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intercitymetro · 7 months

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save me fiat 500....

something that i really feel is missing from the automobile market these days is cars that are actually cute. every car company wants to have the massive, powerful looking trucks for the many americans with tiny penises, but in reality they mostly just look like shit.

take the honda cr-v for example. between 2016 and 2022 (5th gen), the honda cr-v looked really nice in my opinion. 11 year old me really thought that honda had mastered nice looking car design, and it really does look good. then in 2023 they refreshed the look (6th gen), which makes sense, its been the design for basically 7 years, but they made it with this unnecessarily massive grill that feels so unnecessary. it really looks more fit for one of their larger vehicles, but whatever. worse though, they fucked up the hood for the engine, which now is extremely flat in comparison to the more sloped ones on the older models. this drastically reduces pedestrian visibility, especially of children. and also they are simply getting bigger and bigger, its annoying. the honda h-rv seems to have taken the place that the c-rv held just a few years ago.

Then (2019) & Now (2023)

anyway. this is not about honda. this theme is prevalent across automakers, and don’t even get me started on pick-up trucks, which are really the worst offenders. the less pedestrian visibility and the bigger grill, the better, apparently, and while i can understand the appeal to some, it should not have taken over the market as it has. cars do not need to look badass, or fucking massive and run over a billion pedestrians turning right on red. no. they need to look cute. and that is where i present to you the fiat 500. the ideal cute car these days.

the first thing you may notice about the 500 is it’s size. it is small. of course, it is certainly larger than it was when it was first introduced, but that is the nature of automobile advancement, we learn about airbags and better rollover protection and bumpers and shit and we have to put them somewhere. so that is not really surprising, im not expecting a car to have the exact same proportions as one that was introduced in 1957. but it still shares a lot of similar attributes, like the round headlights, and the slanted back.

Comparing the sizes

even still, it looks nothing like it did when originally presented. but that makes sense. the fiat 500 began in 1957 as of the first purpose built city cars, made to navigate the small streets of italy. they didn’t sell between 1975 and 2007, where they brought it back based off one of their concept cars from 2004, so obviously there is a lot of difference there. the car was among those made in a sort of retro style, among the mini coopers and vw beetles of the world, and it clearly worked well.

The look these days

so, look at the face of the regular model today. it is a small car, which is very important when justifying cuteness. it has no massive protruding front end, it just calmly slopes down. i like it. in the front, it has two circular headlights, which look very good. can’t go wrong with that. and inside it is small, but tbh ive never been inside one so how would i know. (yep, really great idea to have thoughts on a vehicle you’ve never even been in) another thing i like about the fiat 500 is that it is such a good timeless design. while the car has changed, and there was a minor facelift in 2016, it looks pretty much the exact same as it did in 2007 when it was reintroduced. i think this is a testament to how good of a design it is, that it hasn’t had any really drastic changes made to it since 2007, and really convenient to used car buyers because you could get one from 10 or so year ago and it wouldn’t even look that dated. it is a very recognizable car (“is there any car more recognizeable than a fiat 500?” -autocar.co.uk), and that is something i like.

the 500 is a massively popular car. as of 2024, it is the 9th best selling automobile in europe (tesla model y is number one, boooo kinda). it rutinely sells in the hundreds of thousands year after year. so good for them. and fiat clearly knows this. they have made many variants of the car over the years such as: 500X: a slightly bigger 4 door version of the 500 500L: made before the 500x but basically the same thing (but completely different for some reason) 500C: convertible (cool!) Abarth 500: faster idk 500e: electric! they made the front lights weird. they gave it eyelids. they made it tired. 600: not a variation but a similar name so ill count it. this one is more of an suv. same eyelids as the 500e.

^ The 500X

^ The 500L

^ The 500e

^ The 600

there are also like a billion special editions of the car but you can just go to wikipedia for that.

really what i am saying is that we need a return to small cars. there are a good number of ones that look good, even if they are no fiat 500, in europe, but not in america because the haters (vw, stellantis[fiat’s owner], ford, toyota, literally everyone) don’t want americans to get good cars. so that sucks. but you gotta make them know you want it. buy more 500s. and somehow, someday, we will make cars cute again.

(worth noting that this is not a car based blog i just say whatever and im trying this out because all of my previous attempts to put together a website on my own fell to pieces. <3)

#cars #fiat #fiat 500 #blog

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thebourisbox · 1 year

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Turing test with walking android robots – can it fool 90% of human observers? Figure just unveiled an AI-powered humanoid

See on Scoop.it - Design, Science and Technology

Figure 01 is a bipedal, AI-powered humanoid. And it wants to work in a warehouse.

Key to Figure’s robotics approach is its reliance on artificial intelligence to enable its robots to learn and improve their abilities. As movements and performance evolves, the robots can progress from basic lifting and carrying tasks to more advanced functions. That work will start out in the warehouse setting, doing the kind of heavy lifting that people don’t particularly enjoy.

“Our business plan is to get to revenue as fast as we can. And honestly that means doing things that are technically easier,” says Figure founder Brett Adcock.

Single-purpose robots are already common in warehouses, like the roving robots that carry boxes to shelves in Amazon fulfillment centers, and a robot created for DHL Supply Chain that unloads boxes from trucks at warehouse loading bays. Human-like robots could be a more versatile solution for the warehouse, Adcock says. Instead of relying on one robot to unload a truck and another to haul boxes around, Figure’s plan is to create a robot that can do almost anything a human worker otherwise would.

In some ways, it’s a narrower approach to the humanoid robot, which many other companies have sought to build. Honda’s Asimo was intended to help a range of users, from people with limited mobility to older folks needing full-time care. NASA has invested in humanoid “robonauts” that are capable of assisting with missions in space. Boston Dynamics has pushed the limits of robotics by creating humanoids that can jump and flip.

“Existing humanoids today have just been stunts and demos,” Adcock says. “We want to get away from that and show that they can be really useful.” Figure has produced five prototypes of its humanoid. They’re designed to have 25 degrees of motion, including the ability to bend over fully at the waist and lift a box from the ground up to a high shelf. Hands will add even more flexibility and utility. That is the plan, at least. Right now, the prototype robots are mainly just walking.

Adcock expects to conduct extensive testing and refinement in the coming months, getting the robots to the point where they can handle most general warehouse applications by the end of the year. A pilot of 50 robots working in a real warehouse setting is being eyed for 2024. “Hardware companies take time,” he says. “This will take 20 or 30 years for us to really build out.”

With a reflective featureless face mask that may remind some viewers of a character from G.I. Joe, Figure 01 is a sleeker vision of the humanoid robots people may now be familiar with. Atlas, the walking, jumping, and parkour-enabled robot from the research wing of Boston Dynamics, for example, has prioritized mechanical skills over aesthetics.

Figure’s robot bears some similarity to Tesla’s Optimus robot. Announced in 2021 during a presentation featuring a human in a spandex robot suit, Optimus also aspires to a smoother form but its latest prototype looks more science science than science fiction. Adcock says Figure’s robots use advanced electric motors, enabling smoother movement than the hydraulically run Atlas, which is allowing the prototypes to have a more natural gait while also fitting the mechanical systems into a smaller package. “We want to fool like 90% of people in a walking Turing test,” he says.

The concept is being built around the notion that the robot can be continually improved over time, learning new skills and eventually expanding into more complex tasks. Being able to do more, Adcock says, makes what could be a very expensive device much more affordable to build and buy. That could someday lead to Figure’s robots working in manufacturing, retail, home care, or even outer space. “I really believe that humanoids will colonize planets,” Adcock says.

For now, Figure is targeting the humble warehouse. “If we unveil the humanoid at some big event, it’ll just be doing warehouse work on stage the whole time,” Adcock says. “No back flips, none of that crazy parkour stuff. We just want to do real, practical work.”

Read the full article at: www.fastcompany.com

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