to learn the newest high-tech trends in both industry and product development. YNN Tech Reporter Adam Balkin highlights the coolest and newest apps for your cell phone and mobile device every Thursday and Saturday in your
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Updated 07/23/2012 07:43 AM
Tech Beat: New technology for safe driving
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A new prototype steering has GPS built in order to help keep your eyes on the road and off a tradition GPS screen.
The wheel also vibrates in certain patterns to tell you when to turn.
The device is just one of several innovations YNN was given a very early look at the device at the AT&T Labs. It's called a Haptics Enhanced Steering Wheel.
Hal Purdy/AT&T Labs
“The vibrators are vibrating in sequence either in a clockwise or counter clockwise pattern and you're feeling that under your hands on the steering wheel and it gives you an idea then when you should be turning the steering wheel in the indicated direction,” Hal Purdy with AT&T Labs said.
Another innovation many would likely shell out decent money for is called Got My Stuff. It's a system that will tell you as soon as you sit down behind the wheel what you accidentally forgot to bring.
"You tag all your items up with these RFID tags and then when you get in your car you turn your car on, the system scans all the stuff you have to tell you all the things you have or better yet, what you don't have it says, 'Donnie, you're missing your wallet,'" Donnie Henderson with AT&T Labs said.
Finally, how about unlocking your door using just the phone in your pocket and the bones in your hand?
"Using these piezo transducers, they're essentially guitar pickups," Brian Amento with AT&T Labs said. "We can now produce and sense vibrations so the initial proof of concept was sending a digital key so I have my cell phone set to send a unique digital key through vibrations through my body, so if I'm touching this microphone here, when I touch the door it recognizes 'Okay, it's Brian' and it unlocks the door."
Learn more by watching the video above.