Packtalk voice-command motorcycle communicators connect 15 riders
Cardo Systems introduced two new models for its natural language voice-command motorcycle communications system, which uses a proprietary dynamic mesh technology to connect up to 15 riders in a five-mile range. The Packtalk communicators also use Bluetooth to connect with smartphones, GPS units, and Bluetooth headsets.
Ford halts all F-150 truck production lines because the parts aren’t there
A May 2 fire at a parts supplier stopped Ford F-150 production lines in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford said the shut down could last at least several days but won't affect sales. The fire followed an explosion at Meridian Magnesium Products. The profitable Ford F-series trucks are the best-selling vehicles in the country.
Mystery solved: Your washing machine actually could be eating your socks
A mystery dating to the early twentieth century has been answered by social media. A routine maintenance chore in a mobile home park laundry room revealed the culprit. A commercial washing machine held a large stash of mismatched socks. Consultation with experts clarified how the machines eat socks.
Ford, bike makers unveil bike-to-vehicle (B2V) interactive road safety A.I.
Ford joined Trek, Shimano, Specialized, and eight other bike-industry giants to develop A.I. for bike-to-vehicle (B2V) communication. The goal is improved safety for bikes, pedestrians, and vehicles. Cars, bikes, trucks, and roadway infrastructure would connect via the cross-industry B2V standard.
Vintage Electric’s badass Scrambler S ebike is at home on the road and dirt
Vintage Electric's new top-of-the-line Scrambler S on/off-road ebike has a rated 75-mile range per battery charge. Take it off road and set it to race mode for speeds up to 36 miles per hour. The Scrambler S resembles an iconic escape bike from the 1940s but carries a full complement of leading-edge ebike components.
Philips Hue smart home lighting app boosts features, simplifies customization
Easier navigation, customization, and smart home lighting management in the Philips Hue control app help users get creative with lighting design without needing another semester of college. Philps simplified navigation of new features such as color matching, color pickers, and resetting favorite light scenes.
Last Jeep Wrangler JK rolls off the line as factory tools up for Wrangler truck
FCA's Toledo plant built the last Jeep Wrangler JK on Friday. The new Wrangler JLs carry the flag forward as the JK's production line shuts down. Contractors were ready outside the plant to begin re-tooling the production line for the 2019 Jeep Wrangler pickup truck. Jeep built more than 2.1 million Wrangler JKs.
Waymo releases Arizona crash video, stresses van was operating in manual mode
A Waymo self-driving van was involved in a car crash in Chandler, Arizona. The Waymo van was traveling at a slow speed in autonomous mode with a human backup driver in the driver's seat and was not the vehicle responsible for the crash, police say. The van was hit by a car driving eastbound into westbound lanes.
Thieves steal convoy of 2018 Ram 1500 trucks from Michigan factory
An organized group of thieves stole almost a dozen 2018 Ram 1500 pickup trucks ready for dealers from a Warren, Michigan assembly plant. The thieves cut a hole in a fence, grabbed the trucks, and smashed through a security gate in clear view of a security guard. FCA has now provided police with VINs.
Ditch all romaine lettuce and check your eggs — a bad month for food recalls
The CDC has reported the first death from the major E. coli outbreak associated with romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, winter lettuce growing region. Last month more than 200 million eggs distributed from a North Carolina farm were also recalled after infections were tracked back to the farm's eggs.
Ford to stop making almost all cars
In its 2018 first-quarter financial report, Ford announced sedans are out for the U.S. market. By 2020 most Fords will be trucks, SUVs, and utility and commercial vehicles. The Mustang and Focus crossover live on, but other car models are dead. Hybrid-electrics and battery-electrics start in 2020.
BMW’s self-driving cars of the future will have 3D vision
BMW Group will use Magna and Innoviz Technologies solid-state lidar in future autonomous vehicles.The Magna/Innoviz solid-state lidar allows self-driving vehicles to navigate in all conditions. The announcement doesn't restrict lidar use only to cars -- noteworthy for a company that also makes motorcycles.
NASA abruptly shuts down its planned 2022 moon rover mission
NASA canceled a moon rover lunar exploration mission with no warning. Scientists working on the mission and outside advisors were thrown by the sudden shift on a project well on the way to a moon launch in 2022. A budget line change from applied to pure science could be the reason for the confusing cancellation.
DNA link to Golden State Killer raises questions of privacy versus safety
Do you lose privacy rights when personal data is stored on an open platform? Authorities arrested a suspect in the Golden State Killer case based on DNA data a relative uploaded to GEDMatch, an open-source ancestry site. Investigators were able to search the DNA data without a warrant and linked it to the subject.
Ford tries to patent a car with autonomous electric motorcycle built in
Ford applied for a patent for an unexpected design: a car with an integrated electric motorcycle. Citing the need for multimodal passenger vehicles in urban areas where parking is expensive and hard to find, Ford's design lets the driver park the car outside the city and take the EV bike to their final destination.
Amazon smart security packages soften smart home setup learning curve
Amazon Smart Home Services rolls out state by state. Amazon's bundled smart home security packages come with consultation, hardware, installation, training, and no ongoing service fees. Amazon competes with residential security companies and signals that smart homes have moved beyond techies and early adopters.
Tesla driver loses license after moving to passenger seat with Autopilot on
A U.K. Tesla owner starred in a video that cost him driving privileges for 18 months when he was seen riding in the passenger seat with autopilot turned on. The driver was fined $2,480 and must do 100 hours of community service. The driver told police officers his car was amazing but admits what he did was "silly."
On National Drug Take Back Day, Google and DEA make it easier to get rid of drugs
Working with the DEA, Google Maps introduced a new locator tool for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The tool helps find a place to safely dispose of leftover or unwanted prescription drugs. Pharmacies can't take back prescriptions and flushing them down the toilet or sink adds drugs to the water supply.
Europe, Japan will have barrels of fun with Honda’s tiny 2018 Monkey bike
The 2018 Honda Monkey bike has roots in a Tokyo amusement park. Until 2017, the Monkey bike had a 49cc motor. The new model changes the formula, but the spirit and purpose remain the same. The Monkey bike is a fun ride no one can possibly take too seriously, but now it has some significant moto chops.
Now you can read Facebook’s secret rulebook for what you can post
Facing unprecedented scrutiny, Facebook has released its Community Standards guidelines. Instead of overly general statements of what the social media platform allows, now you can read the rules. Hate speech, inciting violence, illegal drug use, and bullying, and other forbidden content are outlined in the document.
Is Alexa getting a big brother? Amazon is working on a secret home robot
Amazon is reportedly developing home robotics products at its Lab126 hardware research and development division. People with insider knowledge of the robotics work reportedly said they could be on the market as early as 2019.
CDC’s PulseNet tracks sources of bad lettuce, eggs, other foodborne illnesses
The CDC's PulseNet uses DNA fingerprinting to identify bacteria sources of foodborne illness outbreaks. Laboratories in each U.S. state and territory post findings on a shared CDC message board in real time. PulseNet also traces bacteria DNA in recreational water, pets, rodents, reptiles, and animal feed.
Dominant 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke diesel scores 30 mpg EPA highway rating
Ford Motor Company announced the 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke turbodiesel V6 is EPA rated for 30 mpg highway fuel economy. Already claiming best-in-class diesel pickup horsepower, torque, towing, and payload, Ford revealed the highway target in January. The top rating applies to 2018 F-150s with rear wheel drive.
2019 BMW M2 Competition coming this summer with more horses and torque
The 2019 BMW M2 Competition is coming to showrooms this summer. BMW says the new car adds an updated 405 horsepower BMW M TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder engine. The new M2's wide 406-pound-foot torque power band can rush the coupe to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds with DCT and 4.2 seconds with a manual shifter.
Mylo vegetarian leather grows from mushroom roots in days
Bolt Thread's Mylo vegetarian leather grows from mushroom root networks in days without the environmentally harmful gases cattle produce for years until harvested for their meat and hides. The company's goal was to produce a synthetic leather-like material from biomaterials with no harm to animals or the environment.
Top family-friendly Google Play Store apps track children’s personal data
A large study found a majority of top Google Play Store apps track kids under 13 in potential COPPA law violations. Even among apps that offer the ability to reset personal info, most still sent advertisers non-resettable hardware info that could track users. The researchers say industry self-policing fails.
Musk’s SpaceX helps NASA get busy testing human and bull sperm in space
Swimming sperm will be under the microscope at the ISS this month. No one knows how spaceflight affects human reproduction, but NASA wants to find out. The agency is setting up a test with sperm from two mammals to learn if there's any difference in the way sperm swim in space versus on Earth.
Grosser than ever, hot-air hand dryers spread fecal matter throughout buildings
Choose paper towels to dry your hands and don't touch any surface. University of Connecticut researchers found hot-air hand dryers spread feces particles, not only on people's hands but also on surfaces throughout entire buildings. Filters help some, but not enough for anyone to feel safe from contamination.
Citing broken rules, agency boots Tesla from fatal accident investigation
The NTSB removed Tesla from the investigation of a March 23 fatal accident involving a Tesla Model X. Tesla agreed to NTSB restrictions from releasing opinions or analyses regarding the accident until the final report is released, but was removed from the investigation after it claimed the driver was at fault.
Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistants put to work in New England ambulances
New England's Brewster Ambulance Service gets ready to test Amazon Alexa in ambulances as emergency response medical reference backup assistants. Starting this summer, Amazon Echo Dots in ambulances will help first responders reference established medical protocols for a wide range of medical emergencies.
World’s largest battery on a desert solar farm would triple Tesla’s record
A California solar energy harvesting and storage project would include the world's largest battery. The project's energy capacity, equal to the harvesting potential of the massive solar farm on 2,500 acres of desert, would be more than three times as large as the existing record-holder Tesla installed in Australia.
What’s Uber up to? New choices point to local transportation takeover
Following up fast on its purchase of the Jump bike-sharing startup, Uber just added more local transport options. So now, in addition to hitting up Uber Bike for temporary use of an urban two-wheeler, you can book public transit tickets or connect with a nearby car owner to rent their ride for local use.
Child advocacy groups ask FTC to fine Google tens of billions of dollars
Child advocacy groups filed an FTC complaint today, claiming YouTube allows websites to collect personal about children under 13 without permission.
