Tag Archives: connect

News

New Ford Tourneo Connect PHEV boasts 68-mile EV vary

Ford has added a plug-in hybrid powertrain to the Tourneo Connect MPV, touting a 68-mile electric-only vary – one of many longest of any PHEV on sale immediately.

The powertrain takes after that of the bigger Tourneo Custom in that includes a 1.5-litre petrol engine, a high-voltage battery and a front-mounted electrical motor.

The system sends a mixed 147bhp and 258lb ft of torque to the entrance wheels by way of a six-speed computerized gearbox.

The battery may be charged at speeds of as much as 50kW and is seemingly the identical as that used within the intently associated Volkswagen Caddy eHybrid, which hasn’t but reached the UK market.

The Ford’s driver can select between 4 modes: EV Now, wherein the automobile makes use of the electrical motor solely, EV Auto, which lets the automobile resolve which energy supply is greatest within the given state of affairs; EV Later, wherein drive comes from the petrol engine solely; and EV Reserve, wherein the battery cost is held to be used afterward.

The PHEV powertrain is accessible in each the five-seat Tourneo Connect and the seven-seat, long-wheelbase Grand Tourneo Connect.

Boot area hasn’t been compromised by the addition of the hybrid powertrain, with 3100 litres on supply when the third row of seats is eliminated. 

Three specs are supplied: Trend, Titanium and off-road-esque Active.

As commonplace, vehicles include 16in alloy wheels and a ten.0in digital instrument panel. Higher-grade fashions get chrome exterior detailing, bigger 17in alloys and a panoramic-glass roof.

A mess of driver help applied sciences come as commonplace, together with pre-collision help, lane-keeping help, driver consciousness alert, adaptive cruise management, hill-start help and entrance and rear parking sensors.

Motorsport

Researchers Find A Way to Use Radar to Make Cars Hallucinate

Today’s automobiles can join us to our favourite music apps or warn us in regards to the car hiding in our blind spot. That’s superb, however all this tech can also be introducing new safety and security considerations we’re solely starting to know. Cheap tech makes it easy to steal luxury cars in seconds, and automakers scoop up and freely share each bit of information they will about you. Now, researchers have discovered make your automotive’s radar system hallucinate.

Engineers at Duke University have found they will trick a automotive’s radar into believing something and do it on the fly. The MadRadar engineers created can disguise an approaching car or make a phantom automotive, and the system can do it on the fly with out understanding the particular parameters of the sufferer’s radar, which is a necessary level.

According to the researchers, no two automobiles have the identical radar parameters, however MadRadar can detect them in lower than 1 / 4 of a second. Once it is aware of the parameters, it will possibly transmit its sign to idiot the sufferer’s radar system. The engineers performed the examine on real-world radar methods in automobiles transferring at roadway speeds, performing the assault from different transferring automobiles and whereas stationary alongside the highway.

MadRadar also can trick a automotive into pondering one other car round it all of a sudden modified course. As automakers implement and enhance numerous driver-assistance methods that depend on radar, having the ability to trick these methods into hallucinating may result in accidents or different kinds of assaults sooner or later.

Miroslav Pajic, the Dickinson Family Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University and the challenge lead, mentioned MadRadar may idiot one thing like adaptive cruise management. It may make your automotive imagine the car in entrance of you is rushing up when it’s truly not – and that sounds a tad terrifying.

Motorsport

Bosch Fixes Torque Wrenches That Could Be Hacked To Display Incorrect Specs

More issues can hook up with the web than ever. It looks like something and every thing that may match a show and a Wi-Fi module is doing simply that to supply enhanced options and steady updates. Security vulnerabilities make these gadgets simply hackable, although. Rexroth, a Bosch subsidiary, is coping with this downside proper now with its torque wrenches, which it is priming to replace with a software program patch after researchers discovered that hackers may take management of the instruments.

Nozomi Networks found quite a few vulnerabilities with the Bosch Rexroth NXA015S-36V-B nutrunner, a software fashionable with automaker meeting traces and authorized to carry out safety-critical duties, and different Nexo torque wrenches. According to Nozomi’s analysis, malicious actors may carry out a number of nefarious actions on the pneumatic torque wrenches that would disable the gadget, show incorrect torque data, set up ransomware, and extra.

In the lab, researchers may flip off the wrench’s set off, lock the gadget, and show a novel message. Hackers may have used the exploits to carry the gadget at ransom till the sufferer pays. Bad actors have focused hospitals, authorities companies, and other businesses with ransomware attacks by shutting down vital methods and demanding cash.

Nozomi was additionally capable of manipulate the gadget to show incorrect torque figures. Researchers found they might lower and improve the goal torque worth whereas displaying the right quantity to the operator, who would have been unaware of the problem. You can think about the chaos such a hack like this might trigger with tons of or hundreds of autos made out of spec unbeknownst to the automaker.

Researchers discovered that some vulnerabilities required licensed entry to carry out, however others had been zero-click assaults. Hackers may additionally add, obtain, delete, and browse information, inject arbitrary code, carry out Denial-of-Service assaults, add malicious code to the SD card and entry delicate information.

Bosch and Rexroth have already issued advisories in regards to the exploits. The firm plans to have the mandatory updates for the affected wrenches by the top of the month.

Smartphones

These Polaroid Printers Can Turn Your Smartphone Into An Instant Camera

Before you need to use both of the Polaroid printers, you’ll first need to obtain the app obligatory to attach your smartphone to them. The Polaroid apps work with each Android and iOS gadgets. They are each free to obtain and an absolute breeze to navigate. Follow these directions to obtain the Polaroid app of your selecting:

  1. Go to the App Store in your iPhone or Google Play in your Android.
  2. Type Polaroid or Polaroid Hi-Print into the search window, relying on which printer you are utilizing.
  3. Tap the “Get” or “Install” icons to obtain the app to your machine.
  4. Once put in, faucet the corresponding Polaroid icon in your cellphone to open the app.
  5. Follow the setup directions as famous.

You will, in fact, need to make sure the working system in your machine is updated earlier than downloading. Users ought to attain out to tech help from Google Play or the App Store in the event that they run into any points.

ToyotaUk

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: TODOS Drives Prosperity, Power, and Progress

As a new Toyota employee, Gustavo Ramirez wanted to connect with other Latino and Hispanic colleagues. The Toyota Organization for the Development of Latinos (TODOS) provided him with the perfect opportunity.

Ramirez joined TODOS within a month of starting at Toyota to learn about different Latino cultures, network with fellow employees, and make a positive impact on the community through volunteer activities organized by TODOS.

Since joining TODOS in 2019, Ramirez, now working as a corporate development and governance consultant for the Americas Oceania region at Toyota Financial Services (TFS), has participated in various activities and community-based initiatives. This includes mentoring middle and high school students from West Dallas.

“It has been amazing to see how the kids have matured and gained confidence over the past four years,” he says.

Many others join TODOS for similar reasons. For the past 20 years, the group has provided resources and support to Toyota’s Latino employees and allies, enabling them to support each other, the company, and the communities they serve.

This year’s theme for Hispanic Heritage Month is “Mobility for TODOS: Together Driving Prosperity, Power and Progress for Latinos at Toyota.” This theme reflects the BPG’s efforts and goals for the upcoming year.

TODOS’ chair, Chris Devlin, highlights the focus on Hispanic Heritage Month and the second annual TODOS symposium. The symposium, organized by the TODOS North American Advisory Council (NAAC), brings together TODOS chapters from across North America to discuss important topics.

Driving Community Efforts
In addition to discussing and addressing important issues within the Latino community, TODOS hosts community-based events to serve and assist local residents. For example, TODOS members organize lake cleanups near L.G. Pinkston High School and the West Dallas STEM School, both supported by Toyota.

“We mentor students from these schools through our E3 Mentorship Program,” says Devlin. “Cleaning up the area where some of the kids we mentor live is very meaningful.”

Buckle Up for Life, a national car seat safety program, partners with Toyota and Children’s Health to provide child passenger safety education, free car seats, and installation assistance to families in need across Dallas. TODOS supports their efforts to ensure every child has the appropriate car seat for their age, height, and weight.

Steering Career Advancement
TODOS not only encourages its members to give back through community service and volunteering but also supports and promotes the careers of Latino employees at Toyota.

Devlin explains their advocacy for more Latinos in leadership positions and increased leadership training for current members. TODOS also focuses on providing career development tools and improving content and events related to professional development. The organization celebrates the success of its members who have been promoted or assumed new roles within the past year.

Complementing Toyota Principles
Devlin emphasizes that TODOS supports Toyota’s overall goals regarding community support.

Devlin and Ramirez are proud TODOS members and are committed to supporting Toyota and the community.

“Everything we do revolves around making Toyota the best place to work, and we are proud to represent the company during community events,” says Devlin. “We reflect Toyota’s principles and approach everything with humility and the expectation of being the best at what we do.”

Streaming Devices

How To Connect An Amazon Fire Stick To Wired Ethernet

If you want to connect your Amazon Fire Stick to a wired ethernet connection, you will need to get a wired ethernet adapter for your Fire Stick. Unfortunately, none of the Amazon Fire Stick models have an ethernet port built into the device, so you will always need an adapter.

Once you have the adapter, you will need to do the following to connect your Fire Stick to the wired ethernet:

  1. Plug the ethernet cable into the adapter.
  2. Connect the adapter to your Amazon Fire Stick.
  3. Connect your Fire Stick to your display.

To set up your new wired connection, follow these steps:

  1. Turn on your TV and start the Fire Stick.
  2. Go to Settings and select Network.
  3. Choose the new wired connection.

If your home network has advanced security settings, you might need to manually configure the internet settings. To do this, press the Select button on the Fire Stick remote and enter your home network details manually.

VolvoCars

Introducing the Volvo EM90: A Premium MPV that’s Fully Electric

Imagine a mobile space where you can truly be yourself. A haven where you can connect with loved ones, unwind, work, or simply contemplate.

The Volvo EM90 is our inaugural fully electric premium MPV, designed to enhance your time spent in the car – a Scandinavian living room on wheels. This new model goes beyond just transporting you from point A to B; it provides space for your entire life.

On November 12, 2023, the Volvo EM90 will make its global debut, with pre-orders available to customers in China on the same date.

Stay tuned for more in-depth information about the EM90 as we unveil additional details in the coming months.

Cars, Technology

How To Add New Apps To Android Auto

Before you can add new apps to Android Auto, you first need to connect your Android phone to the infotainment platform. At the time of writing, there are two ways to connect your smartphone to Android Auto: using a USB cable or pairing wirelessly. To connect to Android Auto with a USB cable, you need to:

  1. Connect your Android phone to your vehicle’s USB port using a USB cable.

  2. Tap the Home button on your vehicle’s infotainment display.

  3. Select Smartphone connection.

  4. Tap “Connect a new device.”

  5. Follow the directions to pair your Android phone.

  6. Select Yes to confirm the consent screen if you’re using Android Auto for the first time.

  7. Tap the Android Auto icon to launch it.

To establish a first-time wireless connection between your Android smartphone and your vehicle’s infotainment system, follow these steps:

  1. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone.

  2. Press and hold the voice command button in your car

  3. Wait for the on-screen prompt about pairing a new device to appear.

  4. Follow the on-screen directions to pair your phone.

Once the pairing process is finished, Android Auto will be launched, and your phone will be successfully paired to your vehicle via Bluetooth.

Cars

How To Enable Split Screen On Android Auto

To activate the split-screen mode in Android Auto, you just have to connect your device to your car like normal.

  1. On the Home screen, you should tap the Apps button on the bottom left corner of the screen.
  2. Once you do this, there should be a multi-window button that will replace it in that same bottom left corner.
  3. Pressing this will automatically switch the main display to split-screen mode.

If this button doesn’t appear, you will probably need to ensure the Android Auto app is fully up-to-date. Split screen is a relatively recent feature and you will need the latest version of the app if you want to take advantage of it. To ensure you have this, open the Google Play store and search for the Android Auto app. There should be an Update button that appears here if you do not already have the latest version. Once it’s finished updating, you should be able to easily turn split screen mode on and off. That’s all you need to do to enjoy Android Auto split screen — but you can still customize it further.

Reviews, Technology

Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror And Lightstrip Kit Review: Expanding Your Smart TV With Light

Setting up the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror and Lightstrip Kit is a breeze with the app guiding you through the process. The app prompts you to connect to the Thread network, an “Internet of things” network that allows Nanoleaf Thread-enabled devices to communicate with each other without relying on Bluetooth or a router. This not only ensures low power usage but also low latency for instant responses to inputs. Additionally, the app suggests using Matter, a smart home standard that seamlessly integrates various devices and networks.

Nanoleaf explains that Matter enables compatibility with popular smart home platforms like Google Home and Alexa. However, if you don’t already use multiple smart home devices, this may not be a significant feature for you.

Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror kit
Justin Owen/SlashGear

While some of the app’s functions may not be immediately intuitive, they are easy to learn. You can group rooms with their assigned lights or devices, allowing you to control them universally or individually. You can set any connected light to a solid color or choose from a selection of pre-installed scenes. These scenes are like little programs that change colors at different intervals, repetition, and speed. Some of them come pre-installed, while others can be downloaded.

If you want more customization options, you can also create your own scenes. This allows you to match the colors to your decor or come up with something original for special occasions like Independence Day. In addition to color control, the app offers brightness and power controls. Unlike many smart home products, this setup includes a physical power button, which is a welcome feature.