CHECK OUT THE NEW TOUCH SCREEN KEYBOARD

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Check out the Cool Leaf Keyboard from
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Join the future of keyless and personalized
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see more pictures of the Cool Leaf
touchscreen keyboard and to read more
technical information about its capabilities.
About NMB Technologies Corporation
NMB Technologies Corporation, a Minebea
Group Company, is the world’s largest
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LATEST, NEW, MORDERN VEHICLE

This car will be emulated of future expertise and
world. I shocked when I gaze this vehicle. This
vehicle conceives is very newest and strong. This
vehicle has no motors, no drivers, no bounds and
no guiding wheel. This vehicle is shock of the
future. This vehicle types is very distinct. The
visibility is unpredictable, converging high newest
tendency and high know-how. The vehicle very
newest conceive that no motor, no direct wheel,
and petroleum-free. The designers came out with
actually exclusive revolutionary notions. It has
least important heaviness and perfect
aerodynamics, reduced adversaries mobility, and
very effective. After all, I like this vehicle because
it conceives motor. And Color. General is very
newest. It’s very fantastic.

THE NEW AND LATEST NEWSPAPER

Electrons have three basic properties: mass ,
electric charge and spin. The spin is a form
of angular momentum, which relates to how
an electron moves around the nucleus of an
atom. An electron’s spin comes in two
flavors: up and down. Manipulating electrons
is important for computing since most data
storage these days is magnetic and relies on
aligning the spin of electrons in a material. In
recent years, a new technology known as
spintronics has emerged that aims to control
both the spin and the electric charge of
electrons to improve how information is
stored.

WIFE WANTS HER KIDNEY BACK AFTER GIVING IT TO HER HUSBAND WHEN HE DUMPED HER.

41 years old loving wife Samantha who
saved her husband’s life by giving him one
of her kidneys now wants it back after he
dumped her.
Her husband Andy Lamb was dying of renal
kidney failure and was only being kept alive
by weekly sessions of dialysis until his wife
Samantha persuaded him to take one of
hers.
The 41-year-old mother-of-one told the
Sunday People:
‘He needed a new kidney or he would die.
He was on dialysis three times a week. I
told Andy he should go through with it. He
had children from an earlier relationship and
he wanted to be there for them.’
But Samantha says as soon as she went
through with the operation she regretted it.
She believed her
husband was cheating on her – first that he
was having an affair with her friend Clare
who she confronted and which Andy denies.
The couple tried to save their marriage and
Samantha gave her husband one more
chance but claims she later discovered he
was having sex chats online with women.
The couple got married in 2007 but in 2012,
Andy finally left his wife. Samantha said:
‘I would definitely go through the operation
again – but I wouldn’t give the kidney to
him. I hate him. If I could, I’d take it back
and give it to someone else.’
Andy however denies having an affair with
Samantha’s friend but admits walking out on
her. He said:
‘I never wanted her to donate her kidney
because it was a big risk. But she insisted
and I’ll always owe her my life’.
At the time of the operation Andy said:
‘Sam’s doing all this for me and I’ll never
get over that. She is just amazing and
fantastic. I could never put into words how I
feel about this. If this happens she will have
given me the gift of life.

LOVERS CAUGHT SLEEPING IN PUBLIC FIELD AFTER A LONG NIGHT EXERCISE

Lovers caught sleeping In Public field after a long night exercise

Lovers
caught lying in Public Field after Rough  night Bang
throughout the night. Sex romp was heard
from the two lovebirds apartment, but the
neighbors were surprised for them found
lying in a field fast asleep haha naija.
Nothing we no go see for naija. They ssyIt was
gathered that both lover always makes a
loud noise during their activities which
usually wake their neighbor

UNIVERSITY STUDENT BUYS CANABIS WITH TUITION FEES

A Nigerian undergraduate student who used his tuition fee to buy hard drug has been arrested for drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement on Saturday.

NDLEA said the student suspect, Udiomeh Kufre Ita, a student of the faculty of Management Sciences at the Regent University in Ghana, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. He was caught with about 1.745 kilogrammes of dried weeds called indian hemp

The student suspect was found in possession of the drug during the screening of passengers on an Africa World Airlines flight from Accra, Ghana,Hamza Umar the airport commander.



"An undergraduate student was found in possession of two parcels of cannabis weighing 1.745kg during the normal routine search of passengers. The drug was hidden inside his bag containing personal details. He was immediately arrested and the case is under investigation,” Hamza was quoted as saying.

“The suspect who reportedly gained admission into the faculty of Management Sciences at the Regent University is currently assisting and helping narcotic investigators assigned to the case,” NDLEA said in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju.

In his confessional statement, Ita was quoted as saying that he used his tuition fees in purchasing the drug found on him.

“I spent my school fees on cell phone, smoking hemp and attending night clubs. I bought a cell phone for N107,000 and spent my school fees recklessly. I thought I could make enough profit from the sale of cannabis to offset the deficit in my tuition. I bought each parcel of hemp for 220 Ghana cedi. I did not know what came over me and I am afraid to go to my parents. My father is a retiree,” the suspect was quoted as saying.


NDLEA said Ita hails from Akwa-Ibom State but grew up in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

MOBILE PHONES CAN BE BEAMED INTO PALMS USING NEW TECHNOLOGY

Researchers are developing a revolutionary new technology that puts the mobile phone on the palm of your hand — literally. Using a special camera that combines high-speed vision and two rotational mirrors, Masatoshi Ishikawa and colleagues at the University of Tokyo have found a way to project a device’s display or keyboard onto the palm or any other surface, so that one can operate it remotely at home or office.
The system can detect the movement of a 3D object every two milliseconds, Ishikawa said. The high-speed vision allows the programme to track moving objects, so that users would be free to walk with the phone image on their palm, without the display ever shifting, ABC News reported.
The computer system beams ultrasonic wave emitters, so users actually feels the keyboard pressing against their skin, without anything in their hand. The sensation is simiar to holding a 3 gramme object. “You won’t need a keyboard , you won’t need to carry a smartphone, or a computer. You can make a call without anything,” Ishikawa said.
Ishikawa expects the technology to turn into a reality in a year or two.
The ‘palm phone’ is the latest in a string of systems that Ishikawa has developed using high-speed vision technology. Last year, the Japanese researcher unveiled a robotic hand designed to win the game rock-paper-scissors 100% of the time… see more at indiatimes.

LAUNCHING THE NEW CAR UNLOCKER TECH BY MERCEDES BENZ MBRACE2

The best tech I’ve enjoyed on a car recently is the ability to talk to a real and helpful human. Mercedes-Benz made its mbrace2 connected-car technology standard on all 2013 models, but our first experience was with a week’s drive of the 2014 E550 convertible. The mbrace2 service costs money: $280 a year, and an additional $20 per month for the real-human Concierge service. But if you can afford the E550 (which costs $67,300), mbrace2 fees are a drop in the bucket—especially for what you get, which is better than what you’ll find in most connected cars and then some.
With the mbrace2 app’s map function, you can quickly look for any place on a map using your smartphone, then share the destination to the nav in the car. It works better than searching from the car itself.
The mbrace2 service comes with an app (iOS/Android) as well as an in-car service connection. You can call a live operator either in the car (by pushing a button near the rear-view mirror) or from the app. If you use the app, you don’t even have to be anywhere near the E550—the app authenticates you as an mbrace2 user.
You can ask the typical questions you’d aim at OnStar or BMW Assist, about traffic delays and movie times. If you get a flat or get into a fender-bender, the assistant can send a tow truck.
But here’s the best part: In our tests, the assistant will help with almost anything. We asked to look up a few obscure Google searches, like who invented cheese curds (it’s a guy named Fernand Lachance). We checked on the weather in Dubai. A Mercedes-Benz rep verified that you can order products from Amazon via mbrace2 if you provide your own credit card, or schedule an appointment with the doctor (the rep will make the call with you on the line). One service mbrace2 could not provide: help with homework. Sorry, kid.
The app lets you send a text to a friend who hits Y (for Yes) to share their location. You can then drive to that friend’s location.
Using the app, you can also lock and unlock the car, sound an emergency (horn and lights), and check on the car’s current location. A handy feature in the app allows you to look up any address and send it to the car’s navigation. (You get a prompt to accept it or not.) Mbrace2 also lets you access apps on the car’s touchscreen. We tested Yelp to find a movie theater and even checked Gmail.com in the browser. The Facebook is amazing: You can pick a stock status update like “stuck in traffic” and even see the current location of Facebook Places friends.
One small gripe: the data connection was a bit flaky for us, especially outside of a metro area. See more at: techhive

SWINE FLU VIRUS

The second wave of the swine flu pandemic is now under way in the northern hemisphere. Case numbers are climbing fast and in some places vaccination has begun.



So what's the big deal? The virus hasn't evolved into the monster that some feared and most cases are mild. Were all those pandemic warnings just scare-mongering?



The Butcher family of Southampton, UK, wouldn't say so. In August, their daughter Madelynne, 18, became sick and short of breath after returning from a holiday. Two weeks later, she died in hospital.



Neither would the Parker family of Baltimore, Maryland. In September, their healthy 14-year-old daughter Destinée started having trouble breathing within minutes of arriving at school. She was rushed to hospital. A week later she was dead.



There has been complacency-mongering, too. This pandemic is very far from the worst-case scenario, but it is not normal flu either. Many more people than usual will catch flu this year. The vast majority will be fine but some of us, including young, otherwise healthy people, will die. You can help protect yourself and your family by learning the latest on swine flu, from how to spot a serious case to the facts about the vaccines.

INFECTIOUS CANCER PRESERVES DOG GENES FOR 11000 YEARS

Call it the Methuselah mutt. There are genes from a dog that lived 11,000 years ago in an infectious cancer that forms tumours on the genitals of dogs today. The cancer genes therefore preserve information about early domesticated dogs.

Canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is one of only two known mammalian cancers that can move from animal to animal through physical contact. The other is a cancer transmitted between Tasmanian devils when they bite each other. A genetic analysis suggests that CTVT originated about 11,000 years ago, surviving the millennia by moving from dog to dog during mating.

"These tumours are in dogs all around the world, yet they all originate from one single dog that lived all those years ago," says Elizabeth Murchison of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK. Her team analysed DNA from two dogs with CTVT, one from Australia and one from Brazil.

"It's such a strange entity," says Murchison. "It's a cancer that's become a parasite, and yet it came from the same species that is now its host."

Cancer clones

Modern CTVT cells are clones of the original cancer, but over the millennia they have accumulated almost 2 million unique mutations through mistakes in cell duplication. By contrast, human tumours typically have just 1000 to 5000, says Murchison, because they are not transmissible so only live a few decades at most.

These mutations revealed CTVT's age. By studying how many there were and working out the order and rate they appeared, the team calculated that the mother parasitic cell emerged 11,000 years ago. That is long after dogs first became domesticated, which may have happened as far back as 33,000 years ago.

"It's intriguing how a tumour has survived for more than 10,000 years travelling round and infecting a very large number of dogs," says Kerstin Lindblad-Toh of the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, head of the first team to sequence a dog's genome in 2005. "If more examples [of transmissible cancers] were found, it would be interesting to see what genetic changes characterise this type of long-lived tumour."

The samples taken from the Australian dog and the Brazilian dog seem to have diverged from one another about 500 years ago, at the height of European expansion. "It means that the cancer lived in just one small population of dogs for 10,500 years, but dogs carrying it were then picked up by explorers or seafarers who spread them, and the cancers they carried, all round the world," says Murchison.

Apart from the mutations, the DNA in CTVT is identical to that of the dog in which it originated. By comparing the DNA in CTVT cells with DNA from modern dogs and wolves, Murchison pieced together what the first infected canine probably looked like.

"We put together a genetic identikit of the dog," says Murchison. "It probably had a browny-grey agouti coat, a pointy snout, prickly ears, short hair, and was a dog, not a wolf," she says. It was most similar to modern huskies and Alaskan malamutes, but its closest relatives may now be extinct.

Origin of cancer

Murchison says the cancer probably evolved in a badly inbred population, in which the cancer cells passed between the animals during sex, but were overlooked by the immune system because the dogs were so closely related.

This lack of genetic diversity is the reason that the other known transmissible cancer spreads between Tasmanian devils. But the Tasmanian devil cancer is 30 years old at most.

CTVT is not an aggressive cancer and is easily curable in 90 per cent of cases, says Murchison. This may be because a mild form has evolved and adapted itself to life in its dog hosts. She adds that CTVT will probably go on for thousands more years, but may eventually go extinct if the cancer cells acquire too many mutations, which would cripple them.

No cancers of this kind have ever developed in people, but if they did, information from the Tasmanian devils and CTVT could help stop them, says Michael Stratton, also at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

2015: IS GOODLUCK RUNNING OR NOT

The 2015 general elections are getting closer, and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has expectedly been employed several tricks to create some bubbles around his ambition. To some people, he will not run, while to others, he will definitely be part of the race.Goodluck-jonathan Running.As the debates of whether he would run or not continues to gather momentum, the President has remain mute, claiming that he would
make his position known at the right time. But his recent comments during a chat with Nigerian diplomats working in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA, and the African Union, AU, in Addis-Ababa, has created more suspense.

During the chat on Tuesday, his comments portray a man speaking from both sides of the mouth. President Jonathan spoke on his second term manifesto, yet, he stylishly said he would not run.

Hear him: “I promise that if voted in for the next four years, I would ensure significant improvement in key sectors of the economy — security, power, education, road, health among others. Without security, there is no government. So it is not debatable, it is something we have to address and we are working towards that with vigour.

But if I’m voted into power within the next four years, the issue of power will become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for the next four years.

“I would have loved that the Nigerians in Diaspora vote this year but to be frank with you, that is going to be difficult now. Presently, the law does not allow the voting outside Nigeria and so this year Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote but I will work towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election.”

Could this be a political trick or a real piece of Mr. President’s mind? Keep a date here.

D`banj IS MY BOY I MADE HIM WHAT HE IS TODAY by OJB jezreel

OJB jezreel the beat maker of 2Face’s ‘African Queen’ hit single who just completed his kidney transplant, lamented further that he, not Don Jazzy, made D’Banj as generally believed.

We can recall that during the ‘Save OJB Jezreel’ campaign organised by Nomoreloss, which was meant for the fund for OJB’s kidney treatment in India, there were reports that D’Banj donated an amount of money for the cause which OJB  denied vehemently and implied that D’banj used his ordeal as a publicity stunt for the latter’s music career – an allegation D’banj neither accepted or denied! Speaking on Sunday during a thanksgiving service in Lagos to celebrate his successful kidney treatment.

In his words he said “quote me, we launched D’Banj’s music career and not Don Jazzy. D’Banj is my boy. He was always in my studio. Ask him when you see him and he won’t deny this. I knew about how he went to JJC in London. I also launched JJC. I don’t see the need to continue to celebrate him because he didn’t do anything to help me when the chips were down.”

NOLLYWOOD ACTRESS CHIKA IKE HAS BAGED ANOTHER AWARD

Controversial Nollywood actress Chika Ike who has bagged so many awards since she came into limelight in 2005 has bagged another award from the Actors Guild of Nigeria as the 'most disciplined actress of the year 2013' she took to her instagram page to announce this achievement and was congratulated by her fans.

Now the question is Does Chika Ike really deserve this award? We can recall all her controversies that has left tongues wagging, During the Christmas period, pictures of herself in Dubai which went viral and lots of people commented that she was a 'showoff', a lot of people also disbelieved her age when she said she was 27 last year, but she said she got married at the age of 20 and even tweeted her WAEC result online where her date was clearly shown for proof, yearly she usually gets mixed reactions of her yearly calendar which she releases at the end of the year. Some even rumoured that she was going out with the senate president, David Mark. The end of her marriage brought up a lot of speculation with people insinuating different reasons in the media, she revealed at a time that getting married at a young age was one of the things that caused her marriage breakup, the actress also has the Chika Ike foundation which aim is to Educate the child and distribute books to school!

The actress with a lot of controversies like this, makes Nigerians wonder whether she deserves the award of the most disciplined actress in Nollywood, we have likes of Omotola Jalade, Chioma Chukwuka, Mercy Johnson and the likes of other actresses who do their job well and handle their private life carefully... what do u think?

DANA AIRLINE RESUMES FLIGHT OPERATION TODAY AFTER THEY SUCCESSFULLY PASSED AUDIT BY NCAA

According to reports, Dana Airline has successfully passed the operational audit exercise by the NCAA and would start operations as from today Saturday January 25th.

 A statement from the airline said following the successful outcome of the operational audit of Dana Air by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the airline is set to recommence full commercial flight operations today.

Announcing the resumption of flight operations in Lagos, the Chief Operating Officer & Accountable Manager, Mr. Yvan Drewinsky, said the lifting of the suspension order is a testament that Dana Air
adheres strictly to prescribed safety standards as dictated by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) and the International Civil  Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

BIRDMAN`S GOLD TOILET

Chai wetin person no go see for this life! What some people are doing with money oooo! Cash Money Records co-founder & Hip Hop tycoon Bryan Williams, aka Birdman showed off his solid gold toilet on his instagram page yesterday.

According to reports, the toilet is gold-plated, but the seat and the cover is solid gold and it cost $1m.

TMZ REPORTS THAT JUSTIN BIEBER WAS CAUGHT DRIVING CRAZY

Tmz reports that justin bieber was caught driving under influence. when he was arrested on Thursday morning doesn't hold water. TMZ report below...

Miami Beach cops claim Justin Bieber was drag racing at the time of his arrest Thursday ... but the facts seem to show the allegation is made up ... because we've learned they were actually under the speed limit in the middle of the so-called drag race.

According to the police report ... cops spotted Justin and his buddy Khalil drag racing at around 4 AM. The police report says ... an officer observed the 2 vehicles reaching speeds between 55 and 60 MPH.

Now the problems. Cops say they noticed the "drag race" on the 2600 block of Pine Tree Drive. Cops were traveling in the opposite direction so they made a U turn and pursued the cars for 15 blocks. Continue...

Mind you ... Justin was driving one of the fastest race cars around -- a Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Spyder.  Khalil was driving a Ferrari 16M.  Cops claim 2 SUVs in Justin's entourage actually blocked off traffic to give the 2 a clear path.

So how could a 15-block drag race in those cars reach speeds of ONLY 60 MPH?

Fact is ... THEY DID NOT REACH 60.  IN FACT THEY DID NOT REACH 50 NOT TO TALK OF 60.  THEY DIDN'T EVEN REACH 40.

TMZ has learned that the place where Justin and Khalil hired the cars attached a G.P.S device that also tracks speed. 

The GPS tracked both cars at 27 MPH at the 3500 block of Pine Tree Drive ... smack in the middle of the so-called "drag race."

There's only one time they ever broke 50 MPH and that was long before the pursuit started.  When Justin and Khalil left the club, one car was briefly clocked at 52 MPH and the other 47 MPH. Both drivers slowed down pretty quick and 5 blocks before cops noticed them they were going 34 MPH in a 30 MPH zone.   Blocks later, they were steady at 28 MPH.

So it seems cops goosed the facts to justify the stop.

And that's not the only problem with the police report. TMZ broke the story ... Justin's blood alcohol level was about .014 -- a barely measurable amount. Yet cops claim Justin reeked of alcohol both at the scene and at the police department

GTBank SPONSORS BASKET MOUTH UNSENSORED WITH 30 MILLION NAIRA

GTBank sponsors Basketmouth
Uncensored Tour with N30million
Guaranty Trust Bank has thrown its  heavy weight behind
one of Nigeria's biggest and best comedians Basketmouth
by sponsoring his comedy tour with a whooping flagellin
N30million. The show which is to hold on the 14th,
15th & 16th of February in Manchester,
Birmingham and London respectively is almost
sold out. The tour kicks off from Port Harcourt on
the 9th of February and will hit Johannesburg on
the 28th of Feb. It will end later in the year in
Lagos on the 4th of May 2014.

AT LAST S.S.S FINALLY SECURES A WARRANT OF ARREST FOR MR NASIR EL-RUFAI

S.S.S finally secures warrant  arrest
for Nasir El-Rufai
The State Security Service, SSS, has finally
secured a warrant of arrest for the Deputy
National Secretary of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, Nasir El-Rufai, and has now
launched a man hunt for him, the spokesperson for
the agency has said.
This is even as armed operatives of the Service
again stormed a second house in Abuja believed to
belong to the former minister in their desperate bid
to arrest him.
They had earlier in the afternoon invaded his first
house in the Maitama District of the nation’s
capital, but could not find him as he had reportedly
gone to pick his children from school. They were
said to have tried to force their way in to arrest the
former minister. Continue...
In the latest siege on another property, also in the
Maitama District, the operatives were said to have
beaten up some private guards for refusing them
entry.
The spokesperson of the SSS, Marylyn Ogar,
confirmed that the operatives visited Mr. El-
Rufai’s second house to arrest him, but denied that
anyone was beaten.
“I hate cheap blackmail,” Ms. Ogar told Premium
Times on telephone. “We went to the first place,
nobody was beaten up. How will we go to the
second place and beat people up?”
She explained that the SSS got an arrest warrant
demanded by Mr. El-Rufai, but could not find him
to personally serve him the document.
“We extended a friendly invitation to him,” the SSS
spokesperson said. “He was invited honourably to
come and make some explanations about the
comments attributed to him.
“He said he wanted an arrest warrant. We have
now obtained that from a competent court and we
are wondering why he is running.
“We want to serve it on him. Or is there any
Nigerian that is above the law?
“The president has said his ambition is not worth
any Nigerian’s blood. So why will anyone else be
making provocative statements?”
The manhunt for the former minister followed his
refusal to honour an invitation from the SSS on
Thursday.
He cited his pending suit against the Service over
his detention in a hotel in Awka during the
Anambra State Governorship last November 16 as
the reason for refusing to honour the invitation.
Mr. El-Rufai also insisted on seeing a warrant of
arrest before he could go to the SSS office.
The invitation of the APC chief was in connection
with his remarks at a conference in Abuja on
Wednesday that there might be violence if the
2015 general elections were not credible.
Meanwhile, Mr. El-Rufai, in statement by his media
advisor, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Friday, confirmed
that armed SSS officials stormed his home in
Abuja following his rejection of the attempt by the
organization to compel him to report at their office
without a valid warrant.
The statement said the former minister had on
Thursday firmly told the Director General of SSS
that he would be exercising his right not to go to
the SSS offices except a warrant mandates him
and offered to meet the SSS officials in his home
or office.
“The armed invasion of his house is a clear
indication that the SSS imagines itself as an
agency immune from respecting fundamental
rights, behaviour akin to a gathering of toughs
before whom every citizen must quake,” the
statement said.
“The SSS agents did not produce any warrant to
back their invasion of his premises.
“The assault on El-Rufai’s house continues a
sorry tradition of serial violation of his rights by the
SSS which has arrested him at airports and hotels.
“The most recent was the action of the SSS in
violating his right to freedom of movement in Awka
during the Anambra elections. Without any just
cause or formal charge, the Directorate of State
Security Services (SSS) had unlawfully detained El
Rufai, the Deputy National Secretary of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) at the premises of
Finotel Hotel, Akwa, Anambra State, from the 15th
day of November, 2013 to the 16th day of
November, 2013.”
The statement said during the period, Mr. El-Rufai
was not only restricted to the hotel, he was denied
access to his congregational prayer as a devout
Muslim, and kept incommunicado without access
to anyone and or the press.
It stated that in order to remedy the flagrant
violation of his fundamental rights as enshrined in
sections 35, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution, the
former minister sued the SSS, seeking eight
reliefs, including an injunction to restrain the SSS
from further infringing on his fundamental rights

THE NEW MERCEDES BENZ F 500

The F 500 Mind showcases the very latest technology
At the Tokyo Motor Show 2003, Mercedes-Benz presented the latest in a string of research vehicles which have attracted much interest and attention over the years and which provide fascinating insights into the automotive technology of tomorrow and beyond. Packaged as a modern four-door fastback saloon, the F 500 Mind mobile research lab showcases more than a dozen ideas for enhancing the safety, drive technology and comfort of future Mercedes passenger cars.

The Daimler Chrysler researchers will be using this vehicle to conduct the first practical tests of these innovative systems and pave the way for their commercialisation. The raft of innovations extends all the way from the night vision system with infrared laser headlamps to two-way doors and a programmable multivision display in the cockpit. Electronic accelerator and brake pedals, an interior pillar which provides structural rigidity and an ultrasound driver information system are further features being tested by Mercedes-Benz in the F 500 Mind.

For the power train, the Daimler Chrysler researchers have developed a high-performance diesel hybrid unit whose NEDC fuel consumption is up to 20 per cent lower than that of a comparable CDI engine. The state-of-the-art V8 diesel engine (184 kW/250 hp) from the S-Class has been combined with a powerful electric motor (50 kW) which is switched on and off by an electronic controller in response to traffic conditions and driving style. The electric motor can take over for example when moving off from rest, in stop-go conditions or in other situations where an internal combustion engine does not operate at optimal efficiency. When the driver demands more power, the V8 internal combustion engine cuts in to provide sharp acceleration. The 300 V battery for the electric motor is located under the passenger cell and is recharged during braking.

With a body length of 5092 millimetres and a wheelbase of 2965 mm, the F 500 Mind offers a significant gain in legroom in the rear compared with a conventional present-day saloon in this class. This was made possible by using innovative-design electronic accelerator and brake pedals which take the form of pressure-sensitive surfaces. Sensors in these “pedals” transmit the driver’s commands to the engine and SBCô brake system by means of electrical impulses. The technology takes up much less room than conventional mechanical pedals, increasing the length of the front footwell by 120 millimetres. The driver’s and front passenger’s seats can therefore be positioned further forward, so providing more space for the rear passengers. The steering, too, is controlled electronically.

Intelligent door-opening technology allows the doors to be opened in two different ways: either conventionally (both doors open forwards) or from the centre (centre-opening). In the latter mode, the B-pillar stump moves backwards with the rear door to provide a 1900 mm-wide opening for occupant entry and exit.

In the absence of full-size B-pillars, which would normally provide the all-important structural rigidity and side impact protection, the Stuttgart engineers came up with an innovative interior pillar which provides exemplary rigidity and typical Mercedes standards of occupant safety. The pillar is located in the middle of the vehicle towards the rear, and connects the reinforced floor pan to the roof structure. It also houses the air-conditioning ducts and interior lighting units.
The multivision display in the cockpit of the F 500 Mind forms the centrepiece of an innovative instrumentation and control system which offers the driver more flexible information delivery and at the same time reduces fatigue. The dials and displays in the instrument cluster are programmable and their images can be optically superposed or combined with the aid of a semitransparent mirror. In this way the driver can call up a wide range of information at the push of a button on the steering wheel. The information is always displayed directly in the driver’s field of vision where it can be seen easily and will not distract him. A further display, the central display unit, is situated above the centre console. It is linked to a touch pad whose surface is divided up in exactly the same way as the surface of the central display. By briefly touching it, the driver can control the navigation system, radio, air conditioning, telephone and other systems.

Further switches and keys in the vehicle are equipped with special sensors which can detect the driver’s approaching hand even at a distance of several centimetres. They then immediately call up the relevant function in the central display, for more convenient operation.
An advanced-design voice control system and an ultrasound-based driver information system take convenience even further. The ultrasound technology targets the sound at the driver so that only he or she can hear the information from the navigation system, the traffic news and other sound-based information sources, while the front passenger and rear passengers remain undisturbed.
In the dark or in poor visibility, the innovative night vision system projects its images onto the right-hand display. The night vision system consists of two infrared laser headlights on the front of the vehicle which “illuminate” the road with their invisible light over a range of up to 150 metres. The light reflected back from other vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians to a camera mounted on the front windscreen of the F 500 Mind is projected in black and white onto the multivision display. This allows the driver to spot hazards much earlier than in a vehicle operating on conventional dipped headlamps, which have a range of only about 40 metres. Thus Night Vision offers further opportunities for making night driving safer.
As a mobile research lab, the F 500 Mind is equipped with a special “laboratory bench” which folds out towards the rear. This allows a researcher sitting in the back of the vehicle to monitor and control the vehicle systems during testing on the proving grounds and to carry out measurements. For example the researchers are planning to use this fascinating vehicle for intensive user acceptance-testing of the innovative instrumentation and control system and for further practical testing of the diesel hybrid drive system and the Night Vision system.