Midland
Driverless cars: Researcher disguises himself as car seat in study
A study to test people's reactions to driverless cars has used a "ghost driver" to record their responses. The work, by the University of Nottingham, found that, in the absence of someone in the driving seat, pedestrians trust certain visual prompts more than others when deciding whether to cross the road. As part of the study, a car was driven around the university's campus over several days with its driver - research fellow David R. Large - concealed in the driver's seat. Mr Large, senior research fellow with the Human Factors Research Group at the university, said: "We wanted to explore how pedestrians would interact with a driverless car and developed this unique methodology to explore their reactions." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram.
Chatsworth's hidden 17th Century garden revealed in drone footage
A hidden 17th Century garden that emerged during a heatwave has been shown in new drone footage. The European-style formal garden at the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire was designed in 1699 for the 1st Duke of Devonshire. It was grassed over 30 years later but substantial remains lie buried under just a thin layer of soil and grass, which has since been parched by the recent dry weather. While the historic design will not be fully restored any time soon, Steve Porter - head of gardens and landscape at Chatsworth - said he hoped the old garden, known as the Great Parterre, could be recreated with gravel once the grass had recovered. "Every time you look you almost see more of the detail, more of the scrolls of the beds and more of the paths and it sort of brings it all back to life and you realise just how intricate and just how amazing it would have been," he added. Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.