The first BP executive to testify at a federal trial over the nation’s worst oil spill will take the stand again Wednesday before a judge tasked with deciding whether the oil giant and other companies acted with gross negligence for the 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. BP executive Lamar McKay testified Tuesday, the […]
Automotive/Transportation
Tugs Towing Shell Drill Vessel to Dutch Harbor
A Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilling vessel that ran aground on New Year’s Eve is on the move from near Kodiak Island in Alaska to Dutch Harbor. Shell spokesman Curtis Smith told The Associated Press in an email that the Kulluk left Kiliuda Bay on Tuesday afternoon. Three tugs are towing the barge in a […]
Lessons from cockroaches could inform robotics
ANN ARBOR—Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors’ understanding of human gait abnormalities. In experiments, the roaches […]
I-scope Probe Add In-Circuit Power Measurements
IAR Systems has enhanced its innovative Power Debugging technology. At Embedded World in Germany, the company demonstrated new functionality in its development tool suite IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM. This functionality includes detailed in-circuit power measurements made possible by the new I-scope probe. Features include: C-SPY, which is included in IAR Embedded Workbench together with […]
Automotive Electronics in 2013 and Beyond – Batteries Bear a Burden
This year will see automotive electronics designers approach power management (PM) more like their mobile industry counterparts. While it may seem a fringe concern, the burgeoning security, convenience, connectivity, safety, and infotainment features of tomorrow’s vehicles will drive design and component choices that address standby power consumption. Despite sizable batteries in vehicles, there are still […]
Music service Spotify hooks up with Ford in first vehicle foray
(Reuters) – Streaming music service Spotify has partnered with Ford Motor Co (F.N) to allow its subscribers to listen to music in more than one million Ford vehicles in North America. Owners of Ford models with SYNC AppLink can access Spotify’s catalog of more than 20 million songs through voice activation using its smartphone app. […]
The Economic Impact of a War Between Japan & China
A major conflict between the region’s two largest economies would not only impose a harsh dilemma on U.S. diplomats, but also have a significant impact on the entire global economy. It is in every nation’s best interest that the Chinese and Japanese settle their territorial dispute peacefully. For more information visit https://www.onlinemba.com/blog/economic-war-between-china-japan.
SSLs See Bright Future in Automotive Platforms
The world is positively aglow with rapidly changing technology trends in solid state lighting (SSL) LEDs. According to the Department of Energy (DOE) costs dropped by a third in 2011 to about $12 per thousand lumens and will be on their way down to $2 per thousand lumens by 2015 (Strategies Unlimited, August 2012). In […]
Cutting Edge Tunnels Poised to Open
PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) — Two slick new mile-long tunnels are undergoing final safety tests this month, poised to divert motorists away from an ocean cliff-hanging roadway dubbed Devil’s Slide south of San Francisco to a smooth, Alpine-like passageway unlike any in the U.S. today. See the photos here. The $439 million project, paid with federal […]
‘Nanowelding’ by Applying Light to Aligned Nanorods
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a way to melt or “weld” specific portions of polymers by embedding aligned nanoparticles within the materials. Their technique, which melts fibers along a chosen direction within a material, may lead to stronger, more resilient nanofibers and materials. Physicists Jason Bochinski and Laura Clarke, with materials scientist […]