IBM wants to improve communication between cars, roads, and drivers.

Vehicles are getting smarter all the time, thanks to a combination of sensor and wireless communications technologies. Car manufacturers say that tomorrow's drivers will be assisted by a wealth of safety information generated by vehicles that can talk to not only each other but to the roadway itself. But with so much data often comes information overload. And that's why computing giant IBM has launched a project to help the driver get the right information at the right time.

IBM calls the research initiative collaborative driving, and the company says it's designed to prevent accidents and reduce traffic congestion. The work will be spearheaded by the IBM lab in Haifa, Israel. "More than a million people die on the roads every year around the world, and people waste a lot of time and money sitting in traffic jams," says IBM researcher Oleg Goldshmidt. "You would like to help with both problems in any way possible."

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The Future of Tires

Online and offline worlds merge

Google has launched a tool designed to make it easier for computer users to use online applications offline.

One of the key limitations of web services such as e-mail, word processing and calendars, is that they require a net connection to function.

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Mapping Traffic Flow

New trafficking software will enable drivers to find the quickest route to their final destination.

Drivers are always searching for the fastest route--whether they are traveling home on a busy Friday afternoon or rushing to the airport for an early-morning flight. Now Tele Atlas, a Boston-based company that provides digital maps and navigational content, has integrated new trafficking software into its map database so that drivers can find the most optimal route based on speed rather than distance--for any stretch of road at any hour of any day of the week.

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A new postal service… from space

In September 2007, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its Foton M3 microgravity mission from Baikonur. The spacecraft will carry the Young Engineers' Satellites (YES2) payload.

The goal of this experiment — designed by 500 European students — is to send a 6-kilogram package from space to earth. This spherical parcel, named Fotino, will be attached at the end of a 32-kilometer-long tether. This tether, made of Dyneema, will have a thickness of only 0.4 millimeter. When it's completely deployed at an altitude of about 250 kilometers, it will be cut and Fotino will re-enter the atmosphere to land in Russia, inaugurating the first space postal service.

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RFID Tracking: Australia Defense Launches First RFID-Tagged Shipments Into The Mideast Using Tracking Networks By Savi Technology

In ceremonies at Sydney’s Mascot Airport, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) launched the first RFID-tagged shipments from Australia into the Middle East that can be automatically tracked by interoperable RFID networks built for coalition forces by Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin company.

Simulating Ship Supply

Canadian defense scientists will use simulation to try to improve how naval ships can be resupplied at sea.