More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal

More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal
Volkswagen has admitted it installed illegal software into 11 million 2.0 liter and 3.0 liter diesel engines worldwide (AFP Photo/Josh Edelson)

Volkswagen emissions scandal

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission
Analsyts say it is irresponsible to link the crash of a Ukraine International Airline Boeing 737-800 to the 737 MAX accidents (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER)

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 commercial jet.

QZ8501 (AirAsia)

Leaders see horror of French Alps crash as probe gathers pace

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Friday, October 16, 2015

Tesla installs 'autopilot' update on its electric cars

Yahoo – AFP, Sophie Estienne, 15 Oct 2015

The new autopilot software will allow the Model S vehicles to steer within a lane, 
change lanes by tapping a turn signal as well as parallel park on command 
(AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

San Francisco (AFP) - High-end electric vehicle maker Tesla is taking a major step toward self-driving cars by installing new autopilot software Thursday in North America to automatically change lanes, manage speed and even hit the brakes.

Self-driving capabilities -- previously limited to cars tested by technology titans such as Google -- hit the streets "overnight" with the latest Tesla Version 7.0 software, the company said Wednesday.

The feature, unveiled Wednesday, is being added to thousands of Tesla's Model S cars already on the road. By June 30, Tesla had already sold nearly 80,000 of the four-door sedans.

Tesla says it has sold nearly 80,000
 of the four-door Model S sedans (AFP
Photo/Josh Edelson)
The so-called Version 7.0 software is due to hit the European and Asian markets next week after obtaining the required authorization.

"We're being especially cautious at this early stage so we are advising drivers to keep their hands on the wheel just in case," Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk told reporters.

"In the long term, people will not need hands on the wheel, and eventually there won't be (steering) wheels or pedals."

Autopilot allows Model S to steer within a lane, change lanes by tapping a turn signal and manage speed using "traffic-aware" cruise control.

The car can also scan for available parking spaces, alert drivers when one is spotted and then parallel park on command.

A year ago, the California-based company began equipping Model S cars with radar, cameras, ultrasonic sensors and other hardware to begin incrementally introducing self-driving capabilities.

But the new software has its limits. It still can't recognize the color of traffic lights, though it can alert drivers to parking spots.

On its website, Tesla acknowledged that "truly driverless cars are still a few years away."

"Tesla Autopilot functions like the systems that airplane pilots use when conditions are clear," it explained.

"The driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car."

The autosteer capability is still in beta form, Musk stressed, adding that the system would be updating itself systematically across the whole network of connected cars.

Tesla sold about 11,580 Model S cars during the third quarter.

Model X SUVs, which the group put on the market several weeks ago in a limited release, are also due to get the software.

But vehicle owners will have to pay an extra $2,500 for the autopilot software, either at the time of purchase or later.

Driver still in charge

Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk
 said the new autopilot software was being
 added to its Model S vehicles (AFP Photo/
Jan Hennop)
Alongside the connected car, autonomous driving is one of the new buzzwords in the automobile sector.

Most automakers are rushing to invest in driverless technology, seen as the future in the industry.

What makes Tesla stand out, however, is the fact that the cars are electric. The company boasts "supercar acceleration" that allows vehicles to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds.

Among the best developed autopilot prototypes is Alphabet's Google Car, already on the road in several US states.

The Google car uses the same technology as its fleet of Lexus SUVs, which has logged about a million miles (1.6 million kilometers).

Mercedes presented a futuristic car with a traffic-jam assist that allows the car to steer, brake and accelerate on its own at slow speeds.

Earlier this month, Toyota presented a car that can drive itself along a highway.

The car, a modified Lexus GS, uses sophisticated sensors to navigate roads, merge lanes and overtake other vehicles.

The company hopes to make other cars with similar features available within five years, in time for Tokyo's hosting of the Olympics.

But South Korea's Hyundai has warned about the complex legal challenges of self-driving cars.

While fully autopilot systems without any human involvement could be ready by 2025, such technology would also bring with it "huge, huge challenges for our legal systems," European operations chief Thomas Schmid cautioned.

"Who is responsible for what? I'm not convinced until now that is a process which can be done in the next 10-15 years."

Indeed, existent law does not yet allow for completely autonomous, driver-less cars on the roads. And consumers will also have to adapt.

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