The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Historypin app lets people create a ‘time machine’ Posted: 16 Sep 2011 06:52 AM PDT BANGKOK, Sept 16 — For people who have stood at a monument or scanned a landscape — the Great Wall of China, for instance, or the US Grand Canyon — and wondered how it looked 100 or more years ago, there is now an app for you. Historypin, on iOS and Android platforms, strives to create a collection of memories about locations by counting on people to dig up and digitise old photographs and other media of the places, along with personal recollections of the past.  Going back in time. — Reuters pic "It's about people coming together to create a web of human history," said Nick Stanhope, chief executive of We Are What We Do, a United Kingdom-based non-profit organisation responsible for the Historypin project. The app uses GPS to find content that has been added within a certain vicinity. Users can also browse content that has been uploaded at any location on the map. The results can be filtered by date, ranging from the 1840s (the time of the earliest photographs) leading up to the present day. The app also includes an augmented-reality camera that overlays historic images in the database on top of the current landscape. Over 55,000 photos and stories have been pinned to the map since the website and app were introduced. One photo from 1938 shows a car being tugged across Newfoundland, Canada's Placentia Gut, by two small wooden boats, a method that was retired as soon as a bridge was built to provide a more efficient route. Another from the late 1920s shows a mother and daughter in Minnesota enjoying a laugh in front of a local school and its now defunct bell and tower. Users can create or upload content using the app. Comments can be added to existing media, helping build what the organisation hopes will become a tapestry of historic data. "We don't make any judgments on what is and isn't history," said Stanhope. "But there are judgments made on things like marketing spam or unrecognisable content." With the ubiquity of digital content today, some users are concerned that Historypin could become a dumping ground for social photos that might be a better fit for a Facebook album. "Obviously a guy falling out of a bar in Manhattan in September 2011 is not interesting in itself," said Stanhope. "But when you look at what people have done at that location over the past 200 years, it becomes interesting — and over time it becomes more interesting. If you look at people socialising or having a party 100 years ago, suddenly it's fascinating." The app, which has received over 250,000 downloads, has faced some complaints over speed and stability since it was launched. Stanhope said the organisation was providing upgrades every few weeks to deal with the issues. New tools being rolled out in January are expected to significantly increase the amount of content in the database, as are partnerships in the works with US museums. Stanhope said that future updates would include features to increase the accuracy and amount of detail attributed to content and the introduction of a rating system. The app is available worldwide on the App store and Android Marketplace. Content can also be explored through the project's website. — Reuters |
| Electric car hype hiding a quiet revolution Posted: 16 Sep 2011 06:22 AM PDT BERLIN, Sept 16 — Electric cars and hybrids may be capturing headlines and the imagination of green-leaning consumers around the world as one vehicle manufacturer after another announces plans to push into the brave new world of fossil fuel-free mobility. But away from the spotlight, car makers have been quietly delivering significant cuts in CO2 emissions with some re-engineering of internal combustion engines, technology advances, weight reduction and aerodynamic improvements.  A 2012 Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle at a solar-powered electric charging station designed by Sunlogics in the parking lot of General Motors Co's assembly plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. — Reuters pic "Car makers have finally gotten the message and have made a good start in making cuts in CO2 emissions but only after they were forced to," said Dorothee Saar, an industry analyst at the German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) in Berlin with the opening of the Frankfurt international car show. "Before 2008 they had only voluntary targets that were largely ignored. They're moving forward now because they know if they don't cut emissions they'll pay heavy fines. They're doing better but there is still a lot of untapped potential." In the European Union, CO2 emissions fell 3.7 per cent last year to 140 grams per kilometre after dropping 5.1 per cent in 2009. Average emissions are down from 186 grams in 1995. The EU is on track to meet a 130 grams target by 2015 set in 2008 in the face of heavy resistance. The limit will be 98 grams in 2020. In the United States, notorious around the world for its gas guzzlers, the Obama administration announced plans in August to raise fuel economy requirements by 53 per cent by 2025. The proposal requires companies to reach an average fuel efficiency across their US fleets of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. "The industry has done what they have agreed to with the CO2 reduction goals but the problem is that they are aiming at moving targets," said Philippe Houchois, car industry analyst at UBS in London. "The CO2 targets get tougher all the time. "Everyone has made good progress because they have to with the regulations," he added. "There are no obvious laggards. But as the requirements continue to move, they are going to have to sell more electric cars to be able to meet the targets." Electric cars That is an important reason why many car makers are turning to electric cars even if they now only represent a tiny slice of the global business — where about 50 million cars are sold each year. Until now only a few thousand have been electric. Even hybrids represent only a small slice of the pie so far. Out of an estimated one billion vehicles on the roads worldwide, only 47 million alternative vehicles are running as hybrids, on hydrogen or electric power, according to a recent report by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. Electric cars, a key part of a low-carbon economy, have been on the minds of consumers with a green consciousness for years. Green is a major theme at the Frankfurt Car Show, with an entire building — Hall 4 — devoted to electric mobility. "Never before have the stars of the Frankfurt Car Show been so revolutionary, so green, so efficient, so quiet and so super clean as in 2011," wrote Bild am Sonntag newspaper. But there are still many hurdles preventing electric cars from becoming a more common sight on the roads — in particular high battery costs, limited range and infrastructure. Tesla Motors made a splash in 2004 with its battery-powered Roadster while Mitsubishi's i MiEV and Nissan's Leaf followed. Nissan with its French partner Renault has sold 8,500 Leaf cars since it was launched in December 2010. Plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevrolet Volt — also known as the Opel Ampera — entered markets in late 2010. Ford will introduce its C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid in 2013. Toyota has said it will begin selling a Prius-based plug-in hybrid in 2012. Daimler and BMW have been field testing electric cars. But battery-powered vehicles will likely remain only a small niche as long as batteries make the car prices prohibitively expensive. Why would anyone in their right mind pay more for a car that might run out of power in the middle of nowhere? "The limitations of the electric cars right now are all well known," said Houchois. "They will not be replacing combustion engines anytime soon. A lot of people aren't going to replace their cars with electric cars. The industry is reluctant too. Every electric car you sell is a combustion car you don't sell." Analysts and industry officials expect it to take another three to five years at least for battery technology and infrastructure to improve to a point that "range anxiety" disappears and electric cars can hope for market shares in the low single digits. The Boston Consulting Group forecast there will be just 1.5 million fully electric cars worldwide in 2020. Cars are responsible for about 10 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, which most scientists believe are responsible for climate change that could lead to rising sea levels, more powerful storms, droughts and floods. Governments are thus under pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many have ramped up spending, devoting billions to develop electric cars, batteries and recharging infrastructures. Many offer tax credits and other incentives for electric cars, which if recharged with renewable energy have zero emissions. The German government in May set a goal of having have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2020, and doubled federal research spending on electric vehicles to €2 billion (RM8.5 billion) over the next two years. Cutting emissions So with the heat on, it is no wonder that vehicle manufacturers have focused on cutting emissions. BMW got an early start even before EU fuel efficiency standards were mandated. The Munich car maker launched its "efficient dynamics" programme to cut emissions in 2007. Its overall fleet average in 2006 was 186 grams of CO2 per km but was cut to 148 grams by 2010. It was not any single major breakthrough that helped reduce emissions by some 20 per cent in four years but rather a series of small, unremarkable changes to the engine, the aerodynamics and components along with the introduction of a stop-start button, air vent control and brake energy regeneration. BMW officials are proud to point out that, despite the reduced emissions, engine performance was maintained, with a fleet average in Germany of 139 kilowatts (or 188 PS). The German dream of building a "3-litre car" — a vehicle that can travel 100km on 3 litres of fuel — has gone from a far-fetched fantasy to near reality. BMW's 2012 116d model with 116 PS needs 3.8 litres per 100km and emits 99 grams of CO2 — down from its 2011 model with 4.5 litres and 118 grams. Technology advances have helped car makers reduce emissions without sacrificing performance. Helping make engines more efficient are suppliers such as Honeywell, whose turbo-chargers increase the air entering engines. Alex Ismail, CEO of Honeywell Transportation Systems, said turbo-chargers can boost fuel economy by 20 per cent for petrol cars and 40 per cent for diesel. "Tightening fuel economy and emission standards worldwide, coupled with consumer demand for affordable and more fuel efficient vehicles have automakers looking to increase turbo charging," Ismail told Reuters via email in response to a query. "Despite the buzz around electric vehicles, it's clear that automakers are looking primarily at turbo-charged engines to help quickly green their fleets and meet the regulatory targets." — Reuters |
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