Chinese authorities have detained a guesthouse operator whose unattended heater allegedly sparked a fire that burned for nearly 10 hours and destroyed an ancient Tibetan town in southern China, the official Xinhua News Agency said. More than 2,000 firefighters, soldiers, police, local officials and volunteers responded to the early morning blaze on Jan. 11, which […]
Automotive/Transportation
NTSB Releases Most Wanted List of Transportation Improvements
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its 2014 Most Wanted List, the top 10 advocacy and awareness priorities for the agency for 2014, which for the first time includes improving operational safety in rail mass transit. Millions of Americans rely on commuter rail, subways, and light rail for their daily commute. The NTSB in […]
Smart Object Recognition Learns to Decipher Images on its Own
If we’ve learned anything from post-apocalyptic movies it’s that computers eventually become self-aware and try to eliminate humans. BYU engineer Dah-Jye Lee isn’t interested in that development, but he has managed to eliminate the need for humans in the field of object recognition. Lee has created an algorithm that can accurately identify objects in images […]
Police Officers Test On-Body Cameras
Police officers assigned to foot patrols of downtown Los Angeles began wearing on-body cameras on Wednesday as the city evaluates different models to include in its policing. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said 30 officers have volunteered for 90-day trials of devices provided by Arizona-based Taser International Inc. and Coban Technologies Inc. of Houston. Each […]
Camera-Equipped Robot Latest Weapon in Drug War
As border security has tightened, drug cartels have turned to tunneling beneath the ground to avoid detection. Nearly 170 tunnels have been found nationwide since 1990, most along the Arizona and California border with Mexico. The job of searching these networks can be dangerous, so the U.S. Border Patrol is unveiling its latest technology in […]
Photos of the Day: Robots Patrol Drug Smuggling Tunnels
A wireless, camera-equipped robot is displayed by the U.S. Border Patrol during a briefing in Nogales, Ariz., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. Read: Camera-Equipped Robot Latest Weapon in Drug War With more than 75 underground drug smuggling tunnels found along the border since 2008, mostly in California and Arizona, the U.S. Border Patrol is utilizing the […]
The Role of Simulation in the Design Process
Whilst stadia preparations for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar come under intense scrutiny, we look back at how the 2012 Summer Olympics in London got it right – by incorporating simulation into the design process of the highly acclaimed velodrome. […]
Revamped Honda Fit Gets New Engine, Transmission
Honda’s Fit, once the top-selling subcompact in the U.S., is getting a badly needed update. The Fit fell behind in mini-car sales when Chevrolet, Ford and Hyundai entered the market during the past three years. It’s still a nice car, but its gas mileage — 35 mpg on the highway — lags competitors and even […]
Video Game Players Can Check Out Toyota Concept
Video game players will get a chance to try out a virtual version of Toyota’s new concept sports car that was unveiled in Detroit as a symbol of the automaker’s design future, the company said Monday. The Japanese automaker took the wraps off the FT-1 during press previews at the North American International Auto Show. […]
Tesla Sending New Adapter to Alleviate Overheating Worry
Tesla Motors says it will offer Model S customers new adapters to assuage safety concerns of overheating. The electric auto maker said Friday that corrosion, faulty wiring of an electrical outlet, and other issues could cause an existing adapter to overheat while the vehicle is charging. There had been multiple consumer complaints to the National […]