Although March saw 34mm...
Although March saw 34mm more rainfall and was an average 2.5 degrees colder than the same month last year, registrations of the 307 CC have risen by 27 per cent. A spokesman said: "Regardless of the changeable weather, our customers have a love affair with open-top motoring."
Technicians at Fiat...
Technicians at Fiat are employing world-leading robotic technology to perfect the company"s cabin designs, and believe this sophisticated "exoskeleton" (see image) will allow them to explore the interiors of vehicles which exist only in virtual reality. In order to work the arm, a volunteer sits in a simulator which generates a 3D illusion of the inside of the new car.
The engineers then strap on the exoskeleton arm, which twists and turns along with their movements to help the wearer feel as though they are interacting with genuine objects. If they reach to the windscreen, for example, the exoskeleton will freeze as though their hand has hit the glass. And if the volunteer tries to move a virtual gearstick, they have to put as much effort into it as if it was the real thing, instead of an illusion.
The exoskeleton can also record every move the wearer makes. Only when the boffins have found that everything in the virtual car is designed perfectly to fit the driver"s needs would the first prototypes be built.