Electrical diagrams are hard to read for all but the most mechanically-inclined, and the ones for the power windows on cars are notoriously complicated. This three-part video will teach you how to read these diagrams and make sense of what you see. Part 1 of 3 - How to Read a ...more
November 29th marks the day of Nissan's triumph, not only as an automaker, but as an eco-friendly automaker. The new Nissan LEAF has won the 2011 European Car of the Year award, the first all-electric vehicle to be chosen for the award. LEAF is actually a backronym, meaning: ...more
Those going on crazy off-road adventures, taking their inspiration from various SUV commercials, are likely to encounter many unexpected, all-terrain dangers. Automaker Mitsubishi is ready to put those dangers in the foreground with augmented reality warnings on a heads-up-di ...more
Are you thinking of trading in your 6mpg Hummer for something a little more efficient? Well, if you've got an electric or hybrid car in mind, this video will show you how to make a choice that works for you. With a little program called Electric Car Calculator, you can determi ...more
If you've ever popped the hood of you car and went, "I can do that," then you're about to get your chance. A Japanese company called Modi-Corp has unveiled its plans to release a kit that will let you put together your very own electric car. Granted, it's not that impressive o ...more
Google quickly learned over five years ago electric vehicles (EVs) were the powertrain of choice for its then fledging driverless car program and the industry has since followed its lead. Now, every major carmaker has an EV program of some kind, while all-electric powertrains ...more
Wish you could make the shift to electric or hybrid, but you can't afford it? If you've got more than a few free weekends on your hands, you may want to consider undertaking Benjamin Nelson's ambitious (to say the very least) car conversion project. First, Nelson outlines in ...more
An expert in the driverless market has earmarked Porsche as the company to watch in the automated car race. Grayson Brulte, the co-founder of Autonomous Tomorrow, told Driverless that the luxury car company were the underdogs in a highly competitive and specialized field. On ...more
In this tutorial, we learn how to use different drive modes in the 2010 Prius. The Prius offers a smooth and gentle ride, and new technology lets you tailor the driving experience to your needs. All you have to do is press the button and let the car do the rest. The EV mode le ...more
Motors. The word screams of complexity. They're everywhere and in everything, from car engines to airplanes to toys and electric wristwatches. But sometimes the most complex things can be really simple, as in the case of the homopolar motor, where the main point is a magnetic ...more
Time to make those lazy Sunday afternoons even lazier. Instructables member johndavid400 has posted a full HowTo on modding your lawn mower to operate via remote control. " ...How to make your Arduino into an R/C interface that you can use for just about anything requiring re ...more
Self-driving vehicles may be the apex of safe driving, taking human error out of the equation. Until then, augmented reality can help reduce accidents by improving driver awareness. This week, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation introduced its EMIRAI 4 concept car, which uses aug ...more
R/C car manufacturer Losi just recently released the LOSI 1/10 TEN-T TRUGGY RTR, which is apparently the world's most advanced radio controlled car. The Ten-T is 18 inches long and 6.2 pounds, and operates like a real race car (but at 1/10 of the size). Check out these specs ...more
The Chinese government's tight restrictions on gathering data by foreign firms for 3D mapping, the lifeblood of machine-taught driverless systems, could at least slow down access to the market by Waymo, Tesla, General Motors (GM), Ford, and other players hoping to make inroads ...more
If you're like me, you were always jealous of the kids with rich parents who got to ride around in their own Power Wheels cars. Now that I am tall enough to sell my body and time, I find myself attaining childhood dreams like buying my own Power Wheels car. I would not have ch ...more
When the power goes out, having the ability to contact others becomes extremely important, and your cell phone can be one of the most important tools to have. But if the power is out for an extended period of time, battery life becomes a constant problem. Without the ability ...more
Data for mapping and other applications is the lifeblood of machine-driven cars, and so far, Tesla has taken a definitive lead in information it has gathered ahead of other driverless players, including Waymo. But Tesla's position could be short-lived, if the world's largest ...more
This video demonstrates the relationship between electricity and magnetism and shows how to construct an electromagnet using a 4 inch iron nail, 5 meters of copper wire and a 1.5 volt AA battery. Electromagnetism was discovered by the Danish scientist Oersted. Electromagnetism ...more
If you're fond of remote-controlled vehicles, you might appreciate this video tutorial on how to assemble a Traxxas high-current connector. To add a high-current connector to your Traxxas R/C model vehicle, you're going to need some pliers, wire strippers, flathead screwdriver ...more
Arc welding is a type of welding that uses a power supply to create an electric arch between an electrode (electric conductor) and a base material to melt the metals at the welding point. While you can certainly purchase a welder for your car shop or jewelry making business, y ...more
What is it about boys and toy cars? Speed, motors, and lots of fun! In this video, Kipkay shows us how to make a mini toy car launcher that is powered by rubber bands. Make sure an adult supervises this project, as power drills are required. Once it's completed, your kid will ...more
This small but very powerful electrolyzer produces gas that increases the fuel mileage of your car. The elctrolyzer runs on baking soda (4 volts/cell) and produces hydrogen. Electrolyzers in general are machines that uses a direct electric current to drive a chemical reaction ...more
PopSci breaks down how basic functions of R/C work. Once you've mastered it, the sky is the limit. You can remote control anything. Well, almost anything. "The basic R/C setup consists of a transmitter, a receiver, and several actuators on the receiving end—either servos (ele ...more
It took him a year to build and about $30,000 in parts, but Steve Hassenplug has created a truly magnificent robotic chess set, inspired by the magical chessboard in the first Harry Potter movie. Quite a task, but Hassenplug did an incredible job! Via PopSci: "Hassenplug and ...more
LEGO technic builder Sariel presents a mighty impressive weekend project: a motorized LEGO hand that emulates actual human movement. This feat of plastic engineering runs on a combination of electric motors and pneumatic valves. Says Sariel, "The most complex part of the arm ...more
The niches are the foundation of a successful marketing strategy. You need to focus on the niches in a market and develop a strategy for each niche. You'll attract more targeted traffic that way, which will result in more sales. As an affiliate marketer, your target should fo ...more
Around the world, X-People (yes... there are X-Women, too) are under attack from an intolerant sapiencentric ruling class. Integration without equality is a farce. Autonomy is denied outright. Human prejudice cannot abide a mutant state. Human fear, born to hate, imposes itsel ...more
Valentine's Day is almost here, and if you're like me, you're scurrying to do something special for your mate. The standard chocolates and flowers just isn't cutting it anymore, and you can only make so many homemade cards before it becomes banal and meaningless. So, what can ...more
How many gallons of gas does it take to get from Kansas City to New York? Depends on what you're driving. In this custom-modded Indy race car designed by students at the DeLaSalle Education Center? About four. WIRED's Autopia reports, "A team of high school students has deve ...more
Cobbled together from thousands of empty cigarette packs, this electric-powered vehicle puts the "car" in carcinogen. Looking suspiciously like something the China National Tobacco Corporation would commission as part of an advertising campaign, the Bugatti Veyron-style auto i ...more
Learn about drag & car racing with expert tips and advice on imports and different motors and engines in this free car-racing video series on NHRA and IHRA racing events. Part 1 of 28 - How to Drag race. Drag race - Part 2 of 28. Click through to watch this video on expertvill ...more
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been widely used by the military for surveillance and reconnaissance missions—even armed combat. But there are other beneficial applications of an unmanned aircraft, such as search and rescue operations, scientific exploration, lo ...more
Forget electric cars, quit mixing your at-home biodiesel; just attach one of Dutch John's handy wood gasification contraptions to the back of your car and fuel your transportation with backyard wood chips. Says DVICE, "This old Volvo modified by a guy calling himself Dutch J ...more
This video shows how to drift with electric and petrol(nitro)model RC cars. Learn how to develop the right skills and find the right parts to drift with a toy model car.
The upcoming Shell Eco-Marathon promises to unveil vehicles that will blow current fuel economy standards way out of the water. California Polytechnic State University is one of the most promising contenders, with a vehicle that gets 13 times the 230 mpg General Motors promise ...more
It's always handy to waterproof your RC car because your toy car is going to tread in a lot of dirty - and sometimes wet - ground. This means that any electric circuitry faces the risk of coming in contact with water and fizzing out. So keep things safe by learning how to wat ...more
It's always handy to waterproof your RC kit because your toy car is going to tread in a lot of dirty - and sometimes wet - ground. This means that any electric circuitry faces the risk of coming in contact with water and fizzing out. So keep things safe by learning how to wat ...more
Don't let an overpriced mechanic take control of your Chevy Tahoe repairs, learn to fix your car yourself. Learn from an ASE certified Master Automobile Technician with over 14 years of experience. He'll teach you how to replace the electric fuel pump in a Chevy Tahoe. This st ...more
A team of Japanese researchers have developed an airbag system for the exterior of the car, rather than the interior, with the purpose of protecting pedestrians. Via CrunchGear: "The airbags deflate rapidly upon impact, just like conventional airbags, to soften the effects o ...more
China is a hot mess of traffic and is stereotyped for spawning some of the craziest drivers in the world. The traffic jams are known to be so bad, drivers have been gridlocked for 9 straight days. A truck driver washes himself after waiting more than two days in the jam on an ...more
The EVMODE electric only option is a must have Toyota Prius Hybrid accessory. Prius owners, improve hybrid MPG, activate the factory EV MOD option for electric only mode. Known as EV Mode or EVMODE allows you to switch to electric-only mode for increased fuel efficiency and pe ...more
Want an electric car without the price tag? You could always build your own, or maybe just hack your old gas guzzler into an eco-friendly electric machine... This weekend at Defcon, security consultant David Brown showed off his "Voltswagon" project, a 1974 Beetle named Shocky ...more
In a recently released video, it was revealed that Formula-E's partner Roborace has developed a driverless race car that can complete laps at full racing speed. Roborace tested out its DevBot — an autonomous electric race car — on the Formula-E track in Berlin. The car comple ...more
Nissan will soon release an electric car called the Land Glider, which hugs turns just like a motorcycle. Intended for urban mobility, this car has a bit more finesse that your average Smart Car. Futuristic, fast, and easy to park. From Automobile Mag: "The newest concept co ...more
BBC show Top Gear has built a homemade electric car in just 18 hours: the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust. According to Autocar, "...the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust is a road legal car/shed that started life as a TVR Chimaera and underwent quite a few modifications to become a 21st ...more
Amateur Chinese inventor, Tao Xiangli, has built his own homemade submarine. Drawing inspiration from the James Bond and Terminator movies, Xiangli's tinkering is quite impressive, considering his education came to a halt at the fifth grade. In The Guardian's video piece on t ...more
One of the roles our government has taken on is to provide us with information to be used in making decisions. For example, the EPA stickers on the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt state that these electric cars can travel 93 and 99 miles per equivalent gallon. Unfortunately, the ...more
Apple is working on autonomous systems for vehicles, which could then be implemented with the help of car manufacturers. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed Apple's work in the field in an interview with Bloomberg on June 5. In April, the company received a permit to test self-drivi ...more
Decades ago, Japan rocked the automobile industry with its revolutionary manufacturing and car quality, but today that title seems to be moving over to Elon Musk's electric car company Tesla. Nevertheless, Japan isn't done innovating mass-produced hardware. The latest magical ...more
Demand for Tesla's driverless features as well as its ultra-long battery ranges and a reputation for offering the best-in-class electric car driving experience helped Tesla see a 32% surge in its value as a brand, topping out at $5.9 billion in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable ...more
New documents reveal that electric car company Tesla has filed a surprising new patent that has nothing to do with batteries or autonomous driving and everything to do with augmented reality. Last week, the company's US Patent and Trademark Office patent application, titled " ...more
Ride-sharing firm Lyft says it will continue to rely on drivers in the near and long term even as it replaces them with driverless cars, Taggart Matthiesen, Lyft's director of product, said during a Podcast with Recode. In other words, Matthiesen says Lyft plans to offer oppo ...more
In Bhopal, India, a place nestled in between the royally pink city of Jaipur and the dry (i.e., alcohol forbidden) state of Gujarat, is a team of developers determined to make a fully driverless car suitable to the complexities of Indian traffic. An algorithm elaborate enough ...more
Magic Leap is making it easier for developers to share their spatial computing experiments with other Magic Leap One users. On Thursday, Magic Leap has opened up Magic Leap World for developers to publish concepts, which as defined by Magic Leap, are "free apps with limited f ...more
Some drivers give Tesla's Autopilot update released this week rave reviews, after version 8.1 has taken longer than expected to live up to Elon Musk's "smooth as silk" Tweet from earlier this year. With this update, drivers report noticeable improvements in Tesla models' driv ...more
Tesla says the new version of Autopilot is now as good as the previous one, after having completed over-the-air updates of the driverless software during the past few days. Model S and Model X Tesla models the electric car firm began to make October 16 last year lacked certai ...more
Tesla has confirmed the EV carmaker has begun to upload videos from models equipped with its latest flavor of Autopilot, as Tesla seeks to "fleet source" data to help improve its cars' machine learning capabilities. Tesla has informed owners of Model S and Model X models prod ...more
According to Electrek, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in a covert conference call with a select few investors, commented in detail about his plan to have Tesla's Model 3 driving on the road earlier than we all expected. We've known that the Model 3 "beta prototypes" were already as bei ...more
Ford's appointment of Jim Hackett as its new president and CEO reflects how the company is largely pinning its long-term survival hopes on its driverless business. Following his previous role as head of Ford's Smart Mobility division, which overseas Ford's autonomous driving a ...more
Investors continue to bet on augmented reality, both for short-term returns and long-term plays. This week, Niantic reportedly picked up another round of funding from Samsung and others, based on the success of PokémonGO and the prospects for future revenue. Likewise, investor ...more