Actor and writer Robert Llwellyn may be most recognized, (well, known for, anyway) as the mechanoid from the 80s BBC Sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, but more recently, he’s presented several YouTube shows such as Fully Charged. In the latest episode of the electric-vehicle-focused show, Llwellyn takes a ride with a representative from Bosch to demonstrate how its traffic jam assist system works.
The demonstration took place this past January in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. In traffic situations from 0 to 35 miles per hour, Bosch’s system engages some of the car systems autonomously, freeing the driver of some of the gridlock pressure.
Using a forward facing camera and the radar sensors on cars, traffic assist can control braking and acceleration functions, as well as the steering. It works similarly to adaptive cruise control in practice, but that still requires the driver to steer and pay close attention. Combine that with lane keep assist technology, and the car can plot a trajectory safely, even coming to an emergency stop when necessary. The demo showed the system working with a mono camera, but a stereo video camera could then perceive distance and speed.
Bosch emphasizes that this semi-autonomous network of systems is a step towards fully self-driving cars that they have been keen to have a hand in. Quite recently, they’ve released a vision of that future where the vehicle can handle the highway completely independent of the driver.
That might be a few years away, but something like traffic assist could be something we could see in many cars quite soon. The technology exists, it’s just a matter of getting it all to work together in a safe way. Once that’s achieved, the drudgery of stop-and-go traffic could be made a little more bearable.
If for those instances, we could trust the car, we’d be free to distract ourselves with some smartphone browsing or even a quick in-car bite. Traffic will still suck, but it will at least be significantly less annoying.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.