Audi Car Concept Sees 62 Speakers Added For 360 Surround Sound [Cars]

Considering my car is bombed out in a shed somewhere, I'd be happy with any car—but given half the chance I'd love to see this Audi Q7, complete with all 62 speakers, in my garage.

It's the Audi Sound Concept, which sees the car manufacturer's engineers cramming in 52 mid-range speakers, five woofers and five tweeters into one of their small Q7 cars, with speakers hidden in the dashboard, ceiling and doors. Sound like overkill? It probably is—but Audi's used "wave field synthesis," an audio rendering technique which doesn't have many compatible audio tracks that are playable with the audio system, so this is very much a prototype showing The Future, if nothing else.

If the car ever does turn up on a showroom floor, good luck driving it away on holiday—there's no boot to stow your luggage, with most of it being used to hold the amplifier and cables.

What a shame only 32 tracks can be played on the system so far. If I was driving that baby, I'd crank up some Queen extra-loud.

[Gizmodo via Gizmag]

Google Earth Comes to Audi A8 [Maps]

Yes, plenty of cars have built-in GPS navigation. But up until now, no car had Google Earth integrated, but now Audi has remedied that with their new luxury car, the Audi A8.

Snugged right into the LCD screen in the car, the Google Earth application will let lucky owners look at 3D satellite imagery, terrain information, and even additional info layers such as Wikipedia articles or Panoramio images related to a certain location.

A8’s system will also feature Google Maps and Local Search, plus the ability to link it all with your desktop computer. To save time, you can simply search for an address on your computer and send it to the car; when you start driving, the car will know where to go.




However, if you’re not familiar with German manufacturer’s luxury cars, lets just say that only those with the deepest pockets will be buying one. The rest of us will have to make do with an iPhone stand and the Google Earth mobile app.

[Mashable]

The 2011 Audi A8 bests K.I.T.T. in the gadget department

Cars are increasingly becoming more circuits than gears and the 2011 Audi A8 is a prime example of this transformation. There is likely more tech packed in the full-size Audi sedan than the International Space Station. In fact, if you think the laptop steering wheel table is the ultimate driver distraction, click the read link below to see what the flagship Audi packs.
First, let’s start with the creature comforts.

• Heated, cooled, and massaging seats
• Standard 12-way adjustable seats or optional 22-way adjustable optional seats
• Vibration-canceling motor in the steering wheel
• Interior LED ambient lighting system
• Four climate zones

Entertainment system

• Standard 14 speaker Bose system or optional 1,400 Watt, 19 speaker Bang & Olufsen system
• Google maps-enabled GPS system with handwriting input mode
• 8-inch LCD info screen
• 20GB hard drive
• WiFi, USB, and AUX-inputs
• Dual 10.2-inch rear seat displays with its own DVD player, 20GB hard drive, and controls
• WLAN via UMTS that turns the car into a mobile HotSpot

Safety equipment

• Night vision
• R8-style LED headlights
• Adaptive cruise control
• Radar that detect collisions that automatically tight seat belts and adjusts seats
• Speed limit camera that actually reads roadside signs and displays them as graphics on the dash

Of course the A8 has the powertrain to back up this massive saloon with an 8-speed tiptronic system and quattro permanent all-wheel drive, along with a direct fuel injection 372 HP V8 engine. Too bad Audi hasn’t announced the price yet, but chances are it doesn’t matter. The only people that can probably afford all this luxurious Audi technology are those that will likely be overwhelmed by it. Or douchebag bankers.

[CrunchGear]

MIT's AIDA Robot Is Going To Be The Ultimate Backseat Driver [Robots]

Actually, the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) won't be riding in the backseat, it's mounted right on the dashboard—but it will make comments on how you drive. It also reacts to your emotional state and helps you navigate.

In other words, AIDA is like your highway helper. A robot pal you can bond with on those long lonely trips. Kind of like a naggy, whiny version of Kitt.

To identify the set of goals the driver would like to achieve, AIDA analyses the driver's mobility patterns, keeping track of common routes and destinations. AIDA draws on an understanding of the city beyond what can be seen through the windshield, incorporating real-time event information and knowledge of environmental conditions, as well as commercial activity, tourist attractions, and residential areas.
'When it merges knowledge about the city with an understanding of the driver's priorities and needs, AIDA can make important inferences,' explains Assaf Biderman, associate director of the SENSEable City Lab. 'Within a week AIDA will have figured out your home and work location. Soon afterwards the system will be able to direct you to your preferred grocery store, suggesting a route that avoids a street fair-induced traffic jam. On the way AIDA might recommend a stop to fill up your tank, upon noticing that you are getting low on gas,' says Biderman. 'AIDA can also give you feedback on your driving, helping you achieve more energy efficiency and safer behavior.'

Oh, and did I mention that it emotes with facial expressions? I have plenty of relatives that are perfectly willing to bitch about my driving as it is. On the other hand, maybe AIDA will qualify a an additional passenger on HOV lanes—then maybe it can tag along.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — MIT researchers and designers are developing the Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) - a new in-car personal robot that aims to change the way we interact with our car. The project is a collaboration between the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab, MIT's SENSEable City Lab and the Volkswagen Group of America's Electronics Research Lab.
'With the ubiquity of sensors and mobile computers, information about our surroundings is ever abundant. AIDA embodies a new effort to make sense of these great amounts of data, harnessing our personal electronic devices as tools for behavioral support,' comments professor Carlo Ratti, director of the SENSEable City Lab. 'In developing AIDA we asked ourselves how we could design a system that would offer the same kind of guidance as an informed and friendly companion.'
AIDA communicates with the driver through a small robot embedded in the dashboard. 'AIDA builds on our long experience in building sociable robots,' explains professor Cynthia Breazeal, director of the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab. 'We are developing AIDA to read the driver's mood from facial expression and other cues and respond in a socially appropriate and informative way.'
AIDA communicates in a very immediate way: with the seamlessness of a smile or the blink of an eye. Over time, the project envisions that a kind of symbiotic relationship develops between the driver and AIDA, whereby both parties learn from each other and establish an affective bond.
To identify the set of goals the driver would like to achieve, AIDA analyses the driver's mobility patterns, keeping track of common routes and destinations. AIDA draws on an understanding of the city beyond what can be seen through the windshield, incorporating real-time event information and knowledge of environmental conditions, as well as commercial activity, tourist attractions, and residential areas.
'When it merges knowledge about the city with an understanding of the driver's priorities and needs, AIDA can make important inferences,' explains Assaf Biderman, associate director of the SENSEable City Lab. 'Within a week AIDA will have figured out your home and work location. Soon afterwards the system will be able to direct you to your preferred grocery store, suggesting a route that avoids a street fair-induced traffic jam. On the way AIDA might recommend a stop to fill up your tank, upon noticing that you are getting low on gas,' says Biderman. 'AIDA can also give you feedback on your driving, helping you achieve more energy efficiency and safer behavior.'
AIDA was developed in partnership with Audi, a premium brand of the Volkswagen Group, and the Volkswagen Group of America's Electronics Research Lab. The AIDA team is directed by Professor Cynthia Breazeal, Carlo Ratti, and Assaf Biderman. The SENSEable City Lab team includes team leader Giusy di Lorenzo and includes Francisco Pereira, Fabio Pinelli, Pedro Correia, E Roon Kang, Jennifer Dunnam, and Shaocong Zhou. The Personal Robots Group's technical and aesthetic team includes Mikey Siegel, Fardad Faridi and Ryan Wistort as well as videographers Paula Aguilera and Jonathan Williams. Chuhee Lee and Charles Lee represent the Volkswagen Group of America's Electronics Research Lab.

[Gizmodo via MIT]