Cars on water:

Part of the car-buying process involves selecting the options you want to upgrade or customise your vehicle. In a few years, automotive retailers might offer us an option that will transform landlocked sports utility vehicles and sedans into amphibians that can traverse land and water with equal ease. Gibbs Technologies has developed High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology that could transform cars into amphibians. To showcase this new technology, Gibbs built the Aquada, an amphibian vehicle. While the British company eventually hopes to license the HSA technology to large automotive manufacturers, they are currently focused on selling the Aquada at a cost of $271,318.90. The Aquada and its technologies are that could meld waterways and roadways into a single, unified transportation channel.

Saving emergency vehicles:

Emergency vehicles are supposed to respond to incidents as quickly and safely as possible, but all too often, they are involved in accidents of their own.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the US, more than 500 people die every year from accidents involving emergency vehicles, leaving many more injured. Siemens has developed a new safety system to prevent such accidents.

E-ViEWS involves an emergency vehicle sign designed to keep drivers out of intersections when emergency vehicles are approaching. Transponders inside emergency vehicles activate these warning signs at intersections; letting drivers know which direction an emergency vehicle is coming from.

By showing drivers where the emergency vehicle is coming from, drivers don’t have to wonder where the siren and flashing lights are coming from anymore - making the roads much safer.

The E-ViEWS system technology, designed and developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and brought to market with the help of Siemens, could also help improve overall communication among law enforcement agencies in times of crisis. It’s expected that the technology will have many more applications down the road, from intelligent transportation systems to homeland security.