Jaguar Land Rover, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, has developed a contactless touchscreen that will reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses.

The patented technology is known as 'predictive touch' and uses artificial intelligence and vision or frequency-based senors to predict a user's intended target on the touchscreen. Essentially, it enables the user to control the navigation, temperature and entertainment settings without having to touch a button.

Predictive touch can be integrated into existing touchscreens as long as the correct sensory data is available to support the machine learning algorithm.

According to Jaguar Land Rover, the new technology could reduce a driver's touchscreen interaction effort and time by up to 50%. It would also limit the spread of bacteria and viruses especially in post-pandemic times.

With the market slowly recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, carmakers in India are concluding their increment and promotion cycle, which had coincided with the lockdown.

Toyota has raised the wages of non-unionised workers. In addition to Honda and Renault, Toyota has given pay hikes of 4-14%, depending on the base salary and position.

Hyundai has also increased the salary of its factory workers and is said to be in the process of deciding on increments to office executives. Maruti Suzuki, Ford, Skoda Volkswagen and MG are also likely to announce incentives and bonus.

Unlike most carmakers, Mahindra is not handing out increments to its workers. But, the company has decided to go ahead with promotions and payment of performance pay as usual.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), no vehicle manufacturer has sacked anyone from the permanent workforce. Carmakers had also assured their employees of no salary cuts.

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Hero MotoCorp has built a unique first-responder vehicle for Covid-19 relief. It's an Xtreme 200R with a sidecar bed. Two such vehicles have been handed over to Community Health Centres in Neemrana and Mundawar in Rajasthan.

The sidecar bed has been custom-built as an accessory for the Xtreme 200R. It is equipped with a full-stretcher with a foldable hood mounted on the side, essential medical equipment such as a detachable first-aid kit, oxygen cylinder, fire extinguisher and other safety features such as LED flasher lights, foldable beacon light, emergency wireless public announcement system and siren.

The vehicle has been designed and developed by engineers at Hero’s Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur and the New Model Centre (NMC), Gurgaon.

Hero MotoCorp is building more of these first-responder vehicles which it plans to hand over to health authorities in other parts of the country.

Kun Elite, the pre-worshipped branch of the Kun Group, a BMW authorized dealership in Tamil Nadu has used a creative way to promote their used cars sales event in Chennai.

A red, soft top Mini Cooper can be seen wearing a mask on the front part of the car. The side doors have a QR code that leads users to the dealer website.

The initiative is part of the Elite Carnival, a two-day used car sales event scheduled from 17-18 July, 2020. The company is also offering financing options, spot evaluation of existing car and a zero maintenance package for up to 3 years on BMW cars.

The event is by appointment only and all safety measures will be observed.

Thanks to Anup Venkatesh for sharing these images. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page! 

Tata Sons Foundation has donated twenty Winger ambulances to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The foundation has also made a donation of Rs. 10 crore to set up an Immunology and Virus Infection Research Center.

The ambulances are based on the updated Winger BS6 that features Tata's Impact 2.0 styling. It has a Harrier-esque front end with a slim grille and rectangular headlamp clusters positioned on the bumper. The vehicles have space for a single stretcher and comply with AIS 125 Part 1 norms.

The Winger ambulance comes in two variants - 3200 WB and 3488 WB. It is powered by a BS6-compliant 2.2-litre diesel engine that produces 99 BHP and 200 Nm.

Thanks to Salil Argade and Gautam Jain for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing these with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Ceat Tyres has forayed into the personal protective equipment (PPE) business with its GoSafe S95 face mask.

The GoSafe S95 face mask uses a 6-layer filter. The innermost layer is made from soft anti-bacterial fabric. The next three layers consist of small particle filters that are claimed to offer microbe protection. The air mesh in the outermost layer filters particles and contaminants. The face mask has an adjustable nose clip that makes it breathable and splash or droplet resistant.

The GoSafe S95 face mask can be washed and reused up to 30 times. It comes with a multi utility cloth bag to store it or other personal devices.

The GoSafe S95 face mask is priced at Rs. 249 and is available on Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Seniority and other e-commerce websites. The mask is also available at Ceat Shoppes.

In June 2020, Tata Motors' sales fell just 9.47% YoY compared to an average decline of 46% across the industry.

The home-grown carmaker dispatched 11,419 units in the month compared to the 12,614 units in the same month last year. In the same period, Maruti sales fell by 53.8%, Hyundai by 49.24% and Mahindra by 54%.

Nexon, Harrier and Tiago dispatches are almost back to pre-Covid19 levels while Altroz and Tigor numbers are not far behind. Tata is now positioned in third place behind Maruti and Hyundai.

Other manufacturers like Renault, Skoda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, Toyota, Datsun and Jeep registered a degrowth of 13.3%, 19.95%, 26.98%, 45.31%, 50.51%, 52.36%, 55.30% and 67.63% respectively.

Ola has launched an in-app tipping functionality that will enable customers to reward the drivers through the app itself. In addition to India, this feature has been rolled out in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The cashless tipping feature will appear in the final step of the payment phase. Customers can select a fixed amount or an amount of their choice, which will be credited to the drivers' account. According to Ola, this feature will increase the earning potential for drivers.

Ola has introduced strict safety protocols in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Driver partners have to follow strict hygiene and are required to sanitize the cars after every trip.

The Mumbai Police have issued guidelines stating that vehicles that ply beyond a 2 km radius from their residence without a valid reason will be impounded. The decision has been taken to prevent overcrowding at beaches and other public places as Covid-19 infections are on the rise.

According to the police, movement beyond 2 km is permitted only for attending office or in the case of medical emergencies. Visits to markets and salons have been restricted to within a 2 km radius from the residence.

Besides this, social distancing norms are to be followed and wearing a face mask is compulsory. Also, night curfew is still in place and therefore no movement of persons except for essential activities is allowed between 9 pm and 5 am.

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The 78th edition of the EICMA Motorcycle Show has been cancelled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

EICMA 2020 was scheduled to be held from November 3-8. The show has now been postponed to November 9-14, 2021.

EICMA is where the world's top motorcycle brands showcase their latest hardware every year. Earlier, KTM, Husqvarna and BMW Motorrad had announced that they would skip this year's EICMA due to the Coronavirus outbreak. This may have also been one of the reasons why the organizers decided to cancel the show.

Moreover, Intermot 2020, which was supposed to take place in Germany from October 6-11 has also been cancelled due to the pandemic. Instead, the organizers could hold a virtual event later this year.