.

Note: when building PCs, it is best to use a grounding wrist band to protect electronic
components from an  electrostatic discharge (ESD).

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Stealth Computer's LPC-450FS

Check out this fanless PC built on a small form factor from Stealth Computers. Let’s see, small, rugged, fanless, 12 volts…. seems like good platform for in car computing to me!

Stealth Computers offers a lot of specialized and small form factor computers, but this one really seems to be a good choice for automotive applications.

The fanless feature is nice because you don’t have to worry about the cooling fan pulling in those dust bunnies that tend to breed under the seat and other nooks and crannies of a car.

The extruded aluminum chassis and the shock mounted 2 1/2″ hard drive is no doubt a rugged package. If you want it even more shock resistant you can get a solid state drive and have no moving parts!

I have not used or reviewed this PC but it looks promising to me. Here is a link so you can read more about the LPC-450FS unit and I have included some of the specs below:

• 12 VDC Operation, ideal for mobile/field
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• 3D Graphics with 16×9 Capability
• Built-in Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0,
• 1394a Firewire, Audio, Serial and Video Ports
• Low Profile Rugged Aluminum Chassis 6.1″(W) x 10.0″(D) x 2.17″(H)
• Slim Slot Loading Optical Drives
• Solid State Hard Drives (SSD) optional
• Windows Vista & XP Pro Compatible,
• Intel Celeron M440, 1.86GHz Processor
• 1MB Cache, 533MHz FSB
• 80 Gig HDD SATA (2.5″)
• DVD/CD-RW Drive
• 1GB RAM SO-DIMM
• On-board Video & Audio
• Standard Price: $1095

As the story goes, Simon and Steve develop an application for their BlackBerry Storm to steer a modified remote control car. They set up a make shift race track in their office and turn “another day at the office” into a RC car extravaganza. I am OK with the video so far.

Now, Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren Formula 1 team contacts Simon and Steve about their BlackBerry application. This is where I start to question if this is a fake or not.  I doubt that this car is actually being driven by the BlackBerry, but how? Maybe a midget laying on the floorboard? Maybe a real remote control, likely laptop based, sitting off camera? You watch the video and see what you think.

Mobility 2088 - Part of Honda's Power the Dream Series

Honda produced a neat documentary where the question was, “What will transportation look like in 80 years? This film is part of their “Dream the Impossible” documentary series. No doubt that digital technology will be a major player.

Honda’s “Dream the Impossible” project is a series of well produced (high dollar) documentaries that are thought provoking. You can view all  the documentaries in the highest available quality at this link.

Dream The Impossible
Documentary Series

Honda is a company founded by a dreamer. And we are a company that believes in the Power of Dreams.

Honda has a rich history of making impossible dreams come to fruition. And because the lessons of the past help guide our future, there is a simple humanity found in even our most complex products.

We wanted to document our advancement as a company through film to give you a better understanding of the people behind our products. Please join us as we uncover Honda through the candid approach of the documentary film process.

View “Mobility 2088″ in wide screen format from YouTube

View “Mobility 2088″ in the highest quality from Honda’s site

Genivi Logo

Open source software is reaching beyond the computer and is now about to emerge onto the automotive scene. A new alliance amongst automakers and technology providers called Genivi is promoting an open source Linux based In-Vehicle-Infotainment (IVI) platform. Genivi will find competition from Microsoft who just released version 4.0 of its own automotive platform. This is the platform that powers Ford’s Sync and Fiat’s Blue & Me systems.

Here is a link to a full article on this topic over on the CarTech Blog.

Some of the expected features are:

• An application that could track your peregrinations and estimate your total carbon emissions.
• Remotely starting a car
• Resetting its alarm with an iPhone
• Unlocking the doors with an iPhone (commands could be sent to the car over the Internet)
• Cars equipped with blind-spot-detection video cameras could be programmed to take a picture of anyone near the car during a break-in and then e-mail it directly to a cellphone or computer.

Here is an article on this at the New York Times

Now enter Google’s open source operating system (OS), Android. While Android is often thought of as a smart phone OS, it could become a platform used to operate an entire car. A Google car? Hum… I can see it now, ads popping up everywhere!

A good article on this was posted on the Headlight Blog: Read the Full Article

Walt reviewed the unit in late 2008 and found the service to be a good solution to mobile email and web surfing but too slow to handle anything like streaming videos.

AutoNet Mobile recently partnered with Delphi in an effort to harden the design of their wireless router and to sell the technology straight to the manufacturers to use as an OEM option, not a dealer installed option.

You can read Walt’s full review on the WSJ site, here.

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Rinspeed's iChange

iPhone Integration

A recent  CarTech Podcast included information about a new project at Rinspeed that really starts to push the technology boundaries. While the folks at Rinspeed are know for their innovation, they really pulled out all the stops for this new concept car called, iChange

While the car does all kinds of interesting things, such as changing its’ shape based on the number of passengers, the part that caught my attention was the integration of the Apple iPhone with the car.

An iPhone is docked into the dashboard and becomes part of the car’s control and display system. You actually start the phone by pushing a start button on the iPhone. After the car is running, the iPhone is then used to display information about the car.  Being able to take your car’s main control system with you and put it in your pocket definitely takes car security to a new level!

This car is complex and there is no way this post can cover it, so I have included several resources for those that want to see what lots of money and out-of-the-box thinking can produce.

Clip from CNET’s CarTech Podcast

Download audio file (rinspeed_iphone_car.mp3)

Rinspeed Press Release

Link to a Rinspeed Video on iChange