IBM showcases hi-tech car

IBM had its boy-racer hat on when it showcased its souped-up TechMobile car at the LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco.

The TechMobile, which allows for web-based remote control of a vehicle, combines current products with future technologies from Big Blue's research labs, and includes technologies from Bluetooth, Blue Eyes, BlueDrekar and TSpaces.

Also included in the TechMobile, a Ford Explorer 2002, is IBM's ViaVoice for Linux which controls lights, windows, locks, sound system, horn and email.

The Linux operating system provides a platform for the TechMobile's ViaVoice applications, which are used to read and send emails, as well as another interface to control the vehicle, including starting the engine.

The demonstration included web-based control of the car, which showed off capabilities such controlling and operating its windows and doors.

The TechMobile also has its own web server and handheld Linux PC. Both employ TSpaces technology that lets Java-enabled devices exchange data with little programming.

A Bluetooth-based wireless middleware called BlueDrekar, which runs on either a PDA or a Linux watch, demonstrated how Linux-based wireless technology could enable communication between a PDA and a Linux machine onboard the TechMobile.

Blue Eyes is a new technology from IBM's AlphaWorks development team that detects movements of the retina and frequency of eye blinks. Using this technology, the IBM team have created an alarm system to warn of drowsiness when driving.

An infrared camera watches the eyes and, if the system does not detect the presence of eyeballs, it assumes the driver has fallen asleep and sounds an alarm. The technology could also let the driver blink to activate certain controls.

IBM researchers said the idea behind the technology is to bring network services such as database access and file transfer to devices that have limited memory.