Windshield wipers' overlooked female inventor On November 10, 1903, Birmingham businesswoman Mary Anderson was issued U.S. Patent No. 743,801 for her "Window-Cleaning Device." We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Before cars and buses became ubiquitous features of the modern cityscape, many cities installed streetcars to shuttle residents from neighborhood to neighborhood. In the summer months, the journey was a sweltering one, with dozens of sticky, sweaty passengers crammed together in the heat. The biggest problem wasn't that trolleys were unheated--that advancement came with their electrification in the 1890s--it was that sleet and snow made it impossible for streetcar drivers to see.

Security researchers have developed a way to trick Tesla's self-driving technology into driving into the oncoming traffic lane. All it took was a few inconspicuous stickers on the ground to fool Autopilot on a Model S sedan, before the vehicle's onboard computers mistakenly steered into the opposite lane, where oncoming traffic was traveling. The report, published by Chinese tech giant Tencent's Keen Security Lab, also details adversarial attacks on a Tesla's automatic windshield wipers and steering wheel. Researchers have developed a way to trick Tesla's self-driving technology. Tesla introduced Autopilot in 2014.

One of the new impressive features that will come along with Ford's 2019 Edge and Edge ST is the use of artificial intelligence aimed at improving traction and fuel usage in the SUV. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker says the Edge SUV will come with its new "all-wheel-drive disconnect" which will switch automatically between two-wheel and all-wheel-drive "in a fraction of a second." Ford says the SUV set to hit dealers later in September, will use a "form of artificial intelligence to sift through information like wheel slip, road conditions, vehicle speed, windshield wiper usage and outside temperature." As for how the Edge will be able to improve fuel usage, the automaker says it will use features such as active transmission warm-up, deceleration fuel shutoff and exhaust gas recirculation. Scott Beiring, Ford driveline applications supervisor, said in a news release that the shifting between two-wheel and all-wheel-drive "needs to be fast and seamless enough that the customer doesn't know it is happening. The 2019 Edge and Edge ST SUV will use what the automaker calls "fuzzy logic," and that it can detect the need to engage or disengage within 10 milliseconds. "Fuzzy logic refers to the algorithm," Beiring said in the release. "It's like you or I determining what to wear based on reading a weather forecast, where we're going, the time of year and looking outside.

The Internet of Things may very well have been named when someone was really at a loss for words. But whatever the name of the new wave of tech, it appears that IoT is on everyone's radar. The Internet of Things refers to the connectivity of all elements involved in human lifestyle. Think refrigerators, coffee machines and maybe even the oil burner. Just like TVs now come pre-built with connections for computer cables and various audio, video and game players, your household items may soon come with the capability to speak to the internet.

Prompted by an activation phrase, Dragon Drive recognizes a driver named Lior by his voice. Voice command in cars shows so much potential to help drivers keep their eyes on the road, but since its implementation, the technology largely resulted in frustration. Sure, placing a call to a specific contact usually works, but just try finding a destination in the navigation system. It becomes worse when the car doesn't show what commands it understands. Nuance, the company behind the majority of voice systems in cars, thinks it has the problem licked through the use of machine learning and the cloud, essentially equipping cars with a virtual assistant.