from Gizmodo by Jack Loftus

Even if you can’t afford a luxury supercar like the Audi R8, take solace in the fact that its cutting edge all-LED design will trickle down to your jalopy. Eventually.

Of course we all know efficient LEDs will eventually find their way into every automobile, but the Audi R8 V12 takes the prize for being the first commercial vehicle to sport LEDs in everything. Headlights, running lights, turn signals—you name it there’s an LED shining bright inside.

And not just shining, but "smartly" shining and adapting to the driver’s needs.

Audi developers are convinced that future generations of headlights will react to weather conditions, a vehicle’s speed, the distance between vehicles, and potentially dangerous objects. “We’re striving to create intelligent headlights and taillights which think and anticipate in the interest of enhancing a driver’s safety and comfort. For example, there are already high-beam headlights in pre-series development which will allow drivers to navigate roads at night without temporarily blinding oncoming drivers. This is made possible by a variable distribution of light: An electronic system continuously calculates the distance to any approaching vehicles to ensure that the road ahead is ideally illuminated at all times – without irritating oncoming drivers," said Dr. Wolfgang Huhn, Head of the Light and Visibility Department at Audi.

Sheesh. You know you’re a luxury car manufacturer when you have a Light and Visibility Department. [Gizmag and Jalopnik]

Reposted from Gizmodo - make sure to check out their site for other interesting tech stories.

You’re in the car and you’ve got the radio cranked up insanely loud. Chances are, you’re not going to hear that ambulance siren wailing behind you.

Soon, even if you can’t hear it, you’ll be able to feel when an emergency vehicle is coming.

Oklahoma’s largest ambulance company will become the first ambulance service in the nation to outfit its entire fleet with new Howler sirens, designed to emit low-frequency tones that penetrate objects within 200 feet - such as cars - to alert drivers.

The Emergency Medical Services Authority has equipped one ambulance with the new siren and plans to have them installed on all 77 units in Oklahoma within six months.

Officials say the sirens are ideal for cutting through a sea of traffic, and give emergency responders another tool to let drivers know an ambulance is heading their way.

So far this year, EMSA vehicles have been involved in 16 intersection accidents, typically caused by an unyielding driver. Fifteen of those times, the ambulances were on a call, said EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells.

"The most frequent thing motorists say to us is they didn’t see the ambulance coming," Wells said at a Tuesday news conference, where the new technology was demonstrated.

During the demonstration, two ambulances were parked near each other. A plastic stepladder with three glasses of liquid on top was placed in between the vehicles.

The ambulance without the Howler sounded its siren and produced its familiar wail. Then, the Howler, which produced booms that sounded like a 1980s video game played at an earsplitting level. The liquids in the three glasses rippled. Wells jokingly said the new sirens sounded like "a vacuum cleaner on steroids."

"It’s going to make going through intersections much safer," said Tulsa Police Officer Mike Avey, who has worked traffic accidents. "People are on their cell phones, people have $1,000 sound systems. You’re going to feel it."

The new sirens cost less than $400 each, meaning the entire EMSA fleet can be outfitted for less than $50,000, Wells said.

"A moderate accident is going to cost $15,000 in body damage alone," Wells said. "We see the potential for recouping this almost immediately."

EMSResponder.com

Carbon Motors™ to Unveil World’s First Purpose-Built Law Enforcement Vehicle on “PURE JUSTICE TOUR” of US Cities

New Homeland Security Company Mulls Alternative Site Locations - Meets with Economic Development Leaders. Former IACP President to Marshal in New Era of Cutting Edge Homeland Security Technology to Law Enforcement Leaders

October 09, 2008

CHICAGO, IL — Carbon Motors Corporation announced today it will unveil the Carbon ‘E7’, the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement vehicle, during the “2008 Pure Justice Tour” of nine U.S. cities starting in Chicago, Illinois and including San Diego, California for the 115th Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference and Exposition where over 15,000 senior law enforcement professionals will gather from all around the world.

The Carbon ‘E7’ – the temporary program code used until the law enforcement community selects a vehicle name – represents the next generation of law enforcement technology as the first vehicle in history designed and engineered from the ground up and bumper-to-bumper specifically for law enforcement operations.

Carbon Motors announced today the nine cities the ‘E7’ will visit during the 2008 Pure Justice Tour beginning Tuesday October 14, 2008 in Chicago, IL. The tour will include stops in:

Chicago, IL Tuesday, October 14 Indianapolis, IN Monday, October 20 Columbus, OH Thursday, October 23 San Diego, CA Saturday, November 8 – 12 San Jose, CA Tuesday, November 18 San Francisco, CA Saturday, November 22 – 29 Greenville, SC Thursday, December 4 – 9 Jacksonville, FL Wednesday, December 10 – 14 Tampa, FL Monday, December 15 – 19

The vehicle was well received at recent VIP sneak preview events for Tier 1 suppliers held in Detroit, MI. Further tour dates and event details will be made available at www.carbonmotors.com and is also being promoted on YouTube.com and BLUtube through the video trailer “Ours is Real”. The company will invite law enforcement and the communities they serve to view the ‘E7’ up close at each stop of the tour – and in some cases the respective state’s senior economic development officials. Carbon Motors is weighing its options for the site location of the Company where it intends to create 10,000 new direct and indirect American jobs and have a greater than $3 billion positive economic impact on the selected region over a period of ten years.

Carbon’s ‘E7’ was designed by law enforcement, for law enforcement. To date, over 1,700 law enforcement professionals, representing all 50 US States and each functional discipline of law enforcement, have volunteered their time to serve on the Carbon Council, which provides direct and unfiltered interaction with the Carbon Motors team. As a result, the vehicle will come fully equipped with a comprehensive suite of purpose-built, state-of-the-art performance and safety features utilizing the latest advancements in defense and law enforcement technology.

“The 2008 Pure Justice Tour marks this revolutionary vehicle’s debut to a first responder community that has waited far too long for a vehicle designed specifically for the high pressure and increasingly demanding work environment of law enforcement in a post-9/11 world,” said William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Carbon Motors Corporation. “The military has long used purpose-built vehicles to accomplish their unique missions. Fire engines were specifically designed to provide firefighters with water, aerial ladders or other equipment to assist them in rescue work. And even postal workers have purpose-built trucks for delivering mail. Law enforcement, by comparison, has had to settle for retail cars designed for ordinary passenger use with haphazardly and dangerously installed law enforcement equipment. The women and men who protect our communities deserve better. Carbon’s ‘E7’ will rectify this injustice.”

The vehicle will display a robust collection of world-class technological and design enhancements, including an ergonomically correct cockpit inspired by jet fighters and helicopters, a high powered clean-diesel engine capable of running on biodiesel (that will provide 40 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and will meet or exceed the driving performance of current vehicles), integrated external and internal surveillance capabilities, radar, LoJack, an automatic license plate recognition system, radiation and biological threat detectors and 360 degree, high conspicuity built-in LED emergency lighting. In addition, the ‘E7’ debuts Carbon’s proprietary On-board Rapid Command Architecture™ (ORCA™) with a large touch-screen main display and a separate touch screen keyboard providing world-class data communication and human-machine interface. The ‘E7’ will serve as an integrated homeland security platform enhancing security capabilities for the nation’s 800,000+ law enforcement first responders, while substantially lowering their current operating costs and lessening the burden on taxpayers nationwide.

Joining the Carbon Motors executives at the ‘E7’ introduction to the IACP Conference in San Diego will be past IACP president and former Clinton cabinet member Drug Czar, Dr. Lee P. Brown. Dr. Brown serves on the Carbon Motors Advisory Board, alongside Governor Thomas J. Ridge, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Congressman Lee H. Hamilton, former vice-chair of the 9/11 commission.

“We ask so much more of our law enforcement officers today than we ever did in the past,” said Dr. Brown. “They patrol our neighborhoods and our highways, arrive first on the scene of emergencies, live in their cars during natural disasters, gather and share vital intelligence. Their vehicles are not simply modes of transportation, but serve literally as a traveling office, as a first mode of protection, as a communications center and as a transport for dangerous criminals. This one piece of critical equipment is the command center for every officer on the street, and they deserve a vehicle that will not only help them do their jobs better but also protect them while they are doing it.”

About Carbon Motors Corporation

Carbon Motors Corporation is a homeland security company focused on a highly specific mission: developing, manufacturing, distributing, and servicing the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle. Learn more at www.carbonmotors.com.

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FORD ESCAPE HYBRID DELIVERS TOTAL PACKAGE FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY OCEAN LIFEGUARDS

Ford to provide a fleet of 45 customized Escape Hybrids to the Los Angeles County Ocean Lifeguards.

• The full-hybrid SUVs will be used for rescue patrol along 72 miles of Southern California coastline.
• The front-wheel-drive Escape Hybrid is the most fuel-efficient SUV on the planet, returning 34 mpg in city driving and 30 mpg on the highway.
• Intelligent four-wheel-drive models are also available, with fuel economy of 29 mpg city and 27 highway.   

LOS ANGELES, May 23, 2008 - Ford Motor Company is teaming up with the Los Angeles County Lifeguards, a division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, to help save lives while protecting the environment.  Today, Ford presented the squad with the first 10 of a fleet of 45 eco-friendly Escape Hybrids with Intelligent four-wheel-drive, specially equipped for use on rescue patrol along 72 miles of Southern California coastline.

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"We are the largest lifeguard organization in the world, and we have always blazed the trail for the profession," said Mike Frazer, chief, Lifeguard Services, Los Angeles County Fire Department.  "We wanted to be the first public safety agency in the country to go green."

"This continues the Escape Hybrid’s impressive string of endorsements," said Hal Dewsnap, California regional sales manager for Ford Motor Company.  "In addition to being clean and fuel-efficient, the Escape Hybrid is highly functional and durable, proven in hundreds of thousands of miles in taxi service in New York and San Francisco.  Now, we are adding lifeguard duty to the list."

There is no better vehicle for that assignment than the world’s most fuel-efficient SUV.  The front-wheel-drive Ford Escape Hybrid returns 34 mpg in city driving and 30 mpg on the highway.  Intelligent four-wheel-drive models, like the ones used by the lifeguards, return 29 mpg city and 27 highway.

"The Escape Hybrid is one of the cleanest vehicles available today," added Freeman Thomas, Ford Design Director whose studio developed the design of the Lifeguard vehicles.  "It meets California’s strict Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV) standard.  To put it in a California summer context, it releases fewer smog-forming emissions into the atmosphere during a three-hour drive (about 180 miles) than grilling one hamburger in your back yard."

Frazer says he knew that the Escape Hybrid was an ideal choice from an environmental standpoint, but he admits to having some initial reservations about whether an SUV would function as well on the beach as the compact pickup trucks the lifeguards were used to driving.

"The switch from a pickup to an SUV was something new to us, but when Ford brought the Escape Hybrid down to the beach, we were amazed at how well it performed," he said, adding that he was particularly surprised by the vehicle’s ability to navigate through the sand without getting stuck.

With the Escape Hybrid, Frazer says he was also able to make more precise turns, enjoy extra headroom (he’s 6′5") and gain greater visibility, which is a huge safety plus on the beach. 

"We need to be able to see as much as possible because there’s so much activity on the beach, especially in the summertime," he said.  "When we’re responding to a rescue, we want to get there quickly and safely."

Shortly after that initial field test, a team of designers from Ford’s Irvine studio visited the beach to do a little "guerrilla research," says Ford designer Jeff Nield.

"These people save lives, so this was not just an exercise in styling," said Nield.  "We wanted to design features for them that are functional and could potentially save them valuable time in an emergency situation."

Careful inspection of the previous trucks the lifeguards were using revealed various makeshift storage areas for critical equipment.

"What happened in the past is that different lifeguards would set vehicles up differently, so if you worked at one beach and then got called in a crisis to another location, you would have to search to find the emergency tools you needed because the storage area was not standardized," he said. 

The Ford designers decided to remove 60 percent of the rear seat on the driver’s side and replace it with a rescue equipment storage unit - an aluminum box with specially designated spaces for important emergency equipment, such as defibrillators, trauma boxes and oxygen tanks.

The remaining 40 percent of the seat was left intact in case the lifeguards had to transport someone, such as a lost child. 

According to Ford Design Project Manager, Greg Hutting, the lifeguards’ multiple radios also presented the design team with a challenge.

"In the previous vehicle, they had three or four different radios pushed wherever they had room," he said.  "We pulled out the center console and replaced it with a radio rack that keeps all of their equipment lined up and organized."

Ford designers also outfitted the Escape Hybrids with a custom-fit roof rack for the lifeguards’ paddle board and spine board, and easy-to-clean rubber floor mats and cargo liners.

When it came to the exterior, Nield says it was important to make the vehicle look "fresh but not trendy."  The vehicles were painted a vibrant yellow - iconic for lifeguards - and then detailed with authoritative graphics and finished off with dark wheels.

"We really pushed to make the vehicle look as rugged as possible," said Nield. 

Frazer says he couldn’t be more pleased. "The vehicles look amazing, they perform great and they are hybrids, so they are good for the environment," he said.  "It’s a win, win, win situation for us.

It’s also a win for Ford Motor Company.

"The lifeguards are going to be pushing these vehicles to the limit, and they need the best vehicle to get the job done," added Nield.  "They had choices, and they chose the Ford Escape Hybrid."

25854-01: 07-08 Toyota Tundra
04-08 Ford F150
07-08 Chevy/GMC
25854-02: 04-06 Chevy/GMC
25854-03: 04-08 Dodge Ram
25854-05: 03-08 Ford Super Duty

SPECIFICATIONS:
Product Weight: 35 lbs.
Packaged Weight: 40 lbs.
Packaged Dimensions: 74”L X 19”W X 8”H

PRICING:
LIST: $439.00
MAP: $399.00

994 Jefferson Street, Fall River, MA 02721 • Phone 1-800-501-1587 • Fax 1-508-677-4136 • http://www.tracrac.com

FEATURES:
• Aircraft quality 6,000 series Aluminum
• Dual Stage Electrostatic Powder Coating
• 2,000 Hour Salt Spray Environment Testing
• Stainless Steel Hardware
• Low-profile (fits into garages)
• Aerodynamic, no wind noise & reduced wind resistance
• Unique 3 Cross Member Window Guard
• No Drilling of Truck Bed, Easy Install
• Pre-drilled for Easy Wiring of Emergency

Lighting
• Meets SAE Class 1 requirement with Whelen Light Kit

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New HID Collins Dynamics Spot Lights incorporate the latest
technology to offer superior light output and maximum efficiency!

• Reduce current draw
• Decrease B.O.M. Costs
• 4 times the bulb life
• Available in June 2008

• Reduce current draw by 60% – The new CD-FX-HID-1 draws approximately
60% less current than comparable halogen spot lights.

• Decrease B.O.M. Costs – Improved technology reduces bill of material costs for wiring.

• 4 times the bulb life – Utilizing our proven metal halide bulb, the fixture is rated at 3,300 hours providing 4 times more life than halogen spots.

• Keep water out – With a beefy rubber gasket housing and liquid tight strain relief, water stays out.

• Easy retrofit – Uses same hole pattern as CD-FX-12 or Unity AG Deck Light.

See more at www.Havis.com

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www.alltrafficsolutions.com

Compact, Technology-Driven: New Tool Combines Messaging and Speed Display Into One Effective, Easy-to-Use Unit.

State College, PA … The all-new speedALERT-SZ™ from All Traffic Solutions brings together two of the most effective tools on the market-the SPEEDsentry® radar speed display and the speedALERT™ speed-dependent messaging system.  The result is a compact, powerful solution that makes light work of informing motorists of their speeds and delivering a targeted message to impact their behavior.

The speedALERT-SZ™ is perfect for school zones, campuses, industrial parks - any location that requires regular, targeted speed enforcement.

The features attracting the most attention are the space-saving, streamlined design of the sign and versatile programming options.  Messaging and speed display occur in a unit that measures just 30 x 40" tall, weighs only 48 pounds, and is mounted to a light post, telephone pole or other similar structure.  Despite the compact design, speed digits are 18" high and the full-matrix messaging display is graphics capable.  In terms of programming, all operations are performed using a PDA or PC, and setup is easy from the start.  A 365-day feature allows the user to create, reuse and modify annual schedules for different locations, as well as vary message operation by weekend, weekend, holiday or special event.  It is truly a "setup and go" system requiring only routine attention to make desired setting adjustments, reposition at a new location, or handle routine requirements.

Convenience, ease-of-use and effectiveness are signature of this new, innovative solution.

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How CHARGEGUARD® Select Works:

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Wireless Push-To-Talk – Download the brochure

“A Wireless PTT solution that is mounted to the steering wheel is something that voice activated systems have been without until now. We feel we have pushed the market to a new level with the release of this product and our new COREcommandBAR technology.”

COREcommandBAR – Download the brochure

The COREcommand bar eliminates the need to cycle through the screens to operate all the various devices and software in the vehicle. This is a huge step forward in technology for this type of software product. Most emergency vehicles these days require multiple applications to be deployed at the same time on a screen that is usually 12” or less. This command bar style interface allows for other applications to run in the space above it without compromising their functionality. This allows the user to easily control all aspects of their mobile date interface from one screen. This will dramatically increase driver safety.

The rest of their product line is the basis for the new product releases above – click on the logo below to see the full product offering:

History of 54ward Integrated Solutions:

54ward is an independent company offering emergency vehicle integration products and solutions. Our staff is comprised of industry professionals with over 80 years of combined field experience in Fire, Police and Public Works marketplaces.

We pride ourselves on customer service and seeing each and every job to completion. Full integration support from beginning to end.

Please feel free to contact our sales or support departments at anytime with any questions you might have.

Visit their website: www.54ward.com

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New Catalog released for new products

Click image for catalog download

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