There’s been a lot happening with autonomous car tech lately, but one important part of the driverless car dream is “V-2-V,” or vehicle to vehicle communication. And no, we don’t mean calling that hottie in the Porsche next to you.
On Monday, Cadillac announced it was going to bring V2V tech to their cars in 2017, just two model years away. What will it do? V2V doesn’t exactly drive the car for you, but what it can do is talk digitally to other V2V-equipped vehicles nearby and take action on its own if, say, the vehicle ahead says it’s coming into your lane – or it just got in a crash down the road.
Both Volvo and Mercedes are also big on V2V, so Caddy’s entry into the field may bring this technology to more cars sooner than later.
While smartwatches continue to dominate tech headlines, another fast-growing connected sector is smart rings. We showed you the Ringly device not too long ago and now there’s another player, called the Mota smart ring.
It looks more like a high school class ring in size but sports a smooth finish and a blue-on-black display that informs you of phone calls, texts, appointments and more. It also vibrates. A lot of people took their watches off for good when they got their smartphones, so unless someone comes up with a killer smartwatch soon, a discreet but functional ring may end up being the ultimate wearable no one really saw coming.
The Mota ring pairs with an app of course, and Mota says they are working on bringing Facebook and Twitter notifications to the ring as well. It charges wirelessly and you can get an early release for a $75 pledge.
Digital Trends is located in Portland, beer capital of the U.S., so it’s not unusual for the crew to head for any number of nearby pubs after a hard day of keeping up with the latest tech news.
But after tipping back a few stouts you could stand a spoon up in, how do you know if you’re safe to drive? By using a breathalyzer of course. Unfortunately, those cheap ones online are rarely accurate, and the expensive ones make you look like you’re on probation. But now, there’s the Drinkmate. It’s so small it can fit on your keychain, and it cleverly plugs into your Android smartphone for power.
Drinkmate’s developers say it’s super-accurate and since it uses your phone to tell you your BAC, it’s a bit less stigmatizing. Plus, it’s pretty affordable – you can get one for a $25 pledge, and Drinkmate is hoping to ship them out in time for the holidays.
Your host is Greg Nibler.
