The intelligent model car will be built using a standard remote control model vehicle. A PC will be mounted on the chassis and a video camera, streaming real-time computer vision, along with other sensors will be added. The software written for the PC will allow the car to be fully autonomous; it will be able to recognise obstacles and make tactical decisions as it drives itself around the racetrack.

"Trials of the new retinal prosthesis will begin shortly, following the success of a prototype that has enabled six blind people to see again. The prototypes were fitted in 2002 to patients who had lost their sight entirely."

"`People are shocked when they hear the cameras talk, but when they see everyone else looking at them, they feel a twinge of conscience and comply,' said Mike Clark, a spokesman for Middlesbrough Council who recounted the incident. The city has placed speakers in its cameras, allowing operators to chastise miscreants who drop coffee cups, ride bicycles too fast or fight outside bars."