Now, a hi-tech car that can guide older drivers

British engineers are developing a new hi-tech car meant for elderlies which they say can guide the driver in identifying the safest routes.

The car, which has navigation tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations, can also monitor stress levels, concentration and driving habits of the drivers by tracking their eye movements.

The technology, called Granny-Nav, is being developed by a team at the Newcastle University under the 12-million-pound "social inclusion through the digital economy (SiDE)" projec

It is aimed at helping older drivers to stay on the road, as most of them often give up driving because their reaction times slow down, the researchers said.

Phil Blythe, professor of intelligent transport systems at Newcastle, said: "For many older people, particularly those living alone or in rural areas, driving is essential for maintaining their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others."

"What we are doing is to look at ways of keeping people driving safely for longer, which in turn boosts independence and keeps us socially connected," Prof Blythe told BBC News.

The car, which the team dubbed DriveLAB, has night vision systems to help driving in the dark.

It also uses pictures of local landmarks, such as a post box or public house, as turning cues for when people are driving in unfamiliar places.

Around 20 drivers in their 80s in England and Scotland have so far taken DriveLAB out on the road.

Dr Amy Guo, who is leading the older driver study, said the car had produced some surprises

"For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined.

"We're looking at the benefits of systems which control your speed as a way of preventing that."

The team is also looking at displaying information on the windscreen, rather than the dashboard, so drivers do not feel the need to look away from the road, and systems that can detect if the car has strayed out of its lane.

Tara Tiny @ Rs 99K is the world's cheapest car!

The Tata Nano is no longer the world's cheapest car! Jostling along with Tata Nano, this July, will be Tara Tiny and Tara Titu. These are zero emission, electric cars and cost only Rs 99,000! And they come from the Tara International stable.

Tara S Ganguly, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, had a big dream. And he set about realising it 'in a small way.' Tara International has teamed up with China's Aucma, a leading player in the electrical vehicles and appliances segment, to manufacture these cars.

At the moment, four variants of electric cars are ready at the Tara International factory at Palta, a few kilometers from Kolkata. These are Tara Tiny, Tara Titu (two-seater and four-seater, respectively), Tara Shuttle, and Tara Carrier. While Tara Tiny and Tara Titu are priced at Rs 99,000 (approximately), Tara Shuttle and Tara Carrier are priced at Rs 500,000 (approximately).

The company will also launch electric bikes priced between Rs 12,000 and Rs 35,000.

The Tara series cars are available in electric red, black and white. Bikes comes in varied hues -- green, blue, red, etc. To know about the specifications of the car and see more pictures of the world's 'cheapest' car 

Each of the cars can be recharged daily at 220 volts through 15 amp sockets, whereas the bikes can be recharged through 5 amp sockets.

A daily 6-hour charge enables bikes to travel 80 to 100 km, whereas the cars (all variants) need 8 hours of charging to cover the same distance.

Some of the cars that are available at the moment at the company's factory are left-hand drives as "they are meant for the markets in the United States and China," informed Ganguly. "Those meant for the Indian market are being reassembled at our workshops."

Apart from West Bengal, the company's other production centres are located in Pondicherry and Lucknow.

Speaking to rediff.com, Ganguly played down the competition-with-Nano line. He categorically stated that neither he nor his cars have any intention of taking on the Tata Nano. "Nano is a Rs 1-lakh car. In its case, it is the cost that is the centre of attraction."
"But the cars that I have conceptualised are 'green' cars. Therefore, the question of comparing these (environment-friendly cars) with the Nano doesn't arise at all," he said.
"The only note of similarity between the two happens to be the price, while the Nano is a Rs 100,000-plus car, my Tara small cars are priced approximately at Rs 99,000," he said.




When asked why had he planned to launch electric vehicles, Ganguly replied, "Electric cars perform certain jobs much better than any other alternative -� gasohol (a fuel mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline), biodiesel, compressed natural gas and liquid petroleum gas."

"One, they are simple, because the number of moving parts are fewer in number -� just 35, compared to over 2,500 for gasoline-powered vehicles. Fewer parts mean less maintenance and simpler service. Also, electric cars do not need oil, filters and coolants."

Do battery operated cars have any disadvantage? "The only disadvantage lies in their speed. These cars cannot run faster than 50 kms an hour. But then that is supposed to be the sane speed for confined and populated areas," he justified.

Tara International has teamed up with China's Aucma, a leading player in the electrical vehicles and appliances segment, to manufacture these cars.

The company has introduced 'distributed manufacturing on contract system,' informed the company vice president Biswajit Das, while speaking to rediff.com.
"It means, the company is training a group of units at various parts of India to assemble the car and bike parts, repair and maintain them. The company plans to set up 50 such units across the country, out of which five are ready as of now."
Tara International has so far tied up with a few Indian companies to set up charging units at shopping malls across the country. Neither Ganguly nor Das want to reveal these companies' names at the moment.

Drive these cars @ 40 paise per km!

You might not have heard of Tara International or the electric cars and mopeds it plans to launch. But once the company unleashes Tara Tiny and Tara Titu -- which will cost about Rs 99,000 -- and Tara Shuttle and Tara Carrier, it is quite likely to become a household name. "While Tara Tiny and Tara Titu are priced at Rs 99,000 (approximately), Tara Shuttle and Tara Carrier are priced at Rs 500,000 (approximately). The company�s electric bikes are priced between Rs 12,000 and Rs 35,000. The running cost of these cars is about 40 paise per km, while the two-wheelers' running cost will be as low at 15 paise per km. (100 paise = 1 rupee)






Tara Titu specifications:
No. of seats: 2
Net weight: 940 kg
Wheel base: 1800 mm
Maximum speed: 55 km/hour
Maximum grade ability: 13%
Motor power: 5 kw
Battery voltage: 12V*4
Recharge duration: 8 hours
Driving charge: 130 km
Ground clearance: 110/mm
Running cost: 55 p/km
Battery capacity: 200/Ah

The Tara Titu which will come in 2 variants: 2-seater and 4-seater, and will cost from Rs 99,000 onwards.

The story of Tara Ganguly

At the first meeting, you are sure to take Tara S Ganguly for a retired army man. Once you strike a conversation with him, you understand why: the chairman and chief executive officer of Tara International has the same zeal and fervour of a general. He is a visionary who wants to give back something to the society.
It is this urge in Ganguly that has goaded him to conceive pollution free, battery-driven cars. He visualises in his mind's eye a pollution free world where green aka electric cars would replace fuel-driven cars.
"With the phenomenon of global warming breathing down our necks every minute, it is high time we switched over to battery-driven vehicles," he told rediff.com during an informal chat in Kolkata on March 15. During the meeting, he also shared some interesting details about his life, business, electric cars et al. Excerpts:

The Tara Titu which will come in 2 variants: 2-seater and 4-seater, and will cost from Rs 99,000 onwards.

Ganguly on his early life

Ganguly, born in 1942, went to the United States after finishing school at Darjeeling for a degree in engineering and management. He got a bachelor�s degree in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania University, Philadelphia, and a post-graduate degree in management engineering from Columbia University, New York.

After spending 10 years in the US working with DuPont Corporation, Ganguly returned to India to join his family business -- Bengal Enamel -- as production planning engineer and works manager. He gradually became the company's managing director.

On the company's inception
Bengal Enamel was set up in 1921 by Colonel Dwijendra Bhattacharya with nationalist leader Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy as its first chairman. The company soon became a name to reckon with for its enamelled and other ware like plates, mugs and waterbottles for households and the army. Business runs in the blood of colonel's grandson Ganguly and he decided to carry forward his ancestor's legacy.

The as yet unnamed electric beauty from the Tara International stable.

On why the company closed down
In the eighties, Bengal Enamel fell prey to competition from other materials and sank into the red before closing down in 1991. The company ended up before the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction and is still paying off its dues to banks and workers.

The Tara Shuttle, which is a 14-seater and expected to cost about Rs 500,000

Tara Shuttle specifications:
No. of seats: 14
Net weight: 1300 kg
Wheel base: 2800 mm
Maximum speed: 30 km/hour
Maximum grade ability: 15%
Motor power: 4.5 kw
Battery voltage: 6V*12
Recharge duration: 12 hours
Driving charge: 70 km
Ground clearance: 220/mm
Running cost: 70 p/km
Battery capacity: 180/Ah

The Tara Shuttle, which is a 14-seater and expected to cost about Rs 500,000.

On how Ganguly planned to resurrect it

Ganguly inherited from his ancestors an undaunted spirit and tenacity which refused to bow down in the face of adversity.
He constantly thought how to resurrect it in its new avatar. Hence came into being Tara International. With foreign partners agreeing to help it, the company decided to assemble and make zero pollution vehicles that are battery operated. A host of two/three/four wheelers for the Indian market are on the company's anvil.

The Tara Shuttle, which is a 14-seater and expected to cost about Rs 500,000.

On how he planned to launch electric vehicles

Tara International has teamed up with China's Aucma, a leading player in the electrical vehicles and appliances segment, to manufacture these cars.

The company plans to launch these electric two-wheelers by July. The joint venture was formed a few months back and initially the company would be importing and assembling about 1,000 units a month.

While initial investments in assembling wouldn't be much -- about Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) in working capital -- it would go up once component sourcing is taken up locally, Ganguly informed.

At the moment, four variants of electric cars are ready at the Tara International factory at Palta, a few kilometers from Kolkata.

These are Tara Tiny, Tara Titu, Tara Shuttle and Tara Carrier. While Tara Tiny and Tara Titu are priced at Rs 99,000 (approximately), Tara Shuttle and Tara Carrier are priced at Rs 500,000 (approximately).
The cars can be recharged daily at 220 volts through 15 amp sockets, whereas the bikes can be recharged through 5 amp sockets. A daily 6 hours of charging enables the bikes to travel 80 to 100 km whereas the cars (small and big) need 8 hours of charging to cover the same distance.

A two-wheeler from Tara. The two-wheelers from the company will be in the range of Rs 12,000 to Rs 35,000.

Some of the cars that are available at the moment at the company's factory are left-hand drives as "they are meant for the markets in US, China and California," informed Ganguly.
"Those meant for the Indian markets are being reassembled at our workshops." Apart from Bengal, company's other production centres are located in Pondicherry and Lucknow.

A two-wheeler from Tara. The two-wheelers from the company will be in the range of Rs 12,000 to Rs 35,000.

On what's the reason for so much diversification
Apart from automobiles, Tara International is also into IT, telecommunication tower, healthcare equipment, enamel wares, tanks and silos, real estate and property development.
India's economy is growing at 9 per cent on an average. So much to do, so little is done in this country, feels Ganguly.
He justifies the diversification by stating that India has tremendous potential for everything and it would be foolish not to explore all possibilities.

An electric three-wheeler from Tara. The two-wheelers from the company will be in the range of Rs 12,000 to Rs 35,000.

If Tara International has the responsibility to save this planet by producing green cars, it also has the onus of trying its hand at other things.

To expedite matters related to the electric vehicles' launch, Ganguly would be visiting China next week

No competition with the Nano

Ganguly says that neither he nor his cars have any intention of taking on Tata's Nano. "Nano is a 1-lakh car. In its case, it is the cost that is the centre of attention. But the cars that I have conceptualised are green cars. Therefore, the question of comparing it with Nano doesn't arise at all. The only note of similarity between the two happens to be the price, while the Nano is a 100,000-car, my Tara small cars are priced approximately at Rs 99,000," he adds.
Ganguly is extremely optimistic about the future of this car as he feels, "In this age of global warming and increased pollution, our future lies in green cars. I am extremely confident that these cars will be runaway hits in the international market."

The Tara International team, led by chairman and CEO Tara Ganguly (5th from right) and vice president Biswajit Das (4th from right).

World's 10 most expensive pens

The history of pens dates back to 4,000 BC, when people used crude instruments for writing -- consisting of hollow straws or reeds that carried some liquid, says penscollection.com. In 500 BC, people began to make pens from the wing feathers of such birds as geese and swans.
The shaft of the feathers was hardened and the tip was shaped and slit to make writing easy. These feather pens were known as quill pens, and they were widely used until the development of steel-nib pens in the 1800s.
By the late 1800s, inventors had perfected an early version of the fountain pen. This pen represented a major improvement over previous pens, because it featured an ink reservoir and a capillary feed. After several modifications, pens attained the current form. Companies across the world started experimenting further to come up with some really pricey ones.
To know about world's 10 most expensive pens, read on...




1. The Limited Edition Mystery Masterpiece
A joint creation between Mont blanc and Van Cleef & Arpels, this is the most expensive writing pen ever created. It costs $730,000!
Each pen has 840 diamonds and more than 20 carats of gemstones set in a Van Cleef & Arpels patented 'Mystery Setting' that conceals the stone settings. There are three variations of the pen, set either with rubies, sapphires or emeralds, and accented by diamonds. Artisans took over 18 months to create this pen.

2. La Modernista Diamond Pens

It was made by the Swiss company Caran d'Ache in 1999 as homage to architect Antonio Gaudi.
The fountain pen was sold in Harrods, London, for $265,000.
La Modernista Diamonds is made of rhodium-coated solid silver components.
It boasts of an 18-carat rhodium-coated gold nib and is set with a total of 5,072 Wesselton diamonds weighing in at 20-carats, as well as and 96 rubies totalling 32-carats.
The pen was hand-made by master jeweler Robert Perron and it took him six months to complete this true masterpiece of writing instruments.

3. Ripple HRH Limited Edition Visconti fountain pen

Made of 18K white gold and diamonds and with two-tone 18K gold nib, it costs $57,000.
It has double reservoir filling system and is sold in two variations -- white gold and black. Another distinguished Visconti pen is the Forbidden City HRH Limited Edition fountain pen.
Made of black resin, 18K gold and diamonds and boasting of Power Filler innovative filling system invented by Visconti, it is sold for $42,200.

4. Grayson Tighe Limited Edition fountain and rollerball pens

These pens are sold for a price of $22,000 to $24,000. They are 18K gold Victorian royalty executive custom made collectors pens.
The nib of Grayson Tighe fountain pens is custom hand-made in Germany with 18K yellow gold. It's engraved with a specially designed Acanthus leaf, tipped with iridium, and two toned with rhodium. Grayson Tighe rollerball pens have an advanced refill that has a 1 Year cap-off time.

5. OMAS Limited Edition Pens

These pens are sold for $16,500. The Corinthian style votive monument erected by Lysicrates is recreated on the cap and the Laocoon sculpture dominates the barrel. The clip of the pen is one of the columns of the votive monument.
The cap has a pure diamond set on the end of it.

6. David Oscarson Pens

Of these lot, the Pierrot White Fountain Pen is the most expensive costing about $4,900. Through Pierrot White Fountain Pen, David Oscarson has introduced a unique collection representing the old world craftsmanship in an attractive range of designer pens.
In fact, David Oscarson is the first pen making company to integrate five colours of hard enamel and three levels of guilloche on each fountain pen, which is finished in rhodium vermeil with natural background

7. La Dona Menagerie Fountain Pen

Handcrafted by Cartier, these pens belong to the most exquisite designer range of writing instruments priced at about $4,000. Cartier La Dona Menagerie is named after the 1940's, cine star Maria Felix, who was also known as 'La Do�a- the Mexican Marilyn Monroe.'
It was on her request, the luxury jewellery designer Cartier customised a crocodile necklace in gold. This necklace inspired Cartier to design and develop 888 individually numbered fine pieces of La Dona pens, the second offering in the Menagerie Collection. Made of expensive materials, such as gold, Cartier pen has a gold-plated nib, which is carved with a crocodile head.

8. Fifth Avenue rollerball and fountain pens

Each of the 1,929 luxurious New York Fifth Avenue rollerball and fountain pens hand-made by S T Dupont required about 160 hours of supervision.
Result was taupe- and brunette-coloured lacquer fountain pens worth $2,400. These pens are embellished with a gold and silver relief overlay, which features a central globe design.

9. Graf von Faber-Castel Pens

The core feature of the Graf von Faber-Castell Custom Pens is wood in different variations.
In Pen of the Year 2008, the outer layer of the barrel is made of Indian satinwood.
No fewer than 84 Satinwood rectangles are hand-cut for the filigree herringbone pattern.
The pen is crowned by a chessboard-facted citrine gemstone, platinised fittings and an 18-carat bicolour gold nib, carefully run in by hand.
It comes in a wooden case with a brochure and a certificate for the pen collector.

10. Conway Stewart Westminster Teal Pen

Priced at $1,800, British pen company Conway Stewart has released the latest version of this popular pen this time in teal enamel.
The pen takes its design cues from the palace of Westminster with its Gothic style engraving on the cap and barrel. The small diamond-shaped recesses mimic the detail on the palace and the tiny oak leaves are a symbol of England.
The pen is available in an edition of 100 fountain pen or rollerball writing modes.
Image: Conway Stewart Westminster Teal Pen.

Be Careful with Your Contact Lens

Important Information :

A 21 year old guy had worn a pair of contact lenses during a barbecue party.(An event or meal at which food is cooked outdoors over an open grill or fire)
While barbecuing he stared at the fire charcoals continuously for 2-3 minutes.
After a few minutes, he started to scream for help and moved rapidly, jumping up and down.
No one in the party knew why he was doing this?

Then he admitted into the Hospital, the doctor said he'll be blind permanently because of the contact lenses that he had worn.
Contact lenses are made by plastics, and the heat from the charcoal melted
his contact lenses.

DO NOT WEAR CONTACT LENSES WHERE OVERHEATING AND FLAMES ARE CONCERNED.... OR
WHILE COOKING...!

Modular Flash Drive

Amoeba Modular USB Flash Drive..................wanna get one????

The memory concept allows to break your USB stick into compartments, allowing you to store different data on each. Files onthe device can easily sorted due to the category based partitions.

When you need to share data with a friend simply unplug the correct compartment and hand it over. Partitions are assigned to personal information, documents, photos and music, with each able to be used on its own.

A new concept has bee designed by Hyunsoo Song from SADI which overcomes the problem in a simple way

World's First Hertless Man

The World’s First Heartless ManDoctors from the Texas Heart Institute have successfully replaced a
patient’s heart with a device that keeps the blood flowing, thereby allowing him to live without a
detectable heartbeat or even a pulse. Here’s how it works:
The turbine-like device, that are simple whirling rotors, developed by the doctors does not beat like a heart,
rather provides a ‘continuous flow’ like a garden hose.Craig Lewis was a 55-year-
old, dying from amyloidosis, which causes a build-up of abnormal proteins. The proteins clog the organs so much that they stop working..