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Now, cars will inform about accidents on its own

London: Computer scientists in the US are developing technology that will transform cars into intelligent vehicles fitted with aircraft-style black boxes that can record information about driving behaviour during accidents.

The car, which is being developed by researchers at computer chip giant Intel, will record information about the vehicle speed, steering and braking along with video footage from inside and outside the vehicle, The Telegraph reported.


This would be automatically sent to police and insurance companies in the event of an accident to make it easier to determine the cause of car crashes and identify the person responsible.

The device forms part of an intelligent car envisaged by researchers at Intel. They are developing technology that will transform cars into smart vehicles that are able to detect dangers on the road and even take over control from motorists.

They have been in discussions with car manufacturers about developing cars that are permanently connected to the Internet and other vehicles using wireless technology.

Camera systems that can recognise street signs and then take over control of a car if the motorist tries to drive the wrong way up a one-way street, for example, are being developed for use in vehicles.

On board sensors will also be able to detect pot holes in the road and report their location to road maintenance authorities as the car is moving.

The cars will also be able to track the location of surrounding vehicles and alert drivers if they get too close or try to change lanes when another vehicle is in their blind spot.

The technology was revealed at a research showcase by Intel in Santa Clara, California, last week. The company has been in discussions with car manufacturers about putting the technology into new vehicles.

Justin Ratner, the director of Intel Laboratories and chief technology officer, said: "We are looking at a whole range of enhancements that will improve the driving experience, safety and security of vehicles.

"The intelligent vehicle is what we are talking about here. Once a car is connected, more or less on a continuous basis, all sorts of interesting possibilities present themselves.

"With vision systems on cars, it is perfectly reasonable for a car on its own to see the sign that says 'wrong way' or 'do not enter' and bring the vehicle to a halt at the side of the road so we don't have these senseless accidents where someone has failed to recognise a sign.

"We have talked to highway maintenance departments about using sensors that are already in cars to report the GPS coordinates for pot holes in the road to the maintenance department."

Insurance companies are expected to welcome on-board car systems that will reduce the risk of accidents.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said that aviation style black box technology for recording the circumstances around accidents could also help speed up payouts by reducing delays in determining causes of accidents
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Indians in U.S., other countries to get tax concession

New Delhi: It is what you may call charity with benefit. Indians staying in the U.S. could in next three months avail tax concession on the money they will spend on social welfare projects at their native places in India.

Under the 'India Development Foundation for Overseas Indians', an initiative of Ministry of Overseas Indians, they will get tax exemption if they want to build schools, primary health centres and other infrastructure in their villages and places of origin in India.


The Ministry has already started the process of registering the foundation in the US and it will be in place in next three months, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi told PTI in an interview.

After the US, the ministry will register the foundation in other countries, including the UK and the Gulf. According to official data, there are about 24 million Indians overseas.

The foundation, a 'not-for-profit' trust being set up under the Indian Trust Act, 1882, by the Ministry, will be the nodal agency to implement the projects across the country in cooperation with state governments and selected NGOs.

Designed to help in rural infrastructure development, the minister said his ministry would not only target millionaires or rich NRIs for contribution but the average Indian diaspora who want to give back to the society.
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Bangalore IT firms logs out due to nationwide shutdown

Bangalore: Hundreds of IT firms, including Indian bellwethers Infosys Technologies and Wipro will remain closed Monday due to the nationwide shutdown against the hike in fuel prices.

"As a precaution, we have given Monday off to our employees working in the Bangalore campus. They will compensate by working on Saturday (July 10)," Infosys Chief Executive Krish Gopalakrishnan told IANS.


The global software major, however, made arrangements for employees working on essential projects and business process outsourcing (BPO) services to work during the day, when the shutdown will be observed from dawn to dusk.

"We have made arrangement for those software engineers handling key projects for overnight stay and transport to essential staff on day shift," Gopalakrishnan said.

The $4.8-billion Infosys has its largest software development park in the electronics city, about 30 km from here, where about 16,000 employees work in its sprawling campus.

Similarly, Wipro, which has two software development parks in the electronics city and on the city's outskirts, declared a holiday, directing its employees to report for duty July 10 in lieu of Monday.

"We have declared a holiday for our employees July 5 in view of the nationwide shutdown. They have been asked to work July 10 though it's a weekend," Wipro Executive Vice-President Suresh Senapaty said.

The country's largest IT bellwether - Tata Consulting Services (TCS) was yet to decide whether to give off or not to its employees working in the Bangalore software development centre at Whitefield, about 20 km from the city.

"We will let you know later. There is no decision yet. In case we decide to declare holiday, the employees will be duly intimated by e-mail and sms," a company official said.

Due to uncertainty of public transport by the state-run Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation (BMTC), hundreds of small and medium enterprises in IT and biotech sectors have extended the weekend holiday to their employees up to Monday.

"With auto-rickshaw and taxi associations deciding to not to ply in support of the shutdown, we have asked our employees to stay back in the absence of official information on public transport being available," Deepk Chandra of a start-up IT firm in the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) said.

As a precautionary measure, several multinational firms have also decided to give an off Monday and ask their employees to compensate by working on a Saturday.

The nationwide shutdown has been called by the leading opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the ruling party in this southern state for the first time, the Janata Dal-United and the Left parties
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