Hammer honk
Tesla owners were gifted with a software update on Dec. 24, including features like improved Tesla Neural Net for identifying traffic lights and signs; convenience additions like more voice commands and hands-free launching of applications; and, of course, the ability to automatically save a dashcam video with a simple honk of the horn.
On Dec. 28, a YouTube video revealed what could be one of the first real-world applications of the ‘honk-and-save’ feature.
Posted by the Tesla Revolution YouTube channel, the two-minute clip from a Model 3 dashcam shows a driver cruising down the middle lane on Ontario’s 406 highway. A taxi passes the Model 3 on the right, disturbing a rogue hammer left on the road. The hammer bounces down the highway before catapulting straight into the Model 3’s windshield.
As Tesla Revolution tells it, the only reason this footage exists is because the Model 3 driver honked the horn.
The idea for the novelty feature appears to have been pitched back in November when a Tesla owner took to Twitter to share his ideas with the company’s CEO, Elon Musk.
“Thoughts on saving dashcam footage when honking the horn?” the driver pitched to Musk via Twitter.
“Yeah, makes sense,” Musk replied.
Six weeks later, it became a real thing.
Making scents of road safety
A Tel Aviv, Israel startup company says it has figured out how to use scents to alter human behaviour, improve performance, enhance feelings of wellbeing and even increase vehicular safety.
Moodify’s concept may seem ripped from the plot of a sci-fi film, but at a private media event at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, Yigal Sharon, the company’s CEO and co-founder says it’s all backed by scientific fact.
So far, Moodify’s range includes four shades: ‘Moodify White’ operates like a volume knob, essentially designed to ‘turn down’ the intensity of undesirable smells. According to Sharon, Moodify White can be used to make ride-hailing vehicles and rental cars more pleasant.
“‘Moodify Blue’ can calm you down,” Sharon told CNET, maintaining that the tone has the ability to reduce stress and agitation.
‘Moodify Green’ is still under development but is designed to increase alertness and awareness. Sharon said it is essentially a synthetic version of the pheromones found in the sweat generated by people in fearful situations.
Finally, ‘Moodify Red’ is designed to wake a person up, keeping them aware and alert for up to 20 minutes.
“[This] smell technology has a very good possibility to save lives,” said Sharon. “Accidents that are caused by drowsy drivers or by microsleep could be totally avoided by using this kind of smell. And you cannot resist it the same way you can an audio or visual alert.
“I can tell you that all major OEMs are in touch with us,” Sharon told CNET.
In fact, in September, Toyota’s Silicon Valley, Calif.-based venture capital firm, Toyota AI Ventures, invested $1.6 million in the company.
Lane switch
Delta, British Columbia’s Alex Fraser Bridge is taking rush hour relief to the next level with the ‘road zipper’, a truck that manually switches the direction of the bridge’s counterflow lane twice a day.
In mid-December, work crews finished reconfiguring the six dedicated northbound and southbound lanes to make room for a seventh lane and installing a movable centre barrier, opening the new lane to southbound traffic. The movable centre barrier allows for the ‘road zipper’ to swoop in and change the lane’s direction according to traffic flow.
Every morning at 4:30 a.m., the road zipper takes to the bridge to prepare for the northbound commute. It hits the road again at 11:30 a.m. before the afternoon rush heads south.
The movable lane could cut 20 minutes off the daily commute for motorists travelling during both morning and afternoon rush hours, according to officials.
