Free-gauge Railway Trains and Passenger cars  that fly at 500 km./hour!

Two new types of trains that people hope to see come on line soon are Free-gauge trains and linear motor cars. Free-gauge trains are trains that can run on different types of tracks. Some tracks are spaced further apart than others. We call the space between the tracks, the track guage. Right now in Japan there are four different track guages used, and the same train can't run on more than one kind. Free-gauge trains will be able to run on all four types of tracks. <more>

Research to Improve Safety

Dream Automobiles...The safe automobiles of the future will be more than just cars. These cars will be equipped with warning systems that keep drivers aware of traffic and road conditions. They will be like small communications stations, sending and receiving signals to safely guide the car at all times.
Great advances have also been made in car navigation. These systems will help us avoid traffic jams and accidents, and they will direct us to roads that will get us where we are going in the shortest possible time. <more>

By consolidating nine previous contracts into one firm fixed price contract, BRS has, to date, saved NASA and US taxpayers over $50 million in labor costs.

Under relentless budgetary pressures, NASA is continually searching for ways to save dollars in various areas of its operations and then earmark those funds to high priority Johnson Space Center missions such as the Shuttle Program, International Space Station and various R&D projects. <more>

Humaniod Robot: P3

One of the great challenges of the future is the development of concepts for mobility beyond the street, in the immediate, natural environment of human beings. Not until a robot is able to move in this environment will it one day be a true aid to human beings and earn the attribute of "humanoid robot". <more>

"Transforming Traditional  Companies Through E-Business"

Excerpts from a speech delivered by Miles D. White, Chief Executive Officer, Abbott Laboratories,to The Executives' Club of Chicago.
E-business applications have the potential to revolutionize nearly every aspect of health care. Abbott's PRISM diagnostics system, one of the world's leading blood-screening instruments, offers a glimpse of what is possible. Today, using a modem connection, we can monitor PRISM systems in the field, assessing key metrics to help ensure optimal performance in labs and blood banks. Soon, a customer with PRISM systems in multiple labs will be able to use the Internet to centrally monitor each of their instrument's performance and compare each location to their total network. <more>

Driving by computer: Drive by wire

The engineers at the Mercedes-Benz Research Institute work on an electronic steering and control system for future cars which does without a steering wheel and pedals. Instead, the driver controls the car by means of side-sticks on the centre console and interior door trim. <more>