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Newest version of Honda's ASIMO coming to TV on April 15

Honda's ASIMO robot is moving into its teenage years, having originally been introduced in 2000, and like all teens, it's still learning. The bot has received regular incremental upgrades over that time, and the latest version will premiere on LIVE with Kelly and Michael on Tuesday, April 15.
The newest enhancements provide ASIMO with improved hand dexterity, the ability to use sign language, run faster, climb stars more smoothly, balance on one foot, jump and more. Honda says other new features will be demonstrated with hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan on the show.
The ongoing development of ASIMO, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, is being done so that one day it can help humans who require assistance. The current version is 4-feet, 3-inches tall, weighs 110 pounds and is made mostly from magnesium alloy and plastic. A big limit is still its lithium-ion battery that only provides 40 minutes of charge. The robot has not needed human control to move since a previous iteration in 2011, which also improved its manual dexterity. It could even pour drinks.

Honda recalling 183k cars and crossovers over unintended braking issue

A recall has been issued for nearly 183,000 Honda and Acura brand vehicles from the 2005 and 2006 model years. The problem stems from a potential malfunctions to the vehicles' stability control and braking systems.
Drivers have reported a malfunction to Honda's Vehicle Stability Assist system, though to date, no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of it. Some of the vehicles' Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) control units may have an electric capacitor that was damaged during manufacture. A damaged control unit could cause the VSA system to apply brake force for a "fraction of a second" without any driver input, or could add additional brake force if it malfunctions while the driver is already braking. Either example could increase the risk of a crash.
To fix the issue, Honda will install a new electrical sub-harness, free of charge to the owner. The recall specifies 101,000 Honda Pilot (pictured), 60,000 Acura MDX and 21,000 Acura RL vehicles from the 2005 model year will be affected. An additional 800 MDX crossovers from the 2006 model year are also included in the recall. In addition, 51,000 of the affected 2005 Pilots will be inspected to be sure that a ground bolt for the VSA system is properly tight. Should this bolt come lose, similar unexpected brake activation may occur.

Google poised to release Apple CarPlay rival this month

Apple and Google. They're the Michigan and Ohio State of the tech world. They're New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Real Madrid and Barcelona, or whatever sports-based rivalry you want to cook up. Bottom line, if one company expands into a segment, it's only a matter of time before the other follows suit. And now, that rivalry is about to carry over to your car's dashboard.
Unnamed sources are reporting to Automotive News that Google will unveil its very own challenger to Apple's new CarPlay in-car operating system later this month at the Mountain View, CA company's annual developer conference. The system, allegedly called Google Auto Link, will be the first product to come from the Open Automotive Alliance, a partnership between Google, General Motors, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and hardware manufacturer NVIDIA.
The official announcement is expected to be made on either June 25 or 26, at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expect to hear a lot more about Google Auto Link then.