Based on the US company"s...
Based on the US company"s SRX off-roader chassis, the Villa is a hi-tech tourer designed for 2015. Its tall barn-style doors open out and up from the centre, creating a vast space for easy access. The top edges of each door curve through 90 degrees to meet up in the middle and form the roof.
A British designer has...
A British designer has found a new way to direct drivers without them having to take their eyes off the road!
Royal College of Art stylist Gail Knight has come up with the bright idea of using vibrating rings, instead of voice commands or on-screen maps, to get motorists from A to B.
These slip on to the fingers – one for each hand – and they then prompt the driver to make left and right turns by the buzz sent to the corresponding ring. If the wearer is going in completely the wrong direction, both rings vibrate.
The kit, which is currently still at the prototype stage, works via an electronic compass and global positioning system (GPS) software, both of which help to navigate the wearer to their destination postcode.
The system is expected to be small enough to use on foot, and could help motorists find their way around foreign cities once they’ve parked. This isn’t the only sat-nav innovation that’s heading our way – a Korean firm has created a portable guidance set-up which includes black box technology that records evidence of any crash.
Called Black Eagle, it features in-built cameras which constantly monitor what’s going on around the vehicle. If the driver is involved in a collision, sensors are triggered moments before impact, and 18 seconds of footage is captured. This includes six seconds of material caught in the lead-up to the smash. Owners of the Black Eagle can then use this footage as evidence to help decide blame in any insurance disputes.
The device goes on sale in Korea this month, priced at around ÷£300. Other neat additions include lane-changing sensors to warn if you are weaving across the carriageway, plus built-in traffic congestion monitoring.