Audi's Self-Piloted Car Picks You Up

Forget valet parking. The car of the future can find a spot for you and then pick you up.

And the future has driven to CES 2013. Audi's Connect car not only drives and parks itself but the iPhone is its key.

At a demo at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Las Vegas, Audi set up a working demonstration of the technology. Press the Pickup button on the Audi app, and you can set the time at which you want the parked car to come pick you up. Tap the button again and it will turn on the ignition and come get you. No one in the driver's seat.

CES 2013: In Photos How does it work? Audi has been developing its own self-driving technology, which it prefers to call piloted parking or driving. (It says it wants to stress that humans can take control at any time.) The car uses twelve ultrasound sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles. It parks itself with a combination of sensors in the car, the garage and roads. The hope is that parking garages will have computers that communicate with the car, telling it where there is open space. The car is able to make turns on its own and knows how to maneuver around the garage with external laser sensors.

The road to autonomous cars isn't a short one. Today Audi announced that it has become the first automaker granted a license to drive or operate autonomous cars in Nevada. Nevada passed a law last year making it legal to test self-driving cars in the state, and other companies, such as Google, have been granted licenses as well. Audi says it expects the technology it's working on to be commercially available in the next decade.

Until then, we'll continue to look for parking on our own...


Got the flu? New Facebook app, ‘Help, I Have the Flu,’ helps you figure out who to blame

Sniffly, stuffy, sneezy and achy and want someone to blame, just to make yourself feel mildly better? There’s now an app for that.

“Help, I Have the Flu” is a new Facebook app that trolls through friends’ profiles looking for keywords such as ‘sneezing,’ ‘coughing,’ and ‘vomiting’ as well as check-ins to find the culprit who may have passed on the virus.


Clicking on the “Who Made Me Sick” button on the Facebook page will track down prime suspects, such as those who’ve mentioned the word ‘flu’ in their status updates or those who’ve had multiple late night posts, as sleep deprivation, the app reasons, puts people at increased risk for catching a cold. The app also allows users to send a message to the offending virus-spreader or purchase remedies from the healthcare company that runs the app, Help Remedies in the US.

JENNIFER JOLLY

Chet talks with USA Today tech reporter, Jennifer Jolly, about the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.

-Guns and Wages are among the topics expected in Cuomo's address.

-There is a mixed forecast for the local economy.

-A burned body was found in West Brighton.

BILLS

Doug Marrone is picking one of the young, up-and-coming members of his Syracuse University coaching staff for a key job with the Buffalo Bills.

The Bills’ head coach will bring his Syracuse offensive coordinator, Nate Hackett, to Buffalo to hold the same position with the Bills, a source close to the team told The News.

Hackett, 33, has limited NFL experience. He was a bottom-rung aide on Dick Jauron’s Bills staff in 2008 and 2009 as the offensive quality control coach. He held the same job the previous two years in Tampa Bay.

He blossomed under increased responsibility given to him by Marrone the last three years in Syracuse.

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III will undergo total reconstructive surgery of his right knee early Wednesday morning to repair torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments, but he is expected to be ready for the opener of the 2013 NFL regular season, according to team sources familiar with the determination made by orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews.
The torn ACL was diagnosed late Tuesday as a complete tear of the patella graft that was used to repair Griffin's torn ACL suffered at Baylor in 2009. A team source said Andrews likely will use a patella graft from Griffin's left knee to repair the most recent tear.

COLLEGE HOOPS

The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils are 15-0 following an outstanding defensive display in the first half of a 68-40 rout of Clemson.
 
 
In other top-25 action, 10th-ranked Missouri clobbered Alabama 84-68. Earnest Ross added a season-best 19 points in the Tigers' SEC debut.
 
No. 15 Ohio State beat Purdue 74-64 behind 22 points from Deshaun Thomas. The Buckeyes shot 56 percent in giving coach Thad Matta his 100th Big Ten victory.
 
Creighton made it nine straight wins as Ethan Wragge hit six three-pointers and matched a career high with 22 points to lead the 16th-ranked Bluejays to a 91-61 pounding of Drake. Creighton made a season-high 16 three-pointers and led by 30 points in the first half.
 
Talib Zanna scored 15 points and Pittsburgh shot 55 percent in a 73-45 romp over 19th-ranked Georgetown in Washington. The Hoyas shot 35 percent in suffering its first 20-point home loss in 13 years.


Louisville sophomore forward Chane Behanan will miss up to 10 days with a left high ankle sprain sustained Monday in practice.
 
Cardinals coach Rick Pitino says Behanan will miss Wednesday night's Big East Conference contest at Seton Hall and possibly four games overall. Behanan is averaging 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. 

NFL-COACHING
 
The Eagles will interview Lovie Smith for their coaching vacancy on Thursday.
 
Smith was fired after nine seasons with the Bears. He led Chicago to three division titles and one NFC championship. He lost his job after the team went 3-5 following a 7-1 start and missed the playoffs.
 
The Eagles, who fired Andy Reid after 14 seasons, also plan to interview Indianapolis offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley this week.
 
In other coaching search news:
 
A person familiar with the interview tells The Associated Press the Browns have met with Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman. He is the fifth known candidate to interview with the Browns, who fired Pat Shurmur last week after two seasons.
 
Minnesota assistants Mike Singletary and Mike Priefer will interview for the Chicago head coaching vacancy. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier has confirmed that the Bears made the request.
 
The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to hire Atlanta director of player personnel David Caldwell as general manager, charging him with turning around one of the league's worst teams.
 
His first move will be deciding the fate of coach Mike Mularkey, who went 2-14 in his first season in Jacksonville and has lost 20 of his last 23 games as a head coach.
 
The Arizona Cardinals have promoted Steve Keim to general manager. He joined the Cardinals in 1999 as a scout and was promoted to the player personnel position last year.
 
MLB
 
Adam LaRoche has signed a two-year deal to stay with the Washington Nationals. The 33-year old's deal includes a mutual option for a third year.
 
LaRoche had been looking for a three-year deal after hitting .271 with 33 homers and 100 RBI's last season.
 
 
Alex Rodriguez is scheduled for hip surgery on Jan. 16. The New York Yankees third baseman could be sidelined until the All-Star break because of the injury, which was disclosed by the team last month.
 
A-Rod has been undergoing physical therapy in preparation for the operation by Dr. Bryan Kelly of the Hospital for Special Surgery.
 
   

GOLF
 
Dustin Johnson has extended his own winning streak by shooting a final round 5-under-68 to win the season-opening Tournament of Champions by four shots over defending champ Steve Stricker. Johnson's victory now makes it six straight years in which he's won at least once. He also has won the last three 54-hole events that were reduced to three rounds due to weather.
 
NHL
 
NHL owners will gather in New York on Wednesday to vote on the tentative labor agreement reached with the union last weekend.
 
If a majority approves, as expected, the NHL will move one step closer toward the official end of the lockout.
 
As of Tuesday afternoon, a memorandum of understanding of the deal hadn't been completed, so the union has yet to schedule a vote for its more than 700 members. A majority of players also must approve the deal for hockey to return to the ice.
 
If there are no snags, ratification could be finished by Saturday and training camps can open Sunday. A 48-game regular season would then be expected to begin on Jan. 19.
 
TENNIS
 
Top-seeded John Isner lost 6-4, 6-4 to fellow American Ryan Harrison in the second round of the Sydney International on Wednesday.
 
The exit of Isner, who was promoted to the No. 1 seed after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (SAHNG'-guh) and Richard Gasquet (ree-SHARD' gas-KAY') withdrew, followed two more injury withdrawals: No. 2 and 2011 Sydney champion Giles Simon (neck) and No. 6 Radek Stepanek (back).
 
Isner, who withdrew from the Hopman Cup mixed team competition in Perth last week with a right knee injury, lasted 71 minutes against No. 64-ranked Harrison.
 
The Australian Open starts Monday, leaving injured players little time to prepare for the season's first major.
 
In the women's draw, top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Italy's Roberta Vinci.