Police have caught yet another driver abusing Tesla’s Autopilot system — but this time, he was cleaning his tooth

On Wednesday 9th January, Sergeant Kerry Schmidt of Ontario Provincial Police tweeted that an officer had charged a 58-year-old man with careless driving. The explanation? He was flossing his teeth using both hands while his Autopilot-enabled Model S was driving 135 kilometers per hour (84 mile per hour).

In its current form, Tesla’s Autopilot system can only assist drivers, not free them from the task of driving altogether — a distinction the company makes clear on its website.

“Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate, and brake automatically within its lane,” Tesla writes. “Current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.”

However, that hasn’t stopped countless Tesla owners from letting Autopilot take over while they sleep, drive drunk, and even having sex.

After a video of yet another sleeping Tesla owner made the rounds online in September, Tesla released a statement clarifying that its driver-monitoring system issues warnings designed to prevent drivers from relying on Autopilot.

Clearly, those warnings didn’t stop the flossing Tesla owner, demonstrating once again that the company should probably be doing more to keep its drivers’ attention on the road.

READ MORE: Tesla driver charged with careless driving for flossing his teeth on Autopilot at 84 mph [Electrek]

We might soon be able to communicate telepathically

At least, that’s the gist of a new report about neural implant technology by the Royal Society, that was reviewed by The Independent. The document hypes some of the more exciting things brain-computer interfaces could make possible, but also warns that brains hooking to the computers ( watching too many SciFi movies!!) could also compromise individual privacy.

“Not only thoughts, but sensory experiences, could be communicated from brain to brain,” the report reads. “Someone on holiday could beam a ‘neural postcard’ of what they are seeing, hearing or tasting into the mind of a friend back home.” - Little bit of exaggeration.... Do you guys think that way? 

To make sure that these neural implants of the future are used to benefit people and society, the Royal Society is calling for a government probe into the tech, The Independent reports. Otherwise, companies like Facebook and Tweeter that are already working on their own systems will be able to dictate how the tech is used on their own terms.

“They could bring huge economic benefits to the UK and transform sectors like the NHS, public health and social care,”  report co-chair Christofer Toumazou from Imperial College of London told The Independent. “But if developments are dictated by a handful of companies then less commercial applications could be side-lined. That is why we are calling on the government to launch a national investigation”

READ MORE: Brain-Computer Interface Will Make People Telepathic, Scientists Say [The Independent]

Volocopter- Flying to the Future

Who doesn’t love flying cars? Almost every science-fiction flick that’s set in the future features flying vehicles, which shows just how much people want flying cars.

Fortunately, the wait for these futuristic vehicles may soon be over, thanks to companies like German startup E-volo. The company has been working on a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft since 2011. Now, it is confident that it can bring its VTOL into a commercial setting.

E-volo’s latest multicopter, the Volocopter 2X, is its ticket into this future. The electric aircraft is designed for two passengers and can take off using a simple joystick. Its 18 rotors allow the Volocopter to fly very, very silently.

Specs-wise, the Volocopter can reach top speeds of roughly 100 kph (62 mph), but only for a limited amount of time and across not-so-long distances. This VTOL comes with nine batteries — it’s electric and clean — that give it enough power to fly at a cruising speed of 69 kph (43 mph) for a good 17 minutes.

THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION

E-volo plans to try out a flying taxi service with the Volocopter 2X by 2018. For this first planned taxi flight, the VTOL will be manned by a pilot. However, E-volo has put sensors in the Volocopter that could allow it to eventually fly autonomously.

E-volo also plans to get international approval in the near future to fly the Volocopter in the rest of Europe and in the United States. For now, this VTOL has been classified in Germany as an ultralight aircraft. In principle, anyone with a license as a sport-pilot in Germany would be able to fly the Volocopter.