risking anyone's life.

The system, developed by scientists at SRI International, is known as Taurus, and it is a miniature robot that can allow a trained dismantler to remotely do the work that used to require getting up close and personal, often too close for comfort, to a bomb.

According to Tom Low, SRI's director of medical systems and telerobotics, Taurus will be in field trials this summer and is expected to be commercially available by early 2012. While he would not say specifically what the 14-inch wide robot would cost, SRI's goal is to sell it for "less than the price of a squad car," meaning that many police departments, as well as military agencies, could conceivably buy it.

I got a presentation on Taurus from Low yesterday during a visit to SRI as part of my Road Trip at Home series. I've been to SRI before and seen things like wall-climbing robots, but seeing the way that Taurus could potentially help save lives was a much starker reminder of the ways that robots can make a real difference.

Taurus is a cousin of some of SRI's previous efforts into remote-controlled telemanipulation robotics. For years, the institution has worked on systems designed to allow remote surgical procedures, such as a military doctor being able to operate from afar on a wounded soldier. Low explained that this work began in the mid-to-late 1980s, and was intended to allow highly-trained surgeons to work on such soldiers within minutes of them sustaining injuries.

Over the years, this technology led to the creation of more general-purpose robots, such as the M7 system, which could allow security personnel to remotely explore, say, an abandoned bag at an airport. Low explained that it was crucial that the system be easy to use and quick to learn. … Read more

2013 Ford Taurus gets two efficient engine options

While the Ford Taurus SHO may not be getting a new heart, lesser Taurus models for the 2013 model year will see two new mills find in their list of available options.

First up is a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine that outputs 237 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. This is likely the same mill that will also find its way under the hood of the 247-horsepower Ford Focus ST, albeit with a slightly less aggressive tune and a few fewer ponies. The object of the game here is efficiency, which Ford estimates at 31 mpg highway.

A naturally … Read more

Ford unwraps the 2013 Taurus SHO

Ford and Sony threw a party and somewhere along the way unveiled a new car. That's how the automaker and consumer electronics supplier's pre-New York auto show event felt. After building a bit of suspense, the cover was pulled back on the new 2013 Ford Taurus SHO. A few specs were shared, a bit of praise hefted on the sedan, but whole event seemed to have more to do with the show that followed the unveiling than it did the SHO itself.

The new Taurus SHO--which will go into production in 2012, bearing a 2013 model year designation--features … Read more

15 funky Fords and a Lincoln (SEMA preview)

Ford's booth at the SEMA Show is never a disappointment. Often it's filled to the brim with custom Mustangs, crazy F-Series pickups, more Mustangs, the occasional low-slung GT, and a few classic Mustangs. This year, however, it appears that Ford is giving center stage to the smallest of its lineup, the 2011 Ford Fiesta, bringing no fewer than eight examples of the little guy to the show in the desert. Other freshly updated models will also have their time in the aftermarket spotlight, including the Taurus SHO, the new Explorer, and the Edge, featuring upgrades running the gamut … Read more

Sounding the alarm: Which noises make the cut for Ford warning signals?

We're all used to the pedestrian chirps at a traffic light, the click-click of a turn signal or even the beep-beep of a seat-belt alert, but engineers at Ford are taking further steps to understand what sounds folks will actually respond to without being annoyed.

Sound engineers at Ford use scientific theory, listening clinics and on-road simulations to find the sounds that prove most effective for driver alerts.

"Ford engineers spend a tremendous amount of time finding just the right sound for just the right situation to help customers react to potential dangers," said Paul Mascarenas, Ford … Read more

127: Ford Taurus SHO: Um, yeah, that's a great car.

Hybrid drivers are something of an insurance nightmare! How much is your driving privacy worth? Ford Taurus SHO blows us away. And hang on to those spark plugs; they could be collectible!

Listen now: Download today's podcast SHOW NOTES

• Taurus SHO is a badass. There, we said it.

• Audi A5 Sportback makes us nuts

• Ford developing laser spark plugs

• Pioneer AVIC-U310BT is a scorching value

• CNET's tests speed radar and adaptive cruise control

New air bag technology passes shopping cart test

It may sound easy enough, but don't try this at home. To test the performance of new pressure-based air bag sensors equipped on the 2010 Taurus and 2009 Ford F150, Ford engineers have employed equipment more commonly found in shopping malls than in laboratories, such such as water cannons, basket balls, shopping carts.

Unconventional as these tests may seem in a state-of-the-art testing facility, it's exactly what these vehicles might encounter in the real world and what engineers need to test against.

As part an effort to achieve the highest safety ratings, Ford has replaced acceleration-based sensors with pressure-based sensors that more accurately measure the severity of a crash.

These new air bag pressure sensors, according to Ford, have several advantages over air bags equipped with acceleration-based sensors: they deploy 30 percent faster, perform better in new federal side-impact and oblique-impact tests, are less likely to be affected by vehicle design differences, and give designers more flexibility because they take up less space. … Read more