Nissan to debut anti-prang tech

Nissan will next week show off a prototype car capable of automatically avoiding collisions, says The Register.

The system uses an array of sensors around the vehicle that detect objects the car could collide with. Something in the way? Then the motor's on-board computer activates any or all of the four brakes to prevent prangs.

Nissan said the prototype "All-Around Collision-Free" vehicle guards against blind-spot collisions, banging into another car when backing out of a parking space and inadvertent lane changing.

Urgent regulatory action is needed on nano-scale materials widely used in industry, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has concluded, says The BBC.

The materials have so far shown no evidence of harm to people or the environment, the commission found.

However, it said there was a "major gap" in research of the risks posed by the materials, which are found in 600 products globally.

After blocking YouTube from overseas bases last year, the defence department has launched TroopTube, as an authorised alternative, reports ZDNet.

The new online video site is designed to help military families connect and keep in touch while kilometres apart. The site is designed for easy use, so families can quickly upload videos and share the simple joys of each day with each other, either privately, or with the whole world.

Pentagon officials vet content for national security and copyright violations.

MPs have urged the government to speed up modifications to UK police information systems to enable data on serious and organised crime to be uploaded automatically into the Europol Information System (EIS), reports Computing.co.uk.

Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Belgium all use automatic data loaders to enter police intelligence into the system, which has improved co-ordinated action across EU member states.

But the UK is among the remaining states forced to restrict the flow of information because any data destined for Europol, in The Hague, has to be "double-keyed".