Google Car Drives Itself

Google has developed a car that drives itself!

 As of October 2010, test cars had driven over 140,000 miles with only occasional human control.  This includes San Francisco's Lombard Street (which is one of the curviest and steepest streets in the U.S.).  There had been one accident reported with the vehicle, when it got rear-ended while stopped at a red light. 

While this car is years from mass production, it is still something to be excited about.  The engineers are saying that robots have a 360 view, do not get tired/distracted, and could save thousands of lives.  Also, with the decreased probability of car crashes, cars could be built lighter and more fuel efficient.

The car is rigged with GPS and sensors as well as access to all speed limits, etc. 

There are of course a few drawbacks with this car as well.  Currently, the law requires that a human operate a vehicle, so until the law is changes this type of vehicle could not be used.  Also, in the event that an accident were to occur, who would be liable?  The person behind the wheel or the car manufacturer?  Also, I think that if the car were to get into an accident, it would be a very big deal/lawsuit. 

So while this is still somewhat a car of the future, it is still pretty neat to see where things might be headed.  I am not sure that people will ever really feel comfortable enough to put their lives in the hands of a robot car, but perhaps someday.

Creative Workspaces Part 1

Creative workspaces have been proven to help increase worker productivity as well as enhance the creativity of work produced.  After looking around to discover some of these spaces I have found an incredible amount of well designed and beautiful offices around the world.  It was actually pretty difficult to decide which ones to post and which to leave out (and so you will find this post very large and with lots of pictures due to my indecisiveness - and followed by a part 2). 

Google 
First up we have Google.  Of course with their Googleplex and lax rules, innovation is inevitable.  Google gives their engineers 20% of their work time to work on independent projects.  This time spent on individual projects has led to Gmail, Google News, and many other applications and games.  Seems like their policy is working to me, I don't know what I would do without my Gmail and iGoogle.  Google also offers their employees a ton of on-site benefits.  In pictures below can be seen a massage area, swimming pools, gaming rooms, and relaxation rooms (with fish tanks).

Relaxation rooms, massages, slide, creative pod offices.

 In place swimming pool.

 Tech shop where you can have a drink while your computer gets fixed.

 Meeting rooms inspired by igloos.

Pixar
Pixar, the animation studio that brought you films such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and Up, allows individuals to decorate their own workspaces and in effect has created almost different neighborhoods within their building. 

Fornari
Fornari is a fashion company located in Milan.   It was started in the mid 1940's and have progressed to be a fashion icon.  Their new offices were designed by Giorgio Borruso Design of Marina Del Rey, California.

Dilbert's Ultimate Cubicle
Dilbert creator Scott Adams approached innovation firm IDEO with the task of creating what Dilbert's Ultimate Cubicle would look like.  Included in the office space are hammock, an aquarium, and a hamster wheel as well as other more typical items.

Disney
Now it is only appropriate that Disney also have a very unique and creative work space as well.

 Who doesn't want to work in a giant honey comb?

Coaxis
These last offices are located in Portland, OR.  Coaxis is a leading software development and management firm.  Group Mackenzie was the project lead in developing their offices.

To be continued...