This case study I wrote for Motorola Solutions profiles the Prince George’s County’s 9-1-1 operations, showing not only how the products operate but telling the story of how state-of-the-art communications help first responders do their jobs better and help keep the public safer.
With automakers firmly committed to producing autonomous vehicles, will self-driving features be seen as luxurious? How soon will they become expected, the way automatic transmissions and power steering are? This article explores how and whether car makers will handle messaging about self-driving features.
The Role of Premium Services in a Connected-Car World
#autonomous #selfdrivingcars
Two things incited Chimera Catalyst: a dream and writing prompt. I dreamed that I had a dog that was also part parrot. She had fluffy white hair and a lovely streak of turquoise on her back. She was small and unruly. I had to drag her out of mischief, but I loved her spunk
The dream was simply one of those I enjoyed, remembered and revisited—until I took a workshop called Full Moon Writing. The idea was to get together with a group of writers on the night of the full moon and write.
Not working on existing projects, that is, but rather, letting the unconscious loose. To help us, the workshop leader had gathered some prompts. These are also known as story starters; they can be phrases, sentences or suggestions of what to write about.
I thought I didn’t like prompts. There’s a feeling of “being told what to write about” that puts me off. But this brilliant woman handed each of us a Tarot card as the prompt. I know nothing about the Tarot; all I knew was my card had a guy with what looked like a handful of rushes. Maybe he had a sword, too?
My first line was jokey, but the piece I wrote about a man battling to clear brush, but it grows faster than he can cut it. He sends his parrot up into the sky to see if there’s a way out.
That became the opening section of Chimera Catalyst. And now I love prompts.
Everyone’s different, but what works best for me are visual prompts; I think engaging the nonverbal part of my brain lets me write more freely. And I think there’s something to be said for not getting to choose your prompt. Something in the way your mind must wrangle with an image or phrase that feels foreign pushes your writing out of its ruts.
I’m teaching a science fiction/fantasy workshop in Tillamook, Ore., soon, so I’m gathering a variety of science fiction prompts and fantasy prompts. Here are a few that intrigue me, with links to their sources. (If there’s no source given, I made it up.) Give them a try if you feel stuck or want to have fun:
PHOTO (CC License: Inderamaia
Blockchain is not all about bitcoin. I identified four promising uses for the technology in the automotive sector. (Forgive my editor’s jokey title.)
Everyone knows that cybersecurity for connected and autonomous cars is a work that’s barely in progress. This article details some of the newest thinking and potential strategies for securing V2V and V2X communications.
Hooking Up to the IoT with a Clear Conscience
Media fragmentation, social news, over-the-top viewing? Don’t matter to local television.
Local TV news beats national news in trust, reach, revenue and value.
Don’t believe it? Read the polls.
To really get the benefits from smart, connected and autonomous vehicles, cities will need to make big changes. But they face big barriers to this evolution.
I spoke to experts from the Smart Cities Council, Smart City Works, and the oneTransport initiative to find out whether cities are up to the challenge.
My assignment: find out whether Northern California’s fires, which followed Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, were attracting donations that usually went to local charities. The answer: mostly no, or at least not yet.
Here’s how local orgs keep their donors inspired.
I just returned from covering the Consumer Telematics Conference in Las Vegas. This conference brings together automakers, suppliers, tech startups and investors. The annual meeting is a good way to take stock of how things have changed.
My biggest takeaway is that connected-car data–rather than autonomous driving–was the most important topic. With self-driving pilots underway and most automakers firm in their autonomous development cycles, the energy is now directed toward making the immense amounts of data generated by connected cars usable.
Winning the Race for Consumer Confidence and Data
Automakers, insurers and startups would love to think that, by providing feedback on your driving, you’d get better. You’d have fewer accidents and voila, your rates would go down.
Too bad we’re so self-righteous about our driving abilities. (Studies show that about two thirds of us think we’re better-than-average drivers.)
Do you want a beep to annoy you when you speed? A score at the end of each drive? How about a friendly conversation with a live human?
Read about the different tactics they’re trying to get us to drive smarter.