by Richard Mandel

At the Tokyo Motor Show this October (a venue rife with prototypes and dream machines) was found a curious teaming between Toyota and Sony. Named “Pod,” the vehicle suggests elements of the Aibo toy dog as applied to personal transportation—the car displays “emotions” and communicates with the owner. The driver inserts a hand into a stirrup-like control grip to supervise speed and steering. The grip also reads the driver’s pulse and amount of skin moisture. The vehicle also compares how it’s being operated to pre-recorded data taken from an “expert” driver. If anxiety is high—sweating, rapid pulse, erratic acceleration, distance from vehicles in front—the vehicle responds by displaying a warning, switching on soothing music and blowing cool air (operators would still require a driver’s license, not a marriage license as this may suggest). If that’s not enough, Pod recognizes when its driver is approaching, and illuminates the U-shaped grooves on its front façade with a sunny orange-yellow light. Puncture a tire or run out of fuel, and the car lights up blue and emits tears (that’s right, a crying car). And if you swerve sharply or brake too hard, the face-grooves go red. Oh yes, and the rear-mounted aerial wags—much like the tail of a certain toy robot dog. Circle 152—Toyota Motor Corp, or connect at www.OneRS.net/?112df-152

A critical issue in electronics, if PC board real estate is to continue shrinking, addresses techniques for inspection. After all, circuit paths need to be undamaged and whole for the circuit to work. As component sizes decrease, traces become micron paths, taking inspection beyond mere eyeballing of the paths with ordinary magnifiers and calling x-rays into play. However, anyone who’s peeked over the doctor’s shoulder knows how less-than-ideal x-ray resolution tends to be. phoenix x-ray Systems + Services Inc, Camarillo, CA, announced at the end of October a nanofocus x-ray tube capable of obtaining images down to 500 nanometers. Applications for the xs series nf tube will be in analyzing of defects such as fine bond wire cracks (pictured—a 25 micron bond wire thermically damaged by overcurrent) or tiny voids that occur in flip-chip solder balls that are 25 microns in diameter. Besides enhancing high-resolution applications, the nanofocus resolution improves conditions for detailed inspection of microvias, fine-pitch solder joints and high-resolution computer tomography. Circle 153—phoenix x-ray Systems + Services Inc, or connect at www.OneRS.net/?112df-153