POSTED BY: Erico Guizzo / Fri, September 30, 2011
ASIMO, the Honda humanoid, one of the world's most loved robots, was showing off its dance moves this week at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in San Francisco.

The robot was here to demonstrate some new tricks it's been learning from scientists at the Honda Research Institute in Mountain View, Calif.

Victor Ng-Thow-Hing, Behzad Dariush, and colleagues work with Asimo seeking to develop robotics technologies that can assist people, especially in terms of mobility.

In one demonstration, the scientists showed how Asimo can mimic a person's movements in real time. The researchers use Microsoft's Kinect 3D sensor to track selected points on a person's upper body, and their software uses an inverse kinematics approach to generate control commands to make Asimo move. The software prevents self collisions and excessive joint motions that might damage its system and is integrated with Asimo's whole-body controller in order to maintain balance. The researchers say that the ability of mimicking a person in real time could find applications in robot programming and interactive teleoperation, among other things.

In another demo, the scientists showed how they're using gestures to improve Asimo's communication skills. They're developing a gesture-generating system that takes any input text and analyzes its grammatical structure, timing, and choice of word phrases to automatically generate movements for the robot. To make the behavior more realistic, the scientists used a vision system to capture humans performing various gestures, and then they incorporated these natural movements into their gesture-generating system.

Here's a video showing these two demos:

Source (via www.autoblog.com);
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/asimo-can-copy-your-dance-moves?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IeeeSpectrum+%28IEEE+Spectrum%29

Nice couple of snap shots of the upcoming CRV!

Source (via www.vtec.net);
http://www.leblogauto.com/2011/10/nos-lecteurs-ont-du-talent-loup-et-la-honda-cr-v.html

Porsche's 991 911 is the next step in the evolutionary line

It may be hard for the untrained eye to spot the differences between the older 997 and new 991 versions of the 911, but people have been saying that for years when it comes to Porsche's most famous model. The 911 may have not changed significantly when it comes to styling, but there's enough going on under the flesh to justify it being called an "all-new" model.



First of all, in a move that is sure to anger some purists, the 911 is growing in size yet again (the last big jump came with the 996 introduction). The rear-engined sports car is now 3.9" longer overall bringing total vehicle length to 179.5". However, Porsche counters with the fact that the body weight weight of the vehicle is down 100 pounds thanks to the use of lightweight steel, aluminum, and composites.



Also new to the mix is a “world first” 7-speed manual transmission for those that prefer to row your own gears. For those that would rather have a computer micromanage your shifting, the 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) is available. Porsche has also installed an automatic start/stop system in the 911 which will help to improve fuel efficiency while driving around in the city.



Although Porsche has not revealed U.S. EPA numbers for the new 911, the company says that fuel consumption is down 16 percent compared to the outgoing model using the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).



The engines are mostly carryover this time around, but power is up for both the Carrera (3.4) and the Carrera S (3.8). The 3.4-liter flat-6 is up 350hp (an increase of 5hp) while the larger 3.8-liter flat-6 jumps to 400hp (up 15hp).



As in previous models, 911s with the PDK transmission will be faster on the track than the manual-equipped cars. The Carrera with a PDK can hit 60mph in 4.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 179mph. The Carrera S with PDK and Sport Chrono Package can do the dance in 3.9 seconds and reach 188mph.



However, all of this fun is going to cost you a serious amount of coin -- the base MSRP for the Carrera is listed at $82,100. Stepping up to the Carrera S will set you back a whopping $96,400, and that's before the option overload that greets you when it's time to order your new 911.



Source;

http://www.dailytech.com/2012+Porsche+911+Gets+Official+With+7Speed+Manual+StartStop+System+/article22516.htm

We’d say that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but, between the Audi A4 and A5, we’re not sure which is the female and which is the male. We don’t know what it says about us, but we like them both. The A4 and A5, we mean. Following the lead of the recently face-lifted Audi A5 and S5, Audi’s A4 and S4 sedans get similar cosmetic updates and technological additions for the 2013 model year.

It’s a little obvious to say that the most evident change to the A4 and S4 is the front fascia, but it’s unavoidable. The new headlights and rounded nose very much mimic those of the new A6, giving the car a more streamlined look. Even if you’re not a geek for automotive design, compare this car with the A4 of the late 1990s and it’s easy to appreciate the influence of angles and creases on cars that previously looked like suppositories. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that—we hear suppositories have low wind resistance and great fuel economy.)

While the powertrains carry over—a 211-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged four for the A4 and a 333-hp, 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 for the S4—Audi has taken care to add more gadgetry to keep its mainstay sedan competitive. This includes updates to the optional MMI infotainment system; our favorite is the addition of a touch-sensitive pad that allows the driver to input commands to the nav system by “writing” letters with a finger. Audi has already implemented this system in the A6, A7, and A8, and we’ve found that it works extremely well at deciphering even the most chicken-scratch handwriting.

The European press release for the A4 also includes info on the wagon and Allroad versions. We know that the A4 Allroad is headed here, so we suspect the regular A4 Avant is going to bite the bullet in the States. An Audi rep’s comment that a final decision hasn’t yet been made solidifies this hypothesis.

Between the attractive front end and some new toys, the dynamically strong A4 should be able to minimize defections to the all-new BMW 3-series. When the next A4 arrives in a few years, that model will pack a diesel engine and, we suspect, many other big-picture updates that were just too costly to implement with this face lift. The goose and gander don’t mind waiting a few years, right?
Thanks to: Car and Driver

Hmmm, looks good.

Cadillac introduced the concept of urban luxury, a design study to explore a new type of vehicle that offers a luxurious experience in a small size. Concept Cadillac Luxury Urban complements its compact dimensions with the design, features and Technology Cadillac is known.

"The concept of urban luxury Cadillac celebrates its intelligence scale, innovative content that makes it unique, regardless of their size," said Clay Dean, director of GM North America and Advanced Design Champion Cadillac. "He has a small footprint outside but roomy on the inside."
Designed and developed the Los Angeles area, where the tight, restricted parking areas for apartments, office buildings and suburban homes are part of everyday driving, the concept of weaving elements of Cadillac's iconic design in a form that prevents the design of conventional vehicles to meet the needs of those metropolitan motorists.

Equivalent in size to the cars of the city are popular in Paris, London and Shanghai, the concept of urban luxury design shows a departure from conventional vehicles. It can accommodate four people, all easily available in a pair of scissors type doors to expand outwards and rotate forward when opened. Planning to promote a broad passengers, which is split into high-end materials and features a new generation of interactive technology. Touch-pad button and displays the readings to solve the more traditional indicators, and serves as an entry system and climate control - a design feature that helps to open more space for passengers inside.

Honda has been working on a next gen Beat and here could be one redition of the car....
Source;
http://www.burlappcars.com/2011/09/hondas-miata-fighter-coming-up.html

Not for us in North America....Hyundai i10 and Chevrolet Beat beware, Honda has plans to upset the applecart

By:Rohin Nagrani Published :September 01, 2011 Photos: Pablo Chaterji



Honda has been, how do we really put it, fairly quiet for a long time now. Since the launch of the Jazz in 2009, there really have been no new car launches, except for the odd facelift. Two years certainly is a long time to be without a new car and in all that time the market has changed a fair bit. Diesels have gained prominence, a lot of brands have launched products that many would like to believe are relevant to a market like India and everyone has managed to increase marketshare, except for Honda.



It has seen a somewhat downward spiral, even though it has managed to improve sales every now and then. It's only because it hasn't had a credible small car in the portfolio. And a diesel option. The first is getting cured now, with the launch of the Brio this very month and first impressions are that it is going to shake up the established lot.



For those who believe that it's a Maruti Suzuki Swift rival, read again. It's more in the league of the Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Beat and Maruti Suzuki Ritz league, especially as price positioning goes. Sure, the odd Swift and Polo may figure in its crosshairs, especially the lower variants of the duo, but if you consider the whole deal, the Brio would certainly love to take potshots at them, while the re-positioned Jazz finishes the deal off.



We drove the Brio extensively, subjected it to a whole lot of highway driving, some urban and the odd hill drive at full-tilt for this first driving impression.



1. It's quite amazing how Honda have managed to package the Brio in such a tiny footprint. Measuring just 3.6 metres in length and with a turning radius of 4.5 m, the Brio makes for an ideal city car. What's more, Honda's philosophy of man maximum, machine minimum comes truly to the fore here. At 930 kg, it's considerably lighter than a lot of its competition, except for the larger Toyota Etios Liva at 900 kg.



2. The Brio's design is rather unique and has some facets that make it cute and cuddly. It stays more or less true to the original concept we all first witnessed at the Delhi Auto Expo 2010. Takeaways from the design include a smallish front grille with the large Honda logo, the large airdam for the front bumper, a rising waistline and of course the glass hatch and the protruding tail lamps.



3. Many have asked about the tailgate and here's what we think of it. The original Maruti 800 also had one, but unlike that, this one doesn't have the fixed metal gate the 800 enjoyed. Nevertheless there is a degree of usefulness, what with it being lighter than a metal and glass tail gate and visibility through the rear glass is excellent. Honda Siel claims that the tailgate is made of tempered glass, like any other automobile, but uses a 5 mm thick variety instead of the usual 3 mm to account for safety and durability. However, one must remember, in case of an insurance claim in case of an accident, you won't be getting more than 50 per cent, so there's some food for thought.



4. On the inside, the Brio has its share of good points and some not so good ones. Let's first talk about what you get. The Brio in the highest trim, that is V, comes with twin airbags, ABS, alloy-wheels, fog lamps, all four-power windows, central locking, a USB/aux-in stereo system and stereo controls on the steering and electrically adjustable outside rear-view mirrors.. The trim below it, the S will come with all of that, minus alloy wheels, fog lamps and slightly different seat trim design. Two more trim levels are expected below the S as well, one of which we believe would be called the Brio E, going by general nomenclature and would come with all of the features from the S, minus airbags and ABS. Both the S and V come with a mult-trip meter with fuel-efficiency display. There are lots of bits and pieces from the City and Jazz on the Brio, which explains the recent price cut on the two.



5. Now here's what you won't get and here's where Honda have done some level of cost cutting. You will get single piece seats on all variants, you won't get a rear parcel tray nor a rear demister/defogger, let alone a rear wiper on any of the variants, which is very baffling to say the least. The Brio, like its other cousins, the Jazz and City doesn't come with auto climate control, nor a CD player. The front door pockets, though large don't wrap the door with plastic, instead you see exposed, painted metal. The rear power windows are of the toggle switch variety. The overall plastic quality though is decent and generally the cost-cutting isn't painfully evident, unless you decide to generally view things with a magnifying glass. Does this cost-cutting reflect on the price tag, we'll tell you a little later.



6. Space is quite good for this city-based hatch. At the front, the seats are comfortable and offer good support, but taller people may not like the under thigh support and there's overall a little less cushioning than one would have liked. At the rear, there's pretty good legroom and knee room. Even with someone like Pablo, who's close to 6-feet tall at the helm, I found at least two-inches of spare knee room sitting right behind. Legroom is decent and with a close to non-existent central tunnel, three medium sized people can squeeze in for short drives. What is disturbing is the fixed neck-restraints that are too short for anybody 5 feet 7 inches and above and any attempt to rest your head on them could result in your head kissing the roof. The boot is large and deep enough for a medium and small-sized suitcase together, and when flipped, the rear seat can accomodate two large golf bags easily. The rear seat however isn't of the split variety. Overall visibility from the car is very good, making it useful in choc-a-bloc urban traffic conditions.



7. Powering the Brio is the tried and tested 1.2-litre i-Vtec motor from the Jazz. It makes 87 bhp@6000 rpm and 11.1 kgm of peak torque at 4000 rpm. The powertrain, on the whole is identical, the only differences being to the gearing and ECU parameters. The motor is good enough to propel the Brio to 60 kph in about 5 seconds and by our rough estimation, should get the car to 100 kph in under 12 seconds. It's good enough to put Hyundai's 1.2 Kappa to shame as far as performance goes, while we still believe overall refinement at high revs is better in the little Hyundai.



8. The car moves with a lot of vigour and it doesn't feel out of breath even at low revs, thanks to some clever changes to the gearing and the low kerb weight, that makes the 11.1 kgm of peak torque more than sufficient. Honda claims that the Brio can return 18.4 kpl (ARAI), making it rather efficient too. The gearbox as always is a joy to use and the familiarity of the gear knob only re-affirms that smile on the face. It's slick and slots into place beautifully. The foot controls are light and that's a boon for most city users.



9. As far as driving dynamics go, the light weight Brio is good for the scoot and shoot conditions of the city. The small dimensions, coupled with the light steering and airy cabin gives the driver a shot in the arm to go hunting for gaps. It turns in very quickly into corners, aided by the power steering that feels a bit over-servoed. We wish it had more feel and weight as speeds build up, given the overall sporty pretensions of the chassis and engine.



10. Ride quality is on the softer side. Unlike most Hondas, the front-end isn't as stiff and the rear is setup to be even softer. Net result is a car that rides over bad surfaces quite well for its size and weight, but the problem is the vertical movements of the suspension are a touch too much. Long after you have ridden over bumps, the suspension continues its vertical movement which can get a bit disconcerting. It should tell you that it's good for the city and expressways, but not B-roads and state highways where the surface isn't necessarily well laid.



11. Overall, the Brio works well as a city car. Heck, it's even fun-to-drive and has all the elements of a warm urban hatch. Sure, the steering could have had better weight and the suspension a bit more stiffness, but then again for the 95 percentile urban commuter, the car works very well indeed. Some more features could have been added, especially a rear demister, which we feel works against the car. But what may not work against is the price. Considering all the trims, we believe the car could be priced in the region of Rs 3.8 lakh to 4.8 lakh, ex-showroom. At that price, Honda could very well set a precedent and possibly even start a price war in this segment.



Source;

http://www.bsmotoring.com/news/new-honda-brio-test-drivereview/3947/1

2013 Mitsubishi EVO XI conceptual rendering

If you wonder what Mitsubishi is up to these days then, read on to find out their ambitious plans for the future. If are a fan of the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO and you don’t want to miss this. The Japanese car maker is coming up with an all new Mitsubishi EVO by 2014. However, this car isn’t what you’d expect from a car maker who have dominated the cross-country rally scene with its powerful four-wheel drive saloons. The latest from them has been the Misubishi EVO X. To put in plain English, the next-generation EVO will be a hybrid!

Surprised? Well, that is correct. Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko, has confirmed this with Autocar but refrained himself from revealing the technical details of the new car. According to him, the Mitsubishi EVO XI will feature a diesel-hybrid powertrain. The new changes are aimed at controlling emissions. Now, the EVO is known for lightning fast 0-100 kph times and nimble reflexes. It is difficult to image an EVO without its USPs and that is what Mitsubishi engineers also feel. The new EVO XI will thus retain its trademark handling and performance characteristics.

The only change then, could be under the hood. That said, the acceleration will certainly be spine smashing with a diesel engine and an electric motor working in unison. The team at Mitsubishi will start work on the new EVO project next year. The actual car is expected to arrive in the three years time. Earlier in the year, there were reports of the EVO being axed for a more sustainable electric car over which the world reacted in criticism. Taking notice of the reaction from fans, Mitsubishi was quick respond. So with a hybrid EVO taking shape, Mitsubishi’s marketing bumph might read, “EVO XI- Its Green and goes like stink “.

Source;
http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/nextgen-mitsubishi-evo-hybrid-confirmed-2014-50510/

Well, can't say that I've ever seen this variation of the next generation NSX.

MINI Countryman cross represents a new combination of handling the absorption of a mini inside with a versatile four-door car, and traction is optimized for a Sports Activity Vehicle (in the form of voluntary all-wheel drive system).



It also provides a fresh and distinctive interpretation of features in the Mini set design, quality, efficiency and alignment is affected. Marked the fourth option - to join the classic two-door, the MINI Clubman and the MINI Convertible in the area - meets the challenges of urban mobility with an impressive flexibility that captures the imagination beyond the traditional domain MINI with its wider range of abilities, and paves the way for a growing crowd of potential customers with more or less based on the mobility requirements to experience the driving pleasure of the brand in a MINI.

With the comfort of long-range four individual seats and space for up to five people on board, plus a raised seat, interior versatile new generation of powerful and efficient engines and MINI ALL4 optional all-wheel drive, adds another MINI Countryman sprinkling of attractive features for the emotional experience of driving a MINI. Body and interior concept invites you to share with friends and MINI feeling in a variety of situations. This propels the MINI Countryman on the radar of the wider public, including family and leisure have created a need for more space and flexibility, and are eager to combine distinctive style marked with innovative features and a high degree of internal diversity.