Torque Game

Driving gamification is something I had in my mind for some time.
Torque seems to be a good starting point, so I asked on the Torque support forum for a plugin that can provide some data to play with.
No one answered, so far; so I began experimenting myself.
I'm collecting Torque logs on a known road trip, changing driving style from time to time, to build a library of trips.
Here are the first:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8xG59QDgvQ3OS1SU3BVYVQxQTA&usp=sharing
I'm adding an Analysis tab where I'm experimenting with statistical functions that can measure a trip and give a score that can be compared with other trips to find the "perfect driving style".

There's a thread about this on the Hybrid Synergy Forum.

iCar

If Apple were to make a car, will it be able to resist the pun?

Steam on your car dashboard

Following up my post on car driving gamification, I'm going to push it a little further.
Using data from GPS, the car will be able to rate our driving style:
did we drove on that uphill curvy road optimally?
By uploading driving data, it will be possible to compare them with other drivers that drove the same road and crown a real "king of the hill".

Are we going to see Steam on our infotainment systems?

Will we get Steam achievements while driving?

TV 2.0

Notes on how the new TV should be. Apple, take note!

• The TV should turn on immediately: my IPad wakes up faster than my TV. Just ibernate the whole thing, instead of a full boot. 
• When turned on, image and sound should came up simultaneously. 
• The TV should be able to accept commands as soon as the image is shown, not several seconds later (LG, I'm talking at you). 
• If the TV is woke up by pressing a number, it should turn on already tuned on that channel (again, this is for you, LG).

Dashboard ergonomics

Nearly all new cars have on-board navigation.

But still many prefer old-style external navigators.

One of the reason is they have better ergonomics: they can be plugged on the windshield so they are in the line of sight while driving.

The new Yaris Hybrid is no exception: the infotainment system is way too low on the cockpit:

With the help of GIMP, I've tried a little redesign:

There's enough room for an higher navigator position, and lower air outlets would help air circulation also.

There's a thread about this on the Hybrid Synergy Forum here.

EV: share the fun

Driving the Yaris Hybrid is a relaxing experience.

Its ability to run only with its electric motor in the city traffic is rewarding.
There's an EV indicator on the driver's dashboard that lights up when the gasoline engine turns off and you're moving only on electric power.
It's a kind of a satisfaction switch: it turns on and bang! You're instantly gratified.
It's a feeling that must be shared: everyone should know that!
So it's a shame that the EV indicator is only on the dashboard: it should be visible from the outside also.
Stick it on the rear glass and make it glow when moving on electric power!

So who's following you can say: "Damn, he's moving effortless while I'm here wasting my gasoline".

Nvidia: the way it's meant to be driven.

There's a thread about this on the Hybrid Synergy Forum here.

"I finally cracked it"

There's one feature that will be killer on a TV:
rolling back the news ticker

I always arrive late at reading the scrolling text, so I read the last words of something that seems interesting, wondering what it's all about, and I need to wait for it to return again.
I dream of a button on the remote that rolls back only that part of the screen, and lets you read the full sentence again.

As usual, I'm writing it here and now, so I can become a patent troll when Sony or Samsung or even Apple will really implement that.

How this could be done, is left as an exercise for the reader.

Behavioural Adaptive Driving

Lately I'm being interested into hybrid cars.
It seems that you can optimize your fuel consumptions with some careful driving, like anticipating an impending slope or recovering energy from braking before a stop.
I think there's some room for improvement: with a GPS, a street map with altitude information also, and by recording usual routes with an onboard computer, the system may suggest actions or even control the engine to cope with incoming kinetic energy demand or surplus.
So, by learning daily commute habits, the system may know that 500 meters from now, you're going to brake at a crossroad, so it may be possible to stop the engine from charging the battery, as it will be charged anyway by the impending brake.

I'm just writing it here now, so I can become a patent troll in the next few years when this idea will be implemented.