PITTSBURGH BIKE SHARE seeks a professional who is passionate about urban mobility and the potential transformational impact of bike share on community livability. The Executive Director will provide the leadership for the fundraising, planning and implementation of tasks necessary to launch the bike share program in 2014. Access/download full announcement below.
The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently launched the Divvy bikeshare program, which is operated by Alta Bicycle Share. The program is contract-operated and requires dedicated staff to actively manage the program and administer the contract. The Program Director (bike share manager) will supervise the contractor operating the bicycle sharing program and manage the day-to-day operations of Divvy for CDOT.
For consideration, all applications must be submitted electronically through the City’s Human Resources system (http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dhr.html). Paper or other submissions will not be reviewed. Please note that the deadline for applications is December 18th so please share this ASAP. See full announcement below.
Brilliant… and everything about Tesla Model S sounds better when the narrator sounds like Jason Statham (or is it Jason himself narrating it?). A bit of research showed that it is a part of NatGeo (UK)’s Megafactories Show, which has a ton of more such awesome things.. Check out the program’s website.
Tech startup NeXt built a product called HeadsUP!, a visual display that projects often-used cellphone features, such as texting, voice calls, and email, onto the windshield of a car. This allows users to engage with their smartphones without needing to look down, or fumbling with them while driving.
HeadsUP! enables voice dictation and touch-free swiping to let users interact with the screen.
NeXt is seeking a patent for the technology, and is asking donors on Indiegogo to pay $299 for the earliest version of its HeadsUP! device.
Of course, the biggest question is how much of this new tech will add to driver distraction, a hot topic that often pits tech/gadget makers against the regulators and policy-makers who fret about road safety.
Chanced up upon this awesome video on /Drive’s YouTube channel, with some of my favorite automotive writers (Travis Okulski and Mike Spinelli of Jalopnik with Andrew DelColle from Popular Mechanics) talking about the nagging questions many of us have about autonomous vehicles. I’d say that this video is more like a e-Primer for all things on autonomous vehicles for those interested (and some more) but offered in a nice, and conversant package without getting you all bored. Check it out.
Video description: When are the first self-driving cars coming, how will they work and — the most important question — will I be able to take a nap in traffic? All of those questions and more will be answered. With Andrew Del-Colle, associate editor of Popular Mechanics magazine and Travis Okulski, senior writer at Jalopnik.
Google has filed a patent that would see drivers use gestures to control a vehicle, according to a report from Engadget. The system, if it ever arrives in the automobile, would use a depth camera mounted on the roof of the car and a laser scanner. Looks like automotive technology will be taking a giant leap in the days ahead when Google gets it in their driverless cars. One thing that is not noted in the Autoblog article is Google’s recent acquisition of Flutter, a startup that makes a desktop app of the same name that allows users to control other applications using hand gestures. Information Week offers a few more details: Flutter works by capturing the user’s hand gesture on a computer’s webcam and then translating the gesture, using image processing techniques, into a specific command in supported applications. It can be used, for example, to play and pause songs playing in iTunes on a Mac or Windows computer with just a wave of the hand.
Today, August 19th, is the U.S. National Aviation Day and what better way to celebrate than with a video of first night time vertical landing of F-35B on a carrier deck. The video shows a U.S. Marine Corps test pilot performing the first night-time vertical landing aboard the USS WASP on August 14 and it looks equal parts scary and awesome seen in the neon green glow of the night-vision camera. It is safe to say that it adds a new dimension and immense depth to the strike capability of a carrier group with this new feature added.
* Note: According to Wikipedia that National Aviation Day is observed to celebrate the development of aviation. It was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright‘s birthday to be National Aviation Day (Mr. Wright, born in 1871, was still alive when the proclamation was first issued, and would live another nine years). The proclamation was codified (USC 36:I:A:1:118), and it allows the sitting US President to proclaim August 19 as National Aviation Day each year, if desired. His/her proclamation may direct all federal buildings and installations to fly the US flag on that day, and may encourage citizens to observe the day with activities that promote interest in aviation.
Apparently this is how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (covers U.S. Customs and Border Patrol) takes care of imported vehicles with falsified documentation.. As Huffingtonpost notes, this Land Rover Defender reached the Port of Baltimore with falsified identification numbers, claiming to be an older model. But when the USCBP folks found out that this model is in fact newer and tinkered with to look “vintage”, they decided to junk it because it does not comply with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The seized vehicle — estimated to be worth $25,000 overseas but as much as $150,000 in the U.S. — was considered “illegal and unsafe,” officials said. Such a non-compliant vehicle cannot be imported unless it is at least 25 years old, officials said. It seems that dozens of similar Defender vehicles have been seized in recent months at ports around the country and one can only imagine the rivers of tears shed by the owners when they learned the fate.
Mashable shared this nice infograph developed by Gocompare.com that breaks down the details of the much anticipated Hyperloop, a new form of transportation backed by innovative entrepreneur Elon Musk. It warrants attention, knowing it is backed by Elon Musk, who has already wowed the world with his transportation ventures like SpaceX and Tesla. It is expect that Elon Musk will unveil the Alpha design and discuss the details of the Hyperloop on August 12.. Can’t wait!
It screams efficiency (Image source: Imgur via Reddit)
It is only appropriate to see something like this from the land of engineering and efficiency. Apparently someone caught this rich German (yeah, that’s a Porsche Boxster Spyder in the trailer below the boat) traveling in some part of Sweden (one heck of a comfy camping trip)
