Paris Auto Show Just One Automotive Exhibition

by Chris Owen on

Since 1898, the Paris Motor Show has been one of the most important car shows around. Even as European carmakers prepare for problems with labor, sales and a dismal financial future, the latest models are on display right now with each manufacturer putting their best on display for the world to see. But we don’t have to fly across the pond for much of the latest and greatest that the auto industry has to offer. Auto shows scattered around the United States offer a first look at a complete range of domestic and imported passenger cars and trucks, sport utility vehicles and experimental or concept cars.

The Sacramento International Auto Show is coming up October 19-21 at the Cal Expo featuring hundreds of the brand new 2012 and 2013 cars, mixed in with vehicles spanning over a hundred years of the automotive industry. Four on-site Ride and Drives and two kid zones and the Sac Auto Show has something for everyone.

The South Florida International Auto Show runs November 9-18 at the Miami Convention Center. This one too has Ride & Drive events and this year includes Camp Jeep, offering auto show visitors off-road driving courses to demonstrate the legendary 4×4 capabilities of Jeep vehicles. Trained instructors will drive participants over a variety of surfaces such as steep grades, rocky trails and log crossings. Traditionally, 665,000 people visit the auto show each year, which has an estimated financial impact on the local economy of over $50 million.

The Connecticut International Auto Show open Friday through Sunday the weekend of November 2, will have factory and dealer representatives from the car lines on hand to answer questions in a no pressure environment. More of a buyer-focused show, cars to suit every budget and life style will be there, all under one roof to make comparing prices and features easy.

The Los Angeles Auto Show is one of the longest shows, this year open from November 28 through December 9, and for good reason. Packed with unique events, displays, areas just for children and a yearly “challenge” to the auto manufacturers, the LA Auto show draws a lot of attention. This year, for example, their challenge asks automotive design studios to create a highway patrol vehicle that meets the requirements of a specific region’s transportation and societal conditions in 2025.

The Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in America, held more times than any other auto exposition on the continent. This year marks the 105th edition of the Chicago Auto Show that first started in 1901. Showcasing nearly 1,000 different vehicles, attendees will also have the opportunity to see the latest accessories and auto-related exhibits, competition vehicles and project, antique and collector cars. The event runs Saturday, February 9 through Monday, February 18.

Car shows are not all about new cars and technology either. Antique car shows feature the classic designs and bring back memories of yesteryear, like this recent show in Boston.


[Flickr photos by Jason Pier in DC]

Aircraft Boarding Challenges Bring Innovative Designs

by Chris Owen on

Boarding commercial aircraft, from a traveler’s point of view, is all about getting to our seats, stowing gear and getting underway. We hope to have overhead bin space available, a reasonably comfortable seat and an on-time departure. Airlines are right there with us on the getting to our seats part and getting underway; they could not agree more. It’s a major issue so aircraft designers devote a lot of time and resources to making the whole process efficient.

Airlines want the boarding process to go as fast as it can for a couple big reasons. They want to stay on time, sure. But the less time they spend boarding passengers, the more flights they can fit in a day. As airlines cut back on the number of flights, choosing to insure full, profitable planes, they are constantly looking for ways to increase that efficiency.

One way might be slider seats that promise quicker boarding.Using the new Molon Labe Designs approach during boarding, the aisle seat slides on top of the middle seat, creating a 43-inch wide aisle. That gives boarding passengers much more room to navigate, stow gear and be seated. When boarding on each row is completed, the aisle seat then slides back into position.

The manufacturer promises they can cut loading time in half, adding up to 120 minutes flying time every day. Good news for airlines that could fly the same number of passengers with up to 15 percent fewer aircraft. But what about passengers?

“I’m not going to tell you it’s a comfortable seat,” Hank Scott, founder of the company said in a LA Times article. “It’s a quick, turn-around seat.” A prototype is due in November and the company has presented the idea to Boeing and Airbus.

Like it or not, aircraft seating is a huge topic to designers. The amount of time it takes to board passengers is on the table for discussion. To those with mobility issues, its also about the indignity and discrimination they face boarding aircraft.

Air Access is a concept designed by Priestmangoode that speeds up the boarding process for passengers with reduced mobility by enabling an easier transition from gate to aircraft. Air Access is a detachable wheelchair the passenger gets in at the departure gate or on the jet way. After seating, the passenger is wheeled onto the plane where the chair slides sideways and locks into the fixed-frame aisle seat without the passenger needing to get up.

On arrival, ground staff unlocks the seat, slide it out into the aisle and wheel the passenger to the jet way or arrival gate as we see in this video:




[Flickr photo by Slices of Life]

Tagwhat Geotag App Like A Personal Tour Guide

by Chris Owen on

Geotag apps are coming out of development at a frenzied pace these days as developers rush to use new technology in one way or another. Not long ago, we tested HipGeo, which takes tagged photos, as well as pin drops we make on the road, to block in a storyline of our adventures. Now Tagwhat, the app that hopes to be the mobile tour guide for the world, has upped its game, automatically dragging in digital content from the web.

Simply engaging the app at any given location pulls relevant wiki information about attractions and features of the area where users happen to be. The idea sounds relatively simple but the technology used to make it happen is rather complex. Testing the Tagwhat app, I brought up historic locations that I had never heard of before, along with in-depth information within a few miles of my home in Orlando. First thought: this is a great app for a quick weekend road trip.

But looking deeper into the Tagwhat application, developers have created two tools that enable their advanced geotagging functionality. Like a Pinterest button for location, the “Tag it” button is a Web browser “bookmarklet” that allows users to quickly select content on any Web page in a single click and direct it to any spot on a map.

The Tagwhat Publishing Dashboard lets users upload their own digital content to real-world places and manage what they have created. Content uploaded with the new publishing tools is added to Tagwhat’s database of more than 800,000 tags, or multimedia stories, globally.

“The web has billions of pages of Web content. But the problem was that there was no way to deliver the content to real-world settings, where the information would be most meaningful,” Dave Elchoness, founder and CEO of Tagwhat told Gadling. “Rather than typing in a search and hoping for the best, location-aware mobile devices now give us new way to search for and discover web content based on a user’s location and their interests.”

Indeed, the app has different “channels” to select, bringing a customized array of information, based on the users location. Users can choose from Wikipedia, Movies, Sports, Nature, Science and Tech, Offbeat, Events, Art, Heritage, Architecture, Food, Music and/or Books. Right now, I have all channels turned on but get only Wiki info. Later, as more users join and tag their information, Tagwhat promises to bring me deeper content, like being on a tour with a local who knows all the great spots. For example, say someone from Gadling tagged all the posts here. Gadling bloggers travel around the world to bring content about a variety of places, people and events. If I were in London with the Tagwhat app engaged, the content presented would include Gadling blogger Sean McLachlin’s post “Roman Cavalry Helmet To Be Star Attraction At Royal Academy Exhibition” and Jessica Festa’s “10 Stunning And Iconic Shots Of London” if I had selected the channels in Tagwhat where those posts appeared.

Say I did not care anything about those topics; with only “Sports” selected, I would see “Facts By The Numbers For The 2012 Olympic Games In London” and any sports related posts that had something to do with the London area.

On the move, the content changes to correspond with the user’s location too. I checked the content within a few miles of my home in Orlando then went for a drive. Arriving at the first location that I found interesting, a historic monument from the civil war, I checked again and a new list of attractions appeared, geared for where I was at that time.

Without sourcing any other content from the web other than wiki information, this app is a must-have for traveling to an unfamiliar destination. Tagwhat also adds value to a short trip in your own backyard.

This latest release of Tagwhat also has a push notifications feature that proactively notifies users about interesting stories nearby, even when the app is not open on their smartphone.


Tagwhat is available for iOS and Android.

Image courtesy Tagwhat

Africa Set To Be Next International Hot Spot?

by Chris Owen on

Africa seems to be making a comeback, drawing travelers from around the globe to a variety of destinations within the world’s second largest continent. The next international hotspot? Recent travel awards won by Africa’s luxury travel brands indicate that’s possible. A focus by adventure brands adds fuel to the fire; Africa is the place to be.

The World Travel Awards (WTA) highlight and reward travel brands that are the best in quality, innovation and service over the past year. While natural wonders and popular iconic destinations are common bucket list items, visitors have to get there first.

They might fly in, take a cab or rent a car to go someplace. Once there, luxury travelers might want a good hotel room or resort for the base of their operations. Adventure travelers could be looking for guides, tour operators or packages geared to backpacking, hiking, camping or climbing. All those services need to be in place in advance.At the World Travel Awards this month, coming in as highly-rated were tour operators Abercrombie and Kent, South African Airways, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond and a variety of luxury hotels and resorts.

“Our winners are drawn from the breadth of Africa, reflecting how the outstanding natural attractions of the continent are being complimented with a growing portfolio of luxury facilities.” said Graham E. Cooke, President & Founder, WTA in a Travel Daily News article.

Indeed, looking to 2013, service providers have upped their game, offering more packages, tours and accommodations than before.

It’s not just luxury travel either, outdoor expert REI Adventures added six new trips to its collection of African adventures for 2013 with a strong focus on the southern part of the continent. The REI trips are not just backpacking via safari.

REI’s Exploring Africa series includes a focus on Botswana, Namibia or Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. In Ultimate Adventures, REI takes travelers across country via small aircraft, assuring they will see all major attractions and highlights on one 11-day adventure.

Tour operators, hotels, airlines and service providers are ready. 2013 looks to be a big year for Africa. Gadling’s Kraig Becker agrees, saying, “Having visited South Africa myself, it is easy to understand why it is such a popular destination. The country truly has something to offer travelers of all types,” in “South Africa Sees Nearly 20 Percent Increase In Tourism In 2012.”



[Photo courtesy REI Adventures]

Airport, Airline Weather System Updates To Save Time, Fuel, Eventually

by Chris Owen on

When unavoidable bad weather causes turbulence in the air, passengers can expect a rocky ride. In the past, while pilots have aimed to avoid turbulence, they have been limited in the number of available tools. Now, a new turbulence avoidance system promises to change that.

A smoother ride
Called the Juneau Airport Wind System (JAWS), it was developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and provides information pilots can use to route aircraft away from patches of potentially dangerous turbulence.

“By alerting pilots to areas of moderate and severe turbulence, this system enables them to fly more frequently and safely in and out of the Juneau airport in poor weather,” says Alan Yates, an NCAR program manager who helped oversee the system’s development in an R&D Magazine article. “It allows pilots to plan better routes, helping to reduce the bumpy rides that passengers have come to associate with airports in these mountainous settings.”

The system uses a network of wind measuring instruments and computational formulas to interpret rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. The Federal Aviation Administration accepted JAWS for operational use this year.

Just how bad can turbulence in the air be? Check this video:


Sliding in for a landing
In the works and delayed for several years, another system relies on satellites and GPS rather than the radar system developed in the 1950s to direct planes and jets from takeoff to landing.

Called the NextGen system, it will be initially used in Orlando, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, northern and southern California, Houston, Charlotte and northern Texas. The new system should allow planes to fly with less spacing between them on more direct routes, and allowing them to glide to a landing rather than following a step down pattern that is not fuel efficient.

The NextGen system has been compared to walking down a flight of stairs vs. sliding down the banister.

“In addition to improving safety and increasing capacity, this plan will allow for more direct routing for airplanes, less holding at the destination and better planning for constant descent arrivals mentioned above, resulting in less carbon emissions, fuel consumption, and noise.” said Gadling’s Kent Wien in Plane Answers: Airlines see green in appearing green back in 2009, just to show how long this one has been in the works.

This video tells the whole story:



Flickr photo by Ack Ook