Software that makes cars talk?
Coming soon: “Talking” cars, say Italian scientists who claim to have developed a software that lets vehicles “communicate” with one another on the road. A team at University of Bologna says that the so-called talking cars wouldn’t even require human-like facial features to communicate with another vehicle on the road, the BBC reported.
Similar technology had been used before but this time, cars would be able to “know” what had happened even kilometres ahead. And, tests suggest it could reduce motorway pile-ups by 40 per cent, say the scientists. Team leader Prof. Marco Roccetti said the system they had developed was different from conventional telematics that sees a radar-type mechanism det-ect an obstacle on the road in front of a car, which then brakes to avoid a crash.
“By letting cars ‘talk’ to each other, we can see what happens kilometres ahead — whereas current technology, instead, allows cars to perceive an obstacle only when it is physically in front of them,” said team member Gustavo Marfia. The “talking” is done via acceleration sensors built into cars that trigger an alarm message in abnormal conditions such as when a vehicle is involved in a crash.
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Too much water bad for health?
London: Scientists have for long advocated the need for drinking lots of water for good health. Yet, a new study claims that downing too much of the natural beverage could actually be harmful. The study, by Glasgow-based doctor Margaret McCartney, describes the danger of dehydration as a “myth” and says there is no evidence behind the claims that water prevents multiple health problems.
Dr McCartney says the advice that people should drink six to eight glasses everyday is “not only nonsense, but thoroughly debunked nonsense”. She claims there is no clear scientific evidence that people benefit from drinking extra amounts of water, and the benefits of the drink are often exaggerated by “organisations with vested interests” such as bottled water brands. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr McCartney has also pointed out that the research shows drinking when not thirsty can impair concentration, rather than boosting it, and separate evidence suggests chemicals used for disinfection found in bottled water could be bad for your health. —PTI
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