http://www.physorg.com/news194070050.html?xid=rss-fullcontent

IBM has filed a patent application for a traffic light system that can remotely stop and start the engines of vehicles, with the aim of increasing fuel consumption efficiency at busy intersections.

The system would be able to receive position information from vehicles waiting at red lights to determine a queue of participating vehicles stopped at the signal. It would then determine the time still to elapse before the lights turn green, and if this time is over a set threshold (such as two minutes) the traffic light would then send signals to the vehicle engines to stop them.

When the lights turn green, a “start-engine notification” would be sent to the front vehicle to start its engine first, and a signal would be sent to the second vehicle in the queue an “optimal time” later, and so on.

The IBM patent says the system could be applied to traffic signals at intersections, railway crossings, or other transportation signals for “indicating correct moments to stop and to proceed.” Its stated aims are to reduce wastage of fuel and optimize the movement of vehicles through the intersection or crossing.

The patent states that with “increasing vehicle usage there may be more traffic and longer wait times at traffic signals,” resulting in wasted fuel if the vehicle engines are kept running. It acknowledges that most drivers do not turn off their vehicles’ engines in such situations, and that more fuel may be used in restarting the engine than in keeping it running if it is stopped for too short a time. The system would therefore take into account the time remaining before the signal changes to determine if the vehicle’s engine should be stopped.

The proposed traffic light system would gather data from traffic signal clocks, GPS data on vehicle positions, traffic load information (perhaps from weight sensors in the road), cameras, and/or “other data obtainable from sensors embedded at the intersections.” The communications system may use Wi-Fi technologies, a cellular network, or satellite communications.

In one proposed model the method would be made available as a “service” that vehicle drivers would need to sign up for. The stop/start-engine notifications could switch the engine off and on automatically, or they could trigger alerts to the driver to turn it off/on manually.

The idea is at the patent application stage, and the patent only covers the method but not the communications technology. Many patent applications never proceed any further, and only time will tell if this will be one of them.

I gotta an idea for IBM...Shove it up your A$$!!!

Rube Goldberg engineering!

This is so similar to the capacity that the power companies will have over the 'smart appliances' in our homes after the 'smart grid' is up and running. The new outlet enables TWO-way communication between your appliance(-s) and the power company. They'll be able to look at your thermostat or clothes drier and say 'That Andy ... ! He's using too much energy to stay cool in this 100-degree-plus weather ... let's just set his thermostat on 'Fan' - and put his drier on 'Air Dry' instead of 'cotton'."

It's nice of IBM to let people 'opt in' (or so they imply) ... frankly, I'm thinkin' they'd use something a bit less sophisticated for this - like a mini-EMP burst ... but that'd have too many downsides - like no one bein' able to start their car when the light changes ... Sorry, but I don't want ANY part of this ... and we thought the 'red-light camera' was a beotch ...

This world is going crazy.It's a popular idea now to have everyone else running your life the way they see fit.It don't matter if you like it or not,if you agree or not.They think they know what is best for you and of course the enviroment.At the rate this world is going I am not going to be surprised if they take everything away from us and have us living in those 10'X 6' rooms like they have in Japan.

I am just wondering how long it will be before prune faced Pelosi decideds this should be law for California?


I do see hope in the near future!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl2355


Gallup Poll shows largest Republican lead ever


With five months to go before the general election, a new poll finds that Republicans have opened their widest lead yet when it comes to which party voters prefer this fall. Gallup's generic congressional ballot finds that the number of voters who say they will vote GOP has jumped to 49 percent, compared with 43 percent for Democrats. That's not only the biggest lead Gallup has recorded for the GOP this election cycle, it's the largest lead Republicans have ever had in the poll, which Gallup has run since 1950.

Why are Republicans surging?

According to Gallup, the GOP gained 3 percentage points in the poll over the last week, while Dems fell 4 points. All of this happened as President Obama's approval rating took a hit, especially with his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Gallup puts Obama's approval rating at 46 percent — not exactly in George W. Bush territory, but low for this White House.

No doubt critics will question how much a generic poll really reveals about what might happen in November. After all, it's often better to break down races locally for a more comprehensive picture of how the midterm elections might go. But generic ballots are very good at telling us where voter sentiment is nationally and how enthusiastic people are — or aren't — about the political parties.

One number that Democrats are surely not pleased about is what poll experts call the "enthusiasm" gap. According to Gallup, 39 percent of Republicans are excited about the 2010 elections, compared with just 24 percent of Democrats. That's one of the leading measures of how likely it is that voters will turn out to vote, and if Democrats can't find a way to close that 15-point gap, November could be a painful month for President Obama and other party leaders.

Yeah, it's 'marginally' good news ... I'm still skeptical 'cuz I remember their retaking the House and Senate in '94 and promptly doing NOTHING with their victory. They didn't know how to act as a majority party, and the 'craps never stopped acting AS IF they were STILL the majority - even tho' they were the minority numerically. I'll reserve my wild cheers of approval until I see IF they win and WHAT they do with it ... frankly, I really don't have a helluva lot of confidence in the 'pubs either. Most times, they're just too effin' stupid to know what the right thing is - and I'm fed up with 'em wanting to 'play nice' and 'cross the aisle' to play with their 'colleagues'. I want VEHEMENT PARTISANSHIP, and I want it displayed in exactly the same high-handed way the 'craps did it after 'The ONE's victory lap. I'm not interested in 'bi-partisan' anything - that's just code for 'Do it my way'. Screw 'em. I withhold my support for 'em until they PROVE that they're serious about getting rid of the excesses that have been created in this first two years.

Wouldn't the extra fuel consumption and (wear on your vehicle) caused by repeatedly cycling the engine down and up completely offset the few drops of gas you'd burn waiting twenty seconds for the light to turn?

Also, the way I drive is with the windows down, then if I do come to a redlight, I turn the air conditioner on until traffic starts and I get natural airflow again. If the engine shuts down, the air conditioner won't run. But I guess that would reverse global warming and I wouldn't need it, right?

It would be murder on the starter, and could potentially cause more traffic accidents.

Companies file ridiculous patents all the time with the mindset that "if we don't patent it, someone else will". Something like this will never go anywhere.

it is a good idea to turn off your vehicle when it is stopped and coast as much as possible. it does save gas.

but it is problematic to allow third party control over vehicles.



not so good if the system accidentally shuts off your car at the
wrong time.....same with appliances.