2016 tech predictions: I want my flying car and better iPhone battery life, please

Peter Foley/Bloomberg

The Terrafugia Transition "flying car" sits on display at the New York International Auto Show in New York, U.S., on Thursday, April 5, 2012.

I like to start each new year with great hopes that the "technology of the future" (whatever that is) will change my life for the better.

For the most part, technology does make our lives better, little by little, each year.

What am I looking forward to this year? A few things.

The Unbundle

Bundled television services have been the norm for decades, and while the public might be tiring of it, TV providers still seem to be determined to force-feed us hundreds of channels.

I'm hopeful because companies like SlingTV and makers of streaming boxes like those from Roku, Amazon and Apple seem to want to bring us unbundled channels.

I'll take myself as an example. I have a 300-channel package, and I really only watch content on, at most, 50 of those channels.

I want to be able to pick and choose which channels I pay for without having a few hundred others included.

There has been progress on the unbundling front.

HBO and Showtime have begun rolling a small snowball downhill by allowing à la carte subscriptions for their programming.

ESPN has also slightly "unbundled" by allowing its programming to be included through the SlingTV service.

But even I can see that SlingTV is a bundle. The basic package from SlingTV is 23 channels for $20 per month. I really only care about 12 of those 23 channels.

It's much closer to what I want in a TV service, but if I were a subscriber, I would still be paying for channels I don't watch.

For 2016, I'd like to see a company like Apple offer up true à la carte channel selection. Word on the street is that its new Apple TV box was supposed to launch with a streaming service, but an agreement could not be reached in time.

I'm hoping Apple can pull a rabbit out of its hat and let customers pick and choose what they want to watch.

Better battery life

We have seen great advances in smartphones in the last 10 years.

Just look at the difference between the original iPhone introduced in 2007 and the iPhone 6S, which went on sale in September 2015.

In the newest iPhones, the screen is better, the CPU is faster and storage has greatly expanded, but battery life seems stagnant.

I realize that the batteries today are much better than batteries of 2007, but in the simplest terms, you still have to charge your phone daily.

The original iPhone had a 1,400 millIamp-hour battery. The iPhone 6S battery has 1,715 mAh of power.

The iPhone 6S Plus has a much bigger battery, but it's a much bigger phone.

I want 2016 to bring batteries that last upwards of a week.

I want my flying car

Well, if we can't have flying cars just yet, I'll settle for more models that can do the driving for us.

Plenty of current models can park themselves. I think that's pretty slick, but I can't see it being too useful. I parallel park my car maybe once every few months, and I'm pretty good at it.

Apple is rumored to be working on a car with self-driving capabilities.

Google is actively testing several self-driving cars in California and, more recently, Austin. I've seen reports and photos of Google's self-driving cars on the streets of Austin.

My colleague Terry Box just road-tested a Tesla Model S that can drive itself. Tesla added the feature with an over-the-air software update.

Watching Terry let that Tesla drive him down the street was impressive, but he was driving with his hands hovering over the steering wheel for the inevitable time when the car gives up and the driver needs to take over.

We are still quite a ways from just getting in the car and reading the newspaper during your morning commute.

I guess I'll have to wait another year or two for my flying car.

Source: 2016 tech predictions: I want my flying car and better iPhone battery life, please

Flying car best gadget of the future, Volvo console worst, says survey

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.

The people's favorite. Or, at least, some gadget-obsessed people's.

Terrafugia/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

The future's an elusive thing.

We think we know what it might look like. Then we get there, and it doesn't look like that at all.

But still we argue about it and think we can control our journey toward it.

Few are more comprehensively intense about the future than those who live by and for gadgets.

I was fascinated, therefore, to see a new survey of fans that sought to declare which were the gadgets of the future and which would qualify as unpardonable future turkeys.

The survey was conducted by GI Gadgets, a social media platform where people argue about gizmos. The site claims to have examined 200 million points of interactive social data to reach its definitive conclusions.

At the top of its wish list was the Terrafugia TF-X. This dainty little flying and amphi-car is the primary object of desire. It's seen, apparently, as a flying car for all of us.

This worries me about what our future skies might look like, as drones fly all around and Amazon desperately tries to fly you new underwear within the hour.

The Terrfugia beat out Magic Leap, the "Digital Lightfield" holographic company that aims to bring magic to one and all.

Rounding out the top 5 were the Inboard Electric Skateboard (please, no), the IC-R helmet -- which is equipped with cameras and interior lighting -- and MIT's Fluid Interfaces Reality Editor. This last one control all your Internet of Things devices (of which you surely have at least 50) with the use of augmented reality.

To me, that is rather the definition of demented reality.

But what about the turkeys?

The biggest no-no was the Volvo XC90 Excellence Lounge Console Concept. This seemingly innocent gadget exists to turn you into a chauffeured first-class passenger, rather than a stressed driver. The gadgeteers deemed it unsafe.

Just behind it in the future-turkey list were Skybuds. These are wireless earbuds wit h a smartphone case for charging and storage. The GI Gadget politburo decided these are too easy to lose.

Next worst came the Starship Delivery Robot, which to my eyes seems like a well-designed porta-potty on wheels. It is, in fact, a little robot that will happily deliver things to your door. The survey said however: Oh, no. Those things can be stolen far too easily.

Next in the badlands was the Windspeed Skydeck, the delightful concept that allows people to sit on top of a plane and stare out at the beautiful nothingness.

Ah, no, said the gadgeteers, this is dangerous. I had always thought that the gadget-obsessed put cool before dangerous. I am chastened.

Finally, in the please-don't category was the PhoneDrone Ethos. This promises to grant your smartphone access to the Third Dimension. What this means is that it's a drone that takes your phone up to the skies so that you can take pictures with it.

The survey apparently declared that this is pate ntly unsafe and will crash.

Neither Terrafugia nor Volvo immediately responded to request for comment.

It's not for me to decide whether these supposedly gadget-obsessed people are wise or merely peculiar herd-followers.

I feel more certain, however, that the things that might be created in the next few years will make at least some of these ideas seem even smaller than they look to my eyes right now.

Source: Flying car best gadget of the future, Volvo console worst, says survey

Glimpse of the future: Could this be the first flying car to hit the market?

A flying car is in the early stages of development by a US aircraft company

A flying car developed by a US aircraft company is in the early stages of development.

Massechussetts-based Terrafugia says this car of the future will be capable of automatically avoiding other air traffic, bad weather, and restricted and tower-controlled airspace.

The TF-X will have a range of 500 miles with cruise speeds up to 200mph, and be able to fly on manual or automatic modes. The four-seat hybrid electric vehicle will be able to fit into the average garage, and can still run on roads and highways.

It would be easier to learn how to operate the flying car than a normal aircraft, says Terrafugia.

READ MORE: * Wing-folding car takes flight* Are flying cars the future of travel?* A drone that can carry a person

In event of an emergency, the driver of the TF-X flying car can rely on a full-vehicle parachute system, if the auto-landing feature fails to work.

The flying car is slated to be ready between 2023 and 2027, says the company. 

With a planned pricetag that will be on par with a normal high-end luxury car, the TF-X will probably just be a flight of fancy for most folks.

- Stuff

Source: Glimpse of the future: Could this be the first flying car to hit the market?

Things to Celebrate, Like Dreams of Flying Cars

In Star Wars, Han Solo's Millennium Falcon did the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs; in real life, all the Falcon 9 has done so far is land at Cape Canaveral without falling over or exploding. Yet I, like many nerds, was thrilled by that achievement, in part because it reinforced my growing optimism about the direction technology seems to be taking — a direction that may end up saving the world.

O.K., if you have no idea what I'm talking about, the Falcon 9 is Elon Musk's reusable rocket, which is supposed to boost a payload into space, then return to where it can be launched again. If the concept works, it could drastically reduce the cost of putting stuff into orbit. And that successful landing was a milestone. We're still a very long way from space colonies and zero-gravity hotels, let alone galactic empires. But space technology is moving forward after decades of stagnation.

And to my amateur eye, this seems to be part of a broader trend, which is making me more hopeful for the future than I've been in a while.

You see, I got my Ph.D. in 1977, the year of the first Star Wars movie, which means that I have basically spent my whole professional life in an era of technological disappointment.

Until the 1970s, almost everyone believed that advancing technology would do in the future what it had done in the past: produce rapid, unmistakable improvement in just about every aspect of life. But it didn't. And while social factors — above all, soaring inequality — have played an important role in that disappointment, it's a lso true that in most respects technology has fallen short of expectations.

The most obvious example is travel, where cars and planes are no faster than they were when I was a student, and actual travel times have gone up thanks to congestion and security lines. More generally, there has just been less progress in our command over the physical world — our ability to produce and deliver things — than almost anyone expected.

Now, there has been striking progress in our ability to process and transmit information. But while I like cat and concert videos as much as anyone, we're still talking about a limited slice of life: We are still living in a material world, and pushing information around can do only so much. The famous gibe by the investor Peter Thiel ("We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.") is unfair, but contains a large kernel of truth.

Over the past five or six years, however — or at least this is how it seems to me — technology has been getting physical again; once again, we're making progress in the world of things, not just information. And that's important.

Progress in rocketry is fun to watch, but the really big news is on energy, a field of truly immense disappointment until recently. For decades, unconventional energy technologies kept falling short of expectations, and it seemed as if nothing could end our dependence on oil and coal — bad news in the short run because of the prominence it gave to the Middle East; worse ne ws in the long run because of global warming.

But now we're witnessing a revolution on multiple fronts. The biggest effects so far have come from fracking, which has ended fears about peak oil and could, if properly regulated, be some help on climate change: Fracked gas is still fossil fuel, but burning it generates a lot less greenhouse emissions than burning coal. The bigger revolution looking forward, however, is in renewable energy, where costs of wind and especially solar have dropped incredibly fast.

Why does this matter? Everyone who isn't ignorant or a Republican realizes that climate change is by far the biggest threat humanity faces. But how much will we have to sacrifice to meet that threat?

Well, you still hear claims, mostly from the right but also from a few people on the left, that we can't take effective action on climate without bringing an end to economic growth. Marco Rubio, for example, insists that trying to control emissions would "destroy our economy." This was never reasonable, but those of us asserting that protecting the environment was consistent with growth used to be somewhat vague about the details, simply asserting that given the right incentives the private sector would find a way.

But now we can see the shape of a sustainable, low-emission future quite clearly — basically an electrified economy with, yes, nuclear power playing some role, but sun and wind front and center. Of course, it doesn't have to happen. But if it doesn't, the problem will be politics, not technology.

True, I'm still waiting for flying cars, not to mention hyperdrive. But we have made enough progress in the technology of things that saving the world has suddenly become much more plausible. And that's reason to celebrate.

Source: Things to Celebrate, Like Dreams of Flying Cars

A hypersonic jet that can soar from London to New York in half an hour, a flying car and a plane that can land almost anywhere: The year's most radical aircraft concepts revealed

Passengers may one day get the best views with SkyDeck, a glass capsule on top of a plane with 360-degree views

Progress Eagle has three seating decks that can hold 800 passengers - nearly 200 more than today's largest plane

Skreemr would be catapulted into the sky and exceed Mach 10, making a transatlantic flight possible in 30 minutes

By Chris Kitching for MailOnline

Published: 03:12 EST, 24 December 2015 | Updated: 05:11 EST, 24 December 2015

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Today's air travellers have it so much better than those from the golden age of travel, but they will weep when they see what's in store for future generations of holidaymakers.

Designers and engineers have envisioned hypersonic passenger jets that can reach speeds of nearly 7,700mph, rockets that can propel aircraft from London to Sydney in just four hours, and three-deck planes that can hold 800 travellers.

While some of these concepts may never see the light of day, those that do may never be completed in our lifetime. These are some of the most radical designs from the past year.

Scroll down for videos 

TF-X 

Terrafugia said its concept vehicle that doubles as a plane and car, with fold-out wings and twin electric motors, is 10-12 years away

The vehicle has fold-out wings and twin electric motors, with a cruising speed of 200mph and a flight range of 500 miles

Since the animated series The Jetsons debuted on TV in the 1960s, people have dreamed of the ability to fly a car.

Terrafugia is hoping to do just that with a concept vehicle that doubles as a plane and car, with fold-out wings and twin electric motors.

It would be powered by a 300-horsepower engine with a cruising speed of 200mph and a flight range of 500 miles.

SkyDeck 

SkyDeck, designed by Windspeed Technologies, is the ultimate seat for travellers who love to gaze at the scenery outside the window

SkyDeck is a teardrop-shaped glass pod on top of a passenger plane or business jet, with stunning 360-degree views from 35,000ft

Two people can sit inside the pod at a time while tracking their flight's progress. The glass is designed to withstand bird strikes

For those who love the window seat, this is the ultimate way to travel.

Designed by Windspeed Technologies, SkyDeck is a teardrop-shaped glass pod on top of a passenger jet, with 360-degree views from 35,000ft.

The glass is designed to be strong enough to withstand bird strikes and has UV coating and an anti-condensation film to prevent fogging.

TriFan 600

XTI Aircraft's TriFan 600 is a six-seat fixed-wing jet that is designed to soar like a plane and take off and land like a helicopter

The aircraft is designed to fly as fast as today's business jets, but provides even more convenience as it doesn't have to travel to airports

The jet can land and take off from paved, helipad-sized spaces, using three ducted fans for lift-off and two wing fans for hig h-speed flight

XTI Aircraft's TriFan 600 is a six-seat fixed-wing jet that can soar like a plane and take off and land like a helicopter.

The aircraft is designed to fly as fast and high as today's business jets, but provides even better convenience because it can land and take off from paved, helipad-sized spaces – eliminating the need to travel to airports.

The jet uses three ducted fans for lift-off and then rotates two wing fans forward for high-speed flight.

Supersonic planes 

More than a decade after the Concorde's last flight, Nasa invested $2.3million in research projects aimed at reviving supersonic planes

The projects will look at how to reduce the noise of sonic booms in order to reintroduce the flights and how to improve fuel efficiency

More than a dec ade after the last flight of the Concorde, Nasa has invested $2.3million (£1.5million) in eight research projects aimed at reviving the dream of supersonic planes.

The projects will look at how to reduce the noise of sonic booms in order to reintroduce the flights, how to improve fuel efficiency and how to limit the impact on the ozone, among other things.

Three decades of supersonic travel ended in 2003, when the final Concorde flight landed at London Heathrow Airport on a transatlantic trip from New York. Air France and British Airways decided to retire the aircraft because it was no longer profitable.

Progress Eagle

The AWWA-QG Progress Eagle, mocked up with Lufthansa's livery, has three seating decks that can hold a staggering 800 passengers

It would run on hydrogen fuel, have solar panels to generate electric al power, and be 75 per cent quieter than today's planes

Designed by Oscar Vinals, the AWWA-QG Progress Eagle has three seating decks that can hold a 800 passengers.

That's nearly 200 more passengers than the Airbus A380 – the world's largest passenger jet. It would run on hydrogen fuel, have solar panels to generate electrical power, and be 75 per cent quieter than today's planes.

It provides added comfort for the flight crew, with a cockpit on the second deck including beds, an office and workroom.

Skreemr

A concept aircraft called Skreemr would exceed Mach 10 with a flight from London to New York taking as little as half an hour

The plane, powered by liquid-oxygen or kerosene rockets, would be catapulted into the sky and reach speeds of nearly 7,700mph

When it comes to the future of travel, passengers are eager to see flight times drastically reduced.

A concept aircraft called Skreemr aims to do just that by exceeding Mach 10 (10 times the speed of sound) with a flight from London to New York taking about half an hour.

Designers Charles Bombardier and Ray Mattison have dreamed up a launch system that would see the hypersonic plane, powered by liquid-oxygen or kerosene rockets, catapulted into the sky, where it would ultimately reach speeds of nearly 7,700mph.

Lapcats 

A design from Reaction Engines, based in Oxfordshire, could see passenger jets, called Lapcats, reach speeds of Mach 5

With rockets that can propel aircraft to speeds of Mach 5, the Lapcats would be able to fly from London to Sydney in just four hours 

British aerospace firm BAE Systems announced this year it has invested in a company that is working on an engine that would slash the flight time between London and Sydney to just four hours.

The design from Reaction Engines, based in Oxfordshire, could see passenger jets, called Lapcats, reach speeds of Mach 5 – two and a half times that of the Concorde.

Designs for passenger aircraft are still at least 20 years away. 

Concorde 2

The Concorde 2, designed by Airbus, has a top speed of Mach 4.5, allowing it to fly from London to New York in an hour

This aircraft envisioned by Airbus has been called the Concorde 2 as it has a top speed of Mach 4.5.

That would allow it to fly from London to New York in an hour.

It would climb vertically and break the sound barrier as it soars horizontally. Three engine types would propel the aircraft at speeds of 3,425mph. 

Co50 Valkyrie 

Cobalt has started taking pre-orders for its $700,000 (£472,000) Co50 Valkyrie aircraft, which doesn't have dials, gauges or switches

Co50 Valkyrie is powered by an aft propeller and a 350-horsepower turbocharged engine, allowing it to travel up to 260 knots (300mph)

The Co50 Valkyrie won't be available until it gains full Federal Aviation Administration certification, and that may not happen until 2017

Cobalt has started taking pre-orders for its $700,000 (£472,000) Co50 Valkyrie aircraft, which doesn't have dials, gauges or switches.

Inspired by a fighter jet, the five-seater has three iPad-style screens that display the most essential information, including remaining fuel and speed.

As the fastest private aircraft in its class, it is powered by an aft propeller and a 350-horsepower turbocharged engine, allowing it to travel up to 260 knots (300mph). 

AHEAD

The AHEAD aircraft can carry 300 passengers over a range of 8,700 miles, allowing for non-stop flights between the UK and Australia

Dutch airline KLM has partnered with Delft University of Technology to design a blended wing plane with hybrid engines to reduce fuel consumption.

The AHEAD (Advanced Hybrid Engine Airc raft Development) aircraft can carry 300 passengers over a range of 8,700 miles, allowing for non-stop flights between the UK and Australia.

KLM said the blended wing body would minimise drag and the engines would burn fuels such as cryogenic hydrogen or kerosene – but this type of plane likely won't be introduced until 2050.

Source: A hypersonic jet that can soar from London to New York in half an hour, a flying car and a plane that can land almost anywhere: The year's most radical aircraft concepts revealed

Dude, where's my flying car? It's being tested now.

It's the question people have been asking for generations, and the answer is usually that it's five years away and will always be five years away. In fact, according to an MNN post from five years ago, it should already be here.

As usual, Randall Monroe of XKCD answers the question better than anyone: other technologies advanced by leaps and bounds, doing things that could not even be imagined when we first asked the car question — things that everyone could afford and do not fall out of the sky.

XKCD explains it all. (Photo: Randall Munroe)

But some never gave up on the dream of the flying car, including the Italian company Terrafugia. It introduced an upgrade earlier this year that addresses many of the problems of the earlier vehicle,by picking up on many of the trends taking place in both aviation and in cars. Now it has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin flight testing of a model in U.S. air space. It's only a one-10th size model, can only go 100 miles per hour at lower than 400 feet, but approval will let the company "test the hovering abilities and gather flight characteristics data."

The president of Terrafugia notes that there's increasing demand for personal flight. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, all the one percenters helicopter everywhere because driving is impossibly slow and increases the chances they will be kidnapped.

On top of this demand for better personal flight, there is an explosion in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Amazon has been making headlines for months with talk of drone-based delivery services, Google's widely publicized work in the field of self-driving cars continues to progress, and the unprecedented growth of companies such as Uber and Lyft exposes the immense inadequacy of traditional modes of personal transit.

The company's new flying car drives like a car, takes off vertically like a drone and then flies horizontally like a plane. It's driven by electric motors until it's in flight, where it switches to ducted engines. It's all automatic and self-driving; this means you can drive one without a pilot's license, and "should be statistically safer than driving a modern automobile." It will automatically avoid other air traffic, bad weather or restricted airspace. it will have a backup parachute system if the auto-landing system fails. It won't be cheap, but then neither are top end McLarens, Mercedes and Bentleys.

It is likely that TF-X™ will be more expensive than a "normal car" due to the higher costs of the necessary light-weight materials, but with investment in automotive scale production, early studies indicate that it is possible that the final price point could be on-par with high-end luxury cars of today.

Nice suburban driveway complete with nice flying car. (Photo: Terrafugia)

Will this actually happen? Technologically, it's probably doable, although Terrafugia's first flying car, which is much more plane-like, is well behind schedule. Jim Motavalli wrote about it earlier in his terrific overview of flying cars:

I saw Terrafugia's work in progress at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance earlier this month. A spokeswoman told me, "We're anticipating a delivery in the first half of 2016." Why the delay, I asked. "It's not really a delay," she said. "A lot of work has to be done, and it has to proceed in cooperation with the amount of funding that's available."

TFX on the road. (Photo: Terrafugia)

They may have bitten off a lot technologically here, what with it being a self-driving electric hybrid car/drone/airplane, but I suspect the real problems will be political, social and regulatory. The Guardian describes the scene in Sao Paulo:

Above, the space-age world where flying news teams trawl the skies for their next scoop and wealthy executives glide effortlessly between luxury condominiums, beach resorts and business meetings; below, the gridlocked mayhem where the vast majority of residents crush together in an orgy of congestion and motorcycle crashes.

This is a recipe for anger and perhaps even revolution. I suspect that mixing flying cars for the very wealthy above with the 110 million rifles and assault weapons owned by the frustrated people below is not a good idea.

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

Source: Dude, where's my flying car? It's being tested now.

Phil Lanning: GOOD NEWS: Flying car on the way...BAD NEWS: Not here until 2025

IT took astronaut Tim Peake eight minutes and 48 seconds to leave Earth, and six hours to reach the International Space Station more than 200 miles away, going at 17,100mph – five miles every second.

Yet, right now, anywhere in a 20-mile radius of the Forth Road Bridge, it takes six hours to do just one mile.

For those poor white van men, haulage firms and so many businesses hugely affected by the closure and left with a giant financial headache, I've got a plan to solve all the problems in one fell swoop.

Get all the workers from the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – they've now got nothing to do for six months – and fly them into Edinburgh armed with welding gear. Job done.

In the meantime, those stuck in the queues caused by the cracked FRB can only dream of the Terrafugia TF-X.

Terrafugia TF-X

That isn't the latest strain of swine flu. It's actually a flying car and this week the company passed a "significant milestone" in it becoming a reality.

Apparently, the US Federal Aviation Administation have given Terrafugia special allowance to fly an unmanned flight of a scaled-down drone version of their car.

That now means that Terrafugia can fast-track research and development of the TF-X.

When it finally arrives, the TF-X will be a "four-seat, hybrid electric, semi-autonomous, vertical take-off and landing flying car".

Disappointingly, no mention of fog lights or furry dice in the kit list, though. But is this for real or meant for a futuristic Xbox game? Terrafugia are deadly serious.

If you fold in the wings, a bit like you can do with your door mirrors, it will narrowly fit into a single garage.

It's powered by a plug-in hybrid arrangement, a pair of electric motors combining with a 300PS petrol engine and vertical aerial thrust provided by a fan at the rear plus propeller at the end of each wing.

There's no word on how fast the TF-X will go on Tarmac but, once in the air, it will roar to 200mph for up to 500 miles – perfect for an afternoon trip down to the Isle of Wight.

Obviously, there's a few hurdles Terrafugia have to get past, like legislation. Those health and safety nerds always try to spoil everything.

Terrafugia reckon the TF-X "should be statistically safer than driving a modern automobile", and say training to fly it will take just five hours.

Yeah, but will my other half be able to park it? The firm have even thought of that.

The TF-X will effectively fly itself – though the driver can override the controls – and land automatically, without human input.

In the event of engine failure, the TF-X can deploy its full-vehicle parachute, hopefully so the flying car can land back safely down to Earth.

There's no AA man for the sky just yet. There's also no hint of cost just yet but Terrafugia say it "could be on par with the very high-end luxury cars of today". Who would want a Ferrari when you could fly?

It would be worth every penny right now to fly over the jams in Edinburgh and Fife.

But don't bother nipping into the new Arnold Clark showroom in Hillington and asking for a test drive in the new Terrafugia TF-X – they will give you funny looks.

The bad news is that Terrafugia believe it will take "eight to 12 years" to get this on the road and in the air.

Although they say the Bridge will be back open on January 4, don't count on it. If all else fails, get a deposit down on a TF-X for 2025.

Source: Phil Lanning: GOOD NEWS: Flying car on the way...BAD NEWS: Not here until 2025

Flying cars just got FAA approval for testing

Why drive a car (even if it's autonomous) when you can fly one? That seems to be the question of the day at the Federal Aviation Administration, where test flights in U.S. airspace have just been approved. The celebrating party is none other than Terrafugia, a company that specializes in airborne vehicles. Its TF-X flying car will soon be whizzing around skies in northeast American for the purposes of further research and development. "It's a significant milestone in the development of the program and we're really excited to be moving forward," Terrafugia spokesperson Dagny Dukach told R&D Magazine.

Sadly, you won't be able to jump in and take one of these cars to the skies anytime soon -- the prototypes that have been cleared for flight are just mini versions of the real thing. Coming in at just two feet long and with a weight limit of 55 pounds, it will still be some time before we're in Jetsons territory. Still, this latest development marks a huge step forward in the development of the technology, as Dukach: "The FAA exemption will allow Terrafugia to test the hovering capabilities of a one-tenth scale TF-X vehicle and gather flight characteristics data that will drive future design choices."

Terrafugia has been toying with the idea of flying cars for the last ten years or so, and their concept for the TF-X will feature semi-autonomous flight, meaning that you'd need less training to fly this car than you would to operate, say, an actual airplane. But there are still a number of issues that need to be worked out, including how the vehicle would be powered. Currently, the company plans for the TF-X to operate as a plug-in hybrid-electric, but exactly how this would come to fruition has yet to be determined.

If and when we do finally see the TF-X in real life, it will cruise at speeds of 200 miles per hour and will have a 500 mile flight range. And without any runway space needed for take off or landing, you could literally just lift off from your driveway.

So as excited as you are for self-driving cars to come to market, get even more pumped about the flying version.

Also watch: Fleye - Your Personal Flying Robot

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Source: Flying cars just got FAA approval for testing

Phil Lanning: GOOD NEWS: Flying car on the way...BAD NEWS: Not here until 2025

IT took astronaut Tim Peake eight minutes and 48 seconds to leave Earth, and six hours to reach the International Space Station more than 200 miles away, going at 17,100mph – five miles every second.

Yet, right now, anywhere in a 20-mile radius of the Forth Road Bridge, it takes six hours to do just one mile.

For those poor white van men, haulage firms and so many businesses hugely affected by the closure and left with a giant financial headache, I've got a plan to solve all the problems in one fell swoop.

Get all the workers from the Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – they've now got nothing to do for six months – and fly them into Edinburgh armed with welding gear. Job done.

In the meantime, those stuck in the queues caused by the cracked FRB can only dream of the Terrafugia TF-X.

Terrafugia TF-X

That isn't the latest strain of swine flu. It's actually a flying car and this week the company passed a "significant milestone" in it becoming a reality.

Apparently, the US Federal Aviation Administation have given Terrafugia special allowance to fly an unmanned flight of a scaled-down drone version of their car.

That now means that Terrafugia can fast-track research and development of the TF-X.

When it finally arrives, the TF-X will be a "four-seat, hybrid electric, semi-autonomous, vertical take-off and landing flying car".

Disappointingly, no mention of fog lights or furry dice in the kit list, though. But is this for real or meant for a futuristic Xbox game? Terrafugia are deadly serious.

If you fold in the wings, a bit like you can do with your door mirrors, it will narrowly fit into a single garage.

It's powered by a plug-in hybrid arrangement, a pair of electric motors combining with a 300PS petrol engine and vertical aerial thrust provided by a fan at the rear plus propeller at the end of each wing.

There's no word on how fast the TF-X will go on Tarmac but, once in the air, it will roar to 200mph for up to 500 miles – perfect for an afternoon trip down to the Isle of Wight.

Obviously, there's a few hurdles Terrafugia have to get past, like legislation. Those health and safety nerds always try to spoil everything.

Terrafugia reckon the TF-X "should be statistically safer than driving a modern automobile", and say training to fly it will take just five hours.

Yeah, but will my other half be able to park it? The firm have even thought of that.

The TF-X will effectively fly itself – though the driver can override the controls – and land automatically, without human input. In the event of engine failure, the TF-X can deploy its full-vehicle parachute, hopefully so the flying car can land back safely down to Earth.

There's no AA man for the sky just yet. There's also no hint of cost just yet but Terrafugia say it "could be on par with the very high-end luxury cars of today". Who would want a Ferrari when you could fly?

It would be worth every penny right now to fly over the jams in Edinburgh and Fife.

But don't bother nipping into the new Arnold Clark showroom in Hillington and asking for a test drive in the new Terrafugia TF-X – they will give you funny looks.

The bad news is that Terrafugia believe it will take "eight to 12 years" to get this on the road and in the air.

Although they say the Bridge will be back open on January 4, don't count on it. If all else fails, get a deposit down on a TF-X for 2025.

Source: Phil Lanning: GOOD NEWS: Flying car on the way...BAD NEWS: Not here until 2025

This Flying Car Just Got Approval to Move Into Test Mode

The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized flying car company Terrafugia to start testing out prototypes of a flying car that could some day fit right into a one-car garage, wings and all. And the company says its flying car test flights could start whizzing around the Northeast in the coming months.

But don't go clearing any space out in the garage just yet—Terrafugia's only been approved to test mini versions of their TF-X flying car.

The TF-X is a 4-seater that "will look like a large car with wings," Terrafugia spokeswoman Dagny Dukach says. The roughly 35-member team based in Woburn, Mass., is building out their ~2 ft. long FAA-approved models now, and they hope to have them flying around the company's home base (just outside Boston) soon. The test cars also have a weight restriction: No more than 50 pounds.

While flying cars have been a dream of carmakers (like Henry Ford) and engineers (like Paul Moller) for decades, no one's really been able to get out of prototype mode and into the consumer market yet. One French government-sponsored company has plans for a commuter plane called the "Xplorair." They unveiled their half-size prototype at the Paris Air Show in 2013 (and are planning to show off a full-size model in 2017). But Xplorair seems a bit more drone-like than car, and seats just one.

Terrafugia's been working on their own models and prototypes for roughly the past decade. Their TF-X is being engineered with semi-autonomous flight—the idea being that the flying car will require less training to fly than a professional airplane. Making the car a reality is going to require some new techniques in battery technology too. The company is planning to build the car as a plug-in hybrid-electric, but the battery technology for flying cars hasn't been perfected yet. And of course, any full-scale model testing will require more rounds of approvals from the FAA.

"It's really going to revolutionize the way that everybody gets around," Dukach says.

Once it gets off the ground, that is.

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune's daily newsletter on the business of technology.

And watch more on why we'll be waiting a long time for flying cars:

Source: This Flying Car Just Got Approval to Move Into Test Mode

Terrafugia's sub-scale flying car approved for testing in US airspace [VIDEO]

Massachusetts-based aircraft company Terrafugia has been given a special permission by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct in-air tests using its autonomous drone version of its flying car, the TF-X.

Terrafugia has been developing a flying car since 2013. The car's upgraded prototype was unveiled back in July 2015. The upgraded version of the car had a cruising speed of 322 km/h with an 805 km flight range. It has no particular runway requirements for landing or take off.

The TF-X, which is scheduled to be tested at the US airspace, is not the actual flying car prototype as declared earlier, but one-tenth of its size. It is actually a drone, an unmanned model. The trial run is expected to expedite the research and development phase of the actual real-life flying car.

Specifically, the characteristic data collected during the test run will help Terrafugia drive the future course of design of its flying cars. In addition, the FAA test run will allow the company to assess the hovering capabilities of the drone.

Aero-news.net reports that before developing a full-size TF-X prototype, it is important for Terrafugia to achieve sustained and stabilized hovering with smaller models. The test run will be conducted by Terrafugia's experienced flight test team and other relevant authorities.

TF-X is expected to be ready in eight to ten years. Terrafugia states that TF-X pricing will be consistent with that of high-end luxury cars. More specific information is expected to be available at a later date. As of now, the Terrafugia engineers are working on detailed test plans that will be used for its operation.

TF-X is designed to carry four people at a time and fit into a standard-sized single car garage. In addition, it will be able to run on roads and highways, allowing a door-to-door transportation system.

The following Terrafugia TF-X youtube video demonstrates the upgraded prototype of the car, designed to fulfill Terrafugia's vision of the future of personal transportation.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.

Source: Terrafugia's sub-scale flying car approved for testing in US airspace [VIDEO]

Rise Of The Self-Driving Car—And The Next Platform Holy War

Guest author Chris Haroun is a venture capitalist at ARTIS Ventures, an award-winning business school professor, and the author of 101 Crucial Lessons They Don't Teach You In Business School. 

It has been 30 years since the first Back to the Future movie was released. I watched it recently with my kids, and was amazed how little vehicles have changed over the years.

In the film, you get a glimpse of what the future will look like in 2015 with a flying car. How is it possible that cars haven't seen a material life improvement since 1985? I am confident that 30 years from today, all cars will have a self-driving option and that, in 10 years, most will. (Our grandchildren will remark about how unproductive we must have been.)

We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a year, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a decade. Just think—in 2007, with just one screen in the palm of your hand, Apple reinvented the phone, while Google made sure the operating system was virtually free and accessible to the masses.

Those technologies have been pivotal and have changed lives. It's now time to reinvent the automobile experience. It's an exciting time for the tech giants, as they duke it out in this new platform holy war, as well as startups and other tech businesses, too.

Benefits Of Self-Driving Cars Go Beyond Transportation

There are many potential long-term benefits to self-driving cars—ranging from environmental, safety, health, family-life balance, geopolitical and overall economic benefits.

The safety benefits will likely be material, as this will result in fewer accidents. Fewer accidents would result in less traffic and, in turn, less pollution; the environmental benefit then would be significant.

The economic benefits may be noteworthy as well—even potentially as deflationary as Amazon Web Services is today, or the fall of the Berlin Wall was in 1989. If we spend less money on fuel and repairs, then we can be less reliant on the oil sector. From a geopolitical perspective, that may mean less funds ultimately going to rogue nations with malicious, militant intentions.

Self-driving cars could also be materially beneficial to lowering inflation, since we would probably mean we'd spend less on gas and repairs. It may have an impact on real estate as well. We'd be better able to commute from cheaper neighborhoods to our jobs in the cities, as there would be fewer accidents slowing traffic and less time wasted traveling from work or school.

The Ultimate Time Creator

Self-driving cars may be the ultimate time creator, offering benefits both direct and indirect. They may allow us more time to spend with our families, exercising or sleeping. The result is a more balanced, healthy and happy existence. Anybody who disagrees should spend try driving in Los Angeles during rush hour.

In a way, using self-driving cars may be like adding hours to our day, because we'd have the option to work in our cars during the trip. The notion of productivity in commute could touch other areas of life as well. We could use the time to study, which personally resonates for me, because I have always believed education can fix almost all of the world's problems. We just might see a domino effect of positive after positive.

A Software Gold Rush

With so many benefits at stake, it seems like a certainty that we'll see a software startup gold rush before long. Companies are likely to duke it out to develop the hottest auto operating system and apps to run on it.

Considering that Microsoft, maker of the dominant Windows desktop platform, missed out on mobile, I believe CEO Satya Nadella will be in hot pursuit of autonomous cars. I expect he'll use part of the company's annual $10 billion research and development effort on exploring an auto software platform. Microsoft tried to do this under Bill Gates with the Auto PC product—which, similar to Apple's Newton, was way too early and couldn't gain market acceptance. But the future is now.

What About The Risks?

Yes, there are risks to self-driving cars, but they are no greater than what we face every time we get behind the wheel. In fact, there's plenty to suggest they will reduce our risk of harm.

Today, an estimated 94% of auto accidents are due to human error. While autonomous vehicles may not be perfect yet—in fact, they are obviously still in development and unproven on a mass scale—they hold great potential to save innumerable lives. We've already seen improvements: Google, for its part, has been working hard on minimizing accidents with its self-driving car efforts. The margin of error will be even lower still, as auto-based software algorithms and artificial intelligence systems advance.

Google and Apple are clearly gunning for the lead in the automobile operating system of the future, competing with Tesla for auto engineering talent. This new platform holy war will lead to significant saber rattling between the companies, but competition breeds innovation. In other words, after so many stops and starts, we might just see the industry finally hitting the acceleration. 

Source: Rise Of The Self-Driving Car—And The Next Platform Holy War

Hybrid flying car shown off in vision of the future

Terrafugia, a company that is hoping to launch a flying car, has showed a vision of the future.

Still in the early stages of development, the TF-X should be seen in the next eight to ten years.

Forecast to have a range of 500 miles thanks to its hybrid power layout, the TF-X will be able to cruise at up to 200mph, while also being able to auto-land and automatically avoid other air traffic or bad weather.

Terrafugia envisage the TF-X to cost around the same as a premium car, despite the technology that it will incorporate.

The company also believes that learning how to operate the TF-X will take a lot less time than with a conventional aircraft, owing to the ability to change between either manual or automatic flying modes.

Classed as a street-legal aircraft, the TF-X can recharge its batteries either from its mounted engine or by plugging it into electric car charging stations.

Source: Hybrid flying car shown off in vision of the future

Will Your Car Tattle on You?

Technology can often be both a blessing and a curse, as one driver found out when her smart car's safety features ended up implicating her in a hit-and-run accident.

Smart car + hit-and-run = Police on your doorstep

The combination of GPS navigation and automatic reporting is what spelled trouble for Cathy Bernstein, a 57-year-old resident of Port St. Lucie, Florida. According to report by the Washington Post, a Ford automobile driven by Bernstein was reportedly in an accident and the "911 Assist" feature automatically called emergency dispatchers to report the accident. This safety feature is supposed to help alert first responders when someone may have lost consciousness in an accident, but in Bernstein's case, the system ended up informing the authorities that there had been an accident and — perhaps the most crucial factor — providing her exact location.

WPBF-ABC noted that the 911 Assist call came right after local police responded to a reported hit-and-run accident in the area that injured a woman named Anna Preston, and reported more details about how Bernstein was caught:

Around the same time [as the accident], police dispatch got an automated call from a vehicle emergency system stating the owner of a Ford vehicle was involved in a crash and to press zero to speak with the occupants of the vehicle.

The person in the vehicle, Cathy Bernstein, told dispatch there had been no accident, that someone pulled out in front of her and that she was going home. She said she had not been drinking and didn't know why her vehicle had called for help.

Police went to Bernsteins's home on Northwest Foxworth Avenue and saw that her vehicle had extensive front-end damage and silver paint from Preston's vehicle on it. Bernstein's airbag had also been deployed.

After further questioning by police, Bernstein reportedly admitted that she had not only caused this accident, but that was actually her second hit-and-run accident of the day, and she had hit Preston's car while fleeing the scene of the first accident. As you might expect, they arrested her.

The feature is "opt-in," but do people really understand what that means?

WaPo talked to Alan Hall, a spokesman for Ford, and while he had never heard of 911 Assist being used in this way, he noted that from the reports he had seen, the feature had "worked exactly like it was supposed to," and could have been a lifesaver if the driver had passed out behind the wheel. "911 Assist can call for help, even if you can't," says the page on Ford's website promoting the service.

According to Hall, the 911 Assist feature is opt-in, so drivers have to turn the feature on and pair it with their cell phones in order for it to operate. But, as WaPo notes, the story "does raise the point that people may not realize what they're signing up for when they use the smart features on their cars."

A hit-and-run driver is far from a sympathetic figure (especially in cases like this one, where Bernstein allegedly had two such accidents in one day!) but constitutional rights are not granted to just the angels among us. These features are promoted as a way to summon help when you are injured, not to automatically report information to law enforcement when you might have done something wrong.

This story brings up a host of legal issues, perhaps most obviously the protections in the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination.

Normally, the police cannot search your vehicle without a warrant or some sort of probable cause, unless you consent to the search. So that's the critical question: when Bernstein opted-in to the 911 Assist system, did she consent to having the information gathered by the system provided to the police?

Prosecutors may point to the section of Ford's website, where they describe how 911 Assist functions:

If you are involved in an accident that deploys your vehicle's airbags—or, in some vehicles, activates the emergency fuel pump shut-off—911 Assist can use your Bluetooth-paired and connected phone to immediately place a call to a local 9-1-1 Call Taker. SYNC communicates the details of the accident, including the location upon request, to the Emergency Call Taker so that you can get the help you need.

In other words, if there is an accident, the technology "immediately" calls "a local 9-1-1 Call Taker." It's hard to argue that a reasonable person shouldn't assume that meant involving law enforcement. Ford is also upfront in disclosing that 911 Assist transmits the details of the accident, including the location "upon request" (presumably meaning if the 911 dispatcher requests that information, it will be provided).

The law does not require that Bernstein admit fault for the accident — excuse me, accidents — that she allegedly caused, but Florida law does prohibit leaving the scene of a car accident that involves property damage (Fla. Stat. Section 316.061) or bodily injury (Fla. Stat. Section 316.027) until she had fulfilled the duty under Section 316.062 to "give information and render aid." (basically, provide your name, address, vehicle registration, and driver's license, and to report the accident and summon medical help if needed).

Here, Bernstein's alleged flight from the scene of the hit-and-run accident was a crime in and of itself, a third degree felony to be precise. The police already knew that there had been a hit-and-run accident, because they were responding to Preston and getting her medical attention, but until Bernstein's car made that phone call, they did not know she was allegedly involved.

Challenge for the courts: catch up with technology

If Bernstein can successfully argue that she did not consent to provide the information, does she have any other protections? The answer to that question illustrates the difficulty courts have keeping up with rapidly developing technology.

A 2014 United States Supreme Court case, Riley v. California, made headlines when the Court ruled that the digital contents of a criminal defendant's cell phone could not be searched without a warrant, finding that modern cell phones function more like minicomputers and therefore warrant additional privacy protections. Police may search the body and surrounding area of a person when making an arrest, but, as Chief Justice John Roberts noted, "Digital data stored on a cell phone cannot itself be used as a weapon to harm an arresting officer or to effectuate the arrestee's escape," the common justifications for searches incident to arrest.

(For a more detailed discussion of this topic, including a Virginia case where the court ruled that after a warrant had been issued to search a cell phone's contents, the defendant could be forced to provide his fingerprint password, but not the numerical four digit passcode, see this post at American Criminal Law Review.)

Arguably, the type of information gathered by Ford cars equipped with the 911 Assist feature — the user's personal identification, contact information, and physical location — is similar to the type of information that the Supreme Court deemed protected in the Riley case.

In Riley, the Court said that police needed a warrant to access the cell phone's digital content. If the same argument is accepted in Bernstein's case, that would mean that the information the police obtained when they went to her house — the conversation in which she denied and then admitted the accident, their visual observations of the damage to her car — would be inadmissible evidence, as "fruits of the poisonous tree," or evidence obtained from improper sources.

Practically, however, that is unlikely to provide complete protection for Bernstein, as the police could then pull the call information from the 911 dispatcher's records, which include Bernstein's phone number and a recording of her voice. Add in any records produced from subpoenaing Ford, and prosecutors should have circumstantial evidence to support their case.

Is it really consent when you can't avoid it?

Technology like 911 Assist is becoming increasingly popular, and will likely soon be standard equipment in automobiles. Hall, the Ford spokesman, told WaPo that at least 10 million Ford cars are on the road right now with this capability. Other car manufacturers have been rolling out their own similar technology, and these devices are scheduled to be in all cars in the European Union starting in April 2018.

If this technology becomes ubiquitous, especially if the ability to turn off the feature is eliminated, then it becomes harder to argue that drivers are consenting to providing this information. Additionally, a driver who borrows the car of a family member or friend could be unaware that this technology had been activated. There are limits to this argument, as the numerous cases out there where a teenage driver was caught by a red light camera in Mom or Dad's car can attest.

And what if the technology becomes mandatory? Congress has passed a number of vehicle safety laws over the years, from requiring shoulder harness safety belts to airbags, and we generally view these as a positive development. But a seat belt does not call the police and tell them anything about you.

There's been a similar debate over the past few years regarding ignition interlock devices, which Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) advocates to be installed in the cars of anyone convicted of a drunk driving offense. The controversy arises from the fact that MADD has lobbied for national adoption of this technology in a way that many attorneys and motorist associations worry could result in forcing the devices to be installed in all new cars.

Policy makers need to evaluate the impact technology has on privacy and rights

We're in a period of amazing technological advances. While I'm still bitter that I don't have a flying car like The Jetsons led me to believe we would have by now, as someone who is admittedly a bit directionally challenged, the widespread availability of GPS navigation systems and smartphones has been an absolute godsend, and has made it a lot easier to travel safely and independently.

But there are drawbacks, and using your iPhone to find the best route to your favorite tacos means you are creating a incredibly detailed digital trail, and privacy advocates have been correctly voicing concerns about how this data is collected, how it is stored, and to whom that data is reported. As I wrote above, an alleged twice-in-one day hit-and-run driver wins few sympathy points, but the story does raise important questions about how our technology functions, how we want to define our privacy rights, and how the two intersect.

Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter: @rumpfshaker.

Source: Will Your Car Tattle on You?

Hybrid flying car shown off in vision of the future

Terrafugia, a company that is hoping to launch a flying car, has showed a vision of the future.

Still in the early stages of development, the TF-X should be seen in the next eight to ten years.

Forecast to have a range of 500 miles thanks to its hybrid power layout, the TF-X will be able to cruise at up to 200mph, while also being able to auto-land and automatically avoid other air traffic or bad weather.

Terrafugia envisage the TF-X to cost around the same as a premium car, despite the technology that it will incorporate.

The company also believes that learning how to operate the TF-X will take a lot less time than with a conventional aircraft, owing to the ability to change between either manual or automatic flying modes.

Classed as a street-legal aircraft, the TF-X can recharge its batteries either from its mounted engine or by plugging it into electric car charging stations.

Source: Hybrid flying car shown off in vision of the future

Watch: The mind-blowing science, risks and bravery behind Rohit Shetty’s flying cars in Dilwale!

If you were ever asked to summarize a Rohit Shetty movie or identify it based on pictures, both will require the use of one object- cars.His movies may or may not have a plot or logic, but what they'll have in abundance are cars. And, he usually doesn't stop at that. He'll go ahead and destroy it too.

Shetty's penchant for cars and his need for action have played an integral part in all of his movies; so much that they've become a defining trait while identifying his style of film-making.

But, while we look starry-eyed at the screen every time a scene in his movie involves blowing up cars, we're also quick to criticize him for wasting money on blowing up cars and if that really makes any sense?

Shetty himself isn't clueless about all the accusations leveled at him for all the action stunts he has pulled off or tries to pull off in any movie.

And, in a new video uploaded by th e Dilwale team on their Facebook page, Shetty comes clean and takes us- the ever-faithful audience (who lap up all of his movies, but not without discharging our duty of criticizing every bit of it, as well) inside his world where stunts are the way of life.

In the almost 12 minute long video, Shetty is at his candid best, wherein he talks of about how unfair it is that people talk only about him blowing up cars and how that is a waste and refuse to dwell on how he and his team work tirelessly through the night before the stunt to ensure that the car is 100% safe for the stuntman sitting inside it.

He reveals that for Dilwale, there were a total of three stunt teams- one his own, and the other two being the Bulgarian and the South African stunt team needed to ensure his vision makes its way seamlessly into the big screen.

In an emotional candor, he states how it requires around 150-200 men to put their life to risk just so that his vision for an action sequence is brought alive, and no one can understand what he goes through knowing that, because at the end they're his responsibility. He adds how after the action sequence i shot, the first thought that comes to his mind is not whether the sequence has been shot properly but whether the man making the sequence possible is safe and sound. At that moment, he says all of them are a team who rush to see to it that the stunt man is alive and kicking!

Watch the video if you (like me) are one of those who've written Shetty off for 'blowing up way too many cars' and not thought about the other side. Or about the numerous stunt men who perform these life-threatening stunts for our entertainment.

Here's a look at the heart behind all the action

A salute to the stuntmen who risk their lives for our entertainment! Watch the Heart that goes Behind the Action!

Posted by Dilwale on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The video which features lots of cars, Shetty in his natural form, glimpses of Shahrukh Khan (yay) and stunts and the immense hard work and courage required to bring them alive, is certainly not for the faint-hearted!

Image credit: Indiatimes

Source: Watch: The mind-blowing science, risks and bravery behind Rohit Shetty's flying cars in Dilwale!

Microsoft tries to predict your future, no flying cars foreseen

It's that time of the year where predictions start flying. Most companies have a roadmap for what will really happen, but predictions about what's possible are always fun. It's shocking how many old science fiction books got it right with things like video phone calls and more. Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov did an especially good job nailing things down.

Now Microsoft is getting in on the action, with predictions for 2016 and beyond. These come from Microsoft's technology and research division, so it gets more attention, given these are the people working on these things.

Chris Bishop, managing director of Microsoft Research, writes "During 2016 we will see the emergence of new silicon architectures that are tuned to the intensive workloads of machine learning, offering a major performance boost over GPUs". Looking further ahead to 2026 Bishop foresees human-quality translation of all European languages.

Doug Burger, Director of Hardware, Devices, and Experiences at Microsoft Research NExT, sees 2016 bringing specialized compute acceleration in the cloud and 2026 will bring "a partial shift away from von Neumann computing for computation-intensive workloads, resulting in massive cost efficiencies and reduced latencies. This shift will enable many advances in deep personalization, such as intelligent computing assistants that can know you intimately and can serve you well, great productivity enhancers at work, and saving lives with highly personalized medicine".

Lili Cheng, of Microsoft NExT, expects more mediation in online chat, blurring the way we think of devices. In 2026 she envisions every school child to learn how to code -- perhaps a bit ambitious.

You can read all of the predictions here. Each person tried to envision both 2016 and the next ten years. There are some fascinating things, though likely nothing that will blow your mind.

Image Credit: hidesy / Shutterstock

Source: Microsoft tries to predict your future, no flying cars foreseen

Microsoft Research 2016 predictions: More online video, new processor tech

For Back to the Future fans, the real 2015 was a bit of a disappointment. No hoverboards. No flying cars. The Cubs didn't win the World Series. And shockingly enough, wearing two ties somehow didn't become fashionable. Huh.

2016 may not fulfill those 1980s fantasies either, but the folks working in Microsoft's research labs think it may still offer up some interesting technological advancements. The company published 16 predictions of what advancements Microsoft Research employees expect to see next year, as well as a look ahead to ten years from now. Their predictions are pretty far-reaching, from new processor tech to more ethical big data. Here are some highlights.

The Internet overtakes TV: Hsiao-Wuen Hon, the corporate vice president for Microsoft Research Asia, expects online video distribution to "overtake TV broadcast in 2016, and that "more people in China will watch the Olympics through the Web than through TV." In other words, now might be a good time for TV broadcasters to stop fighting against cord-cutting and to truly embrace the Internet-connected future of entertainment.

The stylus comes of age: Principal Researcher Bill Buxton expects to see pen-based computing come into its own in 2016. This prediction seems reasonable enough, especially considering the fact that Apple has added stylus support to the iPad line with the Apple Pencil and the iPad Pro.

Planned obsolesce is so last year: Buxton also foresees a shift in consumer priorities when it comes to tech: "The age of digital baubles, do-dads and planned obsolescence will begin to fade, and the focus of industry and consumers will shift from technology, per se, to enhanced human experience, values, and potential."

Brand new processor types: Chris Bishop of Microsoft Research's Cambridge, UK outfit predicts a whole new class of microprocessors "that are tuned to the intensive workloads of machine learning, offering a major performance boost over GPUs." But will they run Crysis?

Ethics in big data becomes a big deal: The privacy implications of data collection is an ongoing topic of debate, and according to Principal Researcher Kate Crawford, 2016 will be an ethical tipping point of sorts. She expects to see data science programs adopt data ethics curriculums in order to better understand "the human implications of large-scale data collection and experimentation." It's about time.

Hop on over to Microsoft's website and give the full post a read. Only time will tell which of these, if any, will come true, but Microsoft Research's predictions make for an interesting read if you're into these sorts of prognostications. 

Source: Microsoft Research 2016 predictions: More online video, new processor tech

Liam Payne wants to quit smoking

One Direction singer Liam Payne says his new year's resolution is to give up smoking.

READ: Liam Payne buys Harry Potter's flying car

Listen to One Direction songs on Gaana.com

Payne has set his resolution to "grow up" and stop the bad habit but admits it will be tough, reports people.com.

"I'm going to try and give up smoking, which is hard, but I do want to. I want to. It's about time. Need to grow up now," he said,

For latest Music updates follow us on Twitter >>> @TOIEntertain

Payne's bandmate Niall Horan has an equally health-driven goal for 2016, to spend more time training in the gym.

"I'm going to train, succeed in the gym this year. I always do it when I'm on tour and then when I get home, I'm c**p," he said.

For the latest in Music news, like us on Facebook >>> TOIEntertain

"Yeah, I would like to succeed properly and get the job done."

WATCH: One Direction - Drag Me Down

Stay updated on the go w ith Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

Source: Liam Payne wants to quit smoking

McLaren teases the future of Formula 1 cars, MP4-X in pictures

We may not have reached the flying car races of the future that games like Wipeout predicted, but Formula 1 is still evolving fast. A look at the next jump in that evolution has been shown of by McLaren in its MP4-X.

McLaren has spent a lot of time and energy working out where Formula 1 cars can go next. The result is an insanely detailed concept for its McLaren MP4-X car which makes current F1 motors look like soapbox racers.

The car features a more aerodynamic design including a closed cockpit. This is something that's been in debate for some time and it could offer drivers more protection in the event of an accident.

The MP4-X is designed to harness alternative power sources, the chassis changes shape to adapt to aerodynamic demands and it can communicate directly via holographics.

John Allert, group brand director, McLaren Technology Group, says: "We have combined a number of F1's key ingredients – speed, excitement and performance, with the sport's emerging narratives - such as enclosed cockpits to enhance driver safety, and hybrid power technologies."

Check out the above gallery to see the car in all its glory and learn more about the tech McLaren has crammed into the wonder machine.

READ: These are the Formula 1 cars of the future that could change everything

Source: McLaren teases the future of Formula 1 cars, MP4-X in pictures

Meet Snowstorm, the flying car for the drone generation

Ever sat in your chair at work or school, wishing you could just fly away? Well, it seems some engineering students from the National University of Singapore may have felt that same yearning and taken the feeling all too literal, having built the country's very first personal flying machine.

Dubbed Snowstorm, this personal aircraft is reportedly capable of flying a seated person for a duration of around five minutes (though the video below is much, much shorter than that) and is powered entirely by electricity.

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Looking a bit like a giant drone, the Snowstorm has a strong hexagonal frame built from anodized aluminium poles, Kevlar ropes and carbon fiber plating.

A seat hangs down from the middle of the Snowstorm's frame from a 3D-printed mount, allowing its pilot to sit and control the aircraft's thrust, pitch, roll, and yaw using a specially designed control system.

Fly me through the room

The team has also implemented a group of six landing legs with inflatable balls on the ends, allowing for more comfortable landings, though at present, flight tests have only occurred indoors.

The Snowstorm, which took a team of eight students a year to make, is powered by rechargeable lithium batteries and features 24 motors with propellers which allow it to take off vertically.

So far, the team is still fine-tuning the aircraft's various programmed flight modes and safety systems, though it hopes to release a recreational version that's ready for public flights in the not-too-distant future.

Check out a video of the Snowstorm's (very short) maiden flight below.

Source: Meet Snowstorm, the flying car for the drone generation

Flying car crashes into mini-van

A car flew through the air and landed on another vehicle Monday morning on Langley's 200th Street during rush hour.

One man was taken to hospital with broken bones, while the other driver now faces charges, police say.

At 7:20 a.m., a silver Nissan was heading south in the 6900 block of 200th Street, said Cpl. Holly Largy.

According to witnesses, the car lost control and collided with the central median, sending its front wheels flying into the air. Its back wheels also hit the median and the car was almost vertical for a moment.

It then slammed down onto the hood of a mini-van heading north on 200th Street.

The mini-van driver was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster with broken bones.

The Nissan drriver, a 23-year-old from Coquitlam, suffered scrapes and bruises. He had been driving the car without insurance, Largy said.

The Nissan driver was arrested and RCMP are recommending he be charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He is expected to appear in court on March 4.

Both cars are also being mechanically inspected, said Largy.

Source: Flying car crashes into mini-van

Hot New Interactive Barbie Toy Will Spy On You And Your Children, Hooray!

is this thing on? can you hear me now?

Man, living in the future was supposed to include jet packs and flying cars, but instead all we got was terrorists who keep thinking of innovative ways to blow stuff up so we to take off our goddamn shoes at the airport. Oh, and we got a Barbie that can be hacked to spy on you and your precious babbies.

Wait what?

Yes, from the department of Literally Everyone On Earth Could Have Predicted This comes the news that this season's hot new toy that your child will whine about until you just break down and buy it for them, Hello Barbie, can have the wifi hijacked. Merry Christmas!

The Hello Barbie doll is billed as the world's first "interactive doll" capable of listening to a child and responding via voice, in a similar way to Apple's Siri, Google's Now and Microsoft's Cortana. […]

But US security researcher Matt Jakubowski discovered that when connected to Wi-Fi the doll was vulnerable to hacking, allowing him easy access to the doll's system information, account information, stored audio files and direct access to the microphone.

Can we first take a moment and talk about how "Hacking Beloved Children's Toys" is probably a much better job than anything you do, particularly if you toil in ye old blogging content mines?

OK, now that you're thoroughly depressed, take several more minutes to marvel at anyone being surprised by this because OF COURSE SWEET JESUS BARBIE COULD BE HACKED. Everything can be hacked because nothing gold can stay. Your browser — yes, yours, we do not care what type you are using — is vulnerable, Siri will probably become sentient soon, Jeeps can be hacked to be killed on the highway mid-drive, which is a thing that should actually keep you up at night. Did you really think that creepy people on God's green Earth couldn't figure out a way to turn Barbie — sweet, innocent Barbie — into what is basically a nanny cam with tits?

SPONSORED INTERMISSION

OK, let's calm down. It probably isn't that bad. I mean, should you really care if strangers on the Internet can listen in on little Justin or Justine demanding that Barbie tell them right this minute how to get a pony for their birthday? OK, actually, yes, you probably should care about that, and some parents already banded together to grumble about how they were super-skeeved out by Hello NSA Spy Barbie recording all the words of their special snowflakes and storing them on the Internet somewhere, but you should save your real freakout for this:

It was the ease with which the doll was compromise that was most concerning. The information stored by the doll could allow hackers to take over a home Wi-Fi network and from there gain access to other internet connected devices, steal personal information and cause other problems for the owners, potentially without their knowledge.

Oh.

You know what? This Christmas, just find the kids a couple rocks to bang together or a bundle of twigs or literally anything that cannot be connected to the Internet ever. It's the only safe course of action.

[Guardian / CBC News]

Source: Hot New Interactive Barbie Toy Will Spy On You And Your Children, Hooray!

Mystery behind China's 'flying cars' solved; video goes viral

Here's why those three cars in China suddenly started levitatingScreenshot

A few days ago, CCTV footage of three vehicles levitating for few seconds at a busy intersection in Xingtai, China, in mid-November started doing the rounds of social media.

While many thought it was some paranormal activity or a gravity-defying accident, the mystery behind this unusual incident has now been solved.

Chinese state media reports that the bizarre incident happened as the cars got tangled around the brushes of a street-sweeping vehicle.

"I was driving slowly straight ahead. All of a sudden, I was lifted up. The street cleaner car snagged on the wire. The wire just so happened to be underneath our car and it sent us flying," one of the drivers was quoted by fox8.com as saying.

However, long before the reason behind the incident came to light, the footage was shared by thousands of people on social media.

Watch the video here:

Article Published: December 1, 2015 12:58 IST

Source: Mystery behind China's 'flying cars' solved; video goes viral