radar

BMW established its 7-series as a tech powerhouse, so adding a hybrid system is like sprinkling a little extra crazy on top of Charlie Sheen. The 7-series already features a strong array of driver assistance features, such as a night vision system, a navigation system with lush topographic maps, and an audio system that produces superb sound and includes onboard music storage on the car's hard drive.

But with the ActiveHybrid 7, BMW also demonstrates that it can do a gas electric hybrid powertrain. Although the car gets the best fuel economy of the 7-series model line, it is hardly a fuel sipper. Rather, the hybrid powertrain makes it the second most powerful of BMW's 7-series models, right below the V-12 760i. More power and better fuel economy? That seems like a worthwhile addition.

Read our full review of the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7. … Read more

See that kid slouching against the wall? He might be "sensing" through it with his backpack.

Cambridge Consultants has a new through-wall radar that's compact and inconspicuous. The Prism 200c can fit in a backpack and still tell you if there are people on the other side of a wall.

Users simply lean against a wall with the backpack and monitor the room on the other side with any portable electronic device linked to the backpack.

The device has batteries that can last up to eight hours. It can sense through brick as well as concrete walls.

Radar sensing through walls is a technology that's been around for some time (including in handheld formats), and even mobile robots are touting the sensor arrays that can see through concrete walls for military applications.

Targets generally have to move or breathe to be detected. The technology can't discriminate between humans and animals or other moving objects.

Cambridge's latest radar follows the arm-operated Prism 200, which is being used by police and military personnel around the world. There's a video of it here.

The company plans to show off the Prism 200c at Global Security Asia 2011 in Singapore this month. … Read more

Since Jaguar changed ownership from Ford to Tata, the company might be forgiven some time spent finding focus, but the new XJ Supersport shows that the company hasn't missed a stride. This car, while showing off a new era of Jaguar design, embodies all we would expect from a sport/luxury sedan. A supercharged V-8 gives it immense power, while road-holding technologies give it good cornering capability.

Cutting-edge tech includes a virtual instrument cluster, providing excellent display flexibility but unfortunate graphics. The stereo is the real luxury element here, a system designed by Bowers and Wilkins with 20 speakers … Read more

Volvo earned its safety reputation by equipping its cars with heavy metal, making them big, boxy tanks able to protect occupants from a nuclear blast. But it's the 21st century, and Volvo has gone high-tech, using electronics to actually prevent accidents. Hence the automatic braking, collision warning, and pedestrian detection on the new Volvo S60.

But this car has more to offer than just not hitting people and other cars. Its engine makes it step lively, while a tight suspension and all-wheel drive deliver impressive handling. It is the kind of car that should have BMW engineers looking over … Read more

Mercedes-Benz does not shy away from tech for its top-tier cars; these vehicles have every new electronic feature the company can conceive. For the CL550, that means adaptive cruise control that can bring the car to a complete stop when traffic ahead halts, a split-view front LCD letting the passenger watch a movie while the driver views the navigation system, and night vision, which uses infrared projectors and a camera to show the driver the road on dark nights.

Although we've seen some of these features before in other Mercedes-Benz cars, the CL550 also debuts a new engine, a … Read more

With GPS devices popping up in everything from cars to cell phones these days, getting lost is getting harder. But what are the GPS-dependent to do when a blocked satellite signal confuses their wanderings (besides panic and curl up in the fetal position)?

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Carnegie Mellon University think they've come up with a solution: a shoe radar system that likely will never make it onto the average Joe's sneaker but could have implications for the military and those who work in mines, tunnels, and other remote or high-risk environments.

The prototype system involves a portable radar sensor that attaches to a shoe's heel and also hooks up to a small navigation computer that tracks the distance between your heel and the ground. If that distance doesn't change over a set period of time, the computer figures your foot is stationary.

The low-power system works in conjunction with an inertial measurement unit, or IMU, an electronic device that measures acceleration and deceleration to determine speed and distance traveled. IMUs are frequently used to supplement GPS devices once a satellite signal drops (if you entered a remote canyon, you could use the IMU to retrace your steps to the last known GPS location and find your way back out).

But IMUs can be faulty, as minor errors can accumulate, leading to an increasing difference between where the system thinks it's located, and where it's actually positioned. … Read more

Find My Phone is a free app that can help you locate your missing iPhone 4, iPad, or fourth-generation iPod Touch, and it can even remotely lock or wipe all data from the device. This free, app-assisted service (which requires iOS 4.2, as well as setting up a MobileMe Free account) was previously available only to paid MobileMe subscribers.

Not surprisingly, you will likely never use this app from your device itself, but rather from your Mac (you just go to me.com/find in your browser) or from another device (one that you own, or a friend's--any … Read more

Jeep made great strides with the new Grand Cherokee, coming up with a premium SUV showing off very nice cabin trim and full-featured electronics. What really impressed us is the Grand Cherokee's comfortable on-road manners, and its ability to tackle very rugged terrain. We weren't quite as impressed with the power train, which lags behind other automakers' level of technology. And the cabin tech interface is a little rough. But features such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection, and an available Wi-Fi hot spot show that Jeep is looking toward the future.

Check out our 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 Limited review. … Read more

DETROIT -- Global platform sharing and safety regulations are driving automotive technology at a frenetic rate. Supplier TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. says it can capitalize on this trend with its safety technologies.

For example, TRW offers lane-keeping assist technology, which steers a car toward the middle of a lane when a camera sees a driver is drifting toward a divider line.

The industry downturn cut TRW's global revenue 23 percent in 2009. But the suburban Detroit supplier has rebounded. For the first nine months, revenues jumped 30 percent to $10.67 billion and net income was $630 million, compared with a loss of $86 million a year earlier.

TRW's largest business lines are chassis systems and occupant safety systems. But its active safety electronics segment -- the company's smallest -- is poised to grow the most from the globalization trend in platforms and safety rules. The segment accounted for only 5 percent, or $600 million, of its global sales of $11.6 billion last year

'A great enabler'

"The march toward global platforms has enabled suppliers to commonize components across a wide array of global vehicles, and the amount of divergence in regulations is closing every day," said Michael Robinet, director of global production forecasts at IHS Automotive Group in suburban Detroit. "That becomes a great enabler for TRW."

TRW isn't the only supplier benefitting from those trends. Other suppliers of active-safety gear include Continental AG, Takata Corp., Denso Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH and Delphi Automotive.

One side effect of global platforms is that new technologies are being rolled out in previously low-tech markets, Robinet said.

"Electronics are a whole new area of expansion because of common vehicle architecture," he said. "The fact that the world is getting smaller is a good thing for the proliferation of technology."

The global market for camera-based lane departure warning or assistance systems is small now but will continue to grow, said Martin Thoone, TRW's vice president of electronics engineering.

"The majority of the business will remain in Europe and Japan," he said. "But we're predicting a quarter of the business will be in North America by 2014."

Europe accounts for 58 percent of TRW's business. North America makes up 26 percent, and the rest of the world accounts for 17 percent. … Read more