Features

Anyone who has lived in Africa knows what the Big Five are. But how did these five animals — the lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard — come to be called the Big Five?

Let me tell you. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, professional hunters used this term while bagging trophies in the dense jungles. It was actually considered a rite of passage for seasoned travellers like American presidents, European and Indian royalty and heads of state to visit the Dark Continent in order to shoot a large and dangerous animal.

The Big Five quickly became known as the most treacherous animals to hunt on foot, and the name stuck. Even though now all the “shooting” that’s done is not through a double-barrelled gun, but via a camera lens.

These thoughts reverberated in my head as I prepared myself to face a brand new milestone in my life. I was going to become a half-centurion and all the previous fifty years of my existence on Earth were playing in front of my eyes — like the scenes in a movie, that is. 

I remember myself aged four, fourteen, twenty-four, thirty-four and forty-four. Every decade apart, I was doing certain things differently, while the other stuff, in exactly the same manner. 

My earliest memory is of being allowed to sit unsupervised on a chair around a dining table. I was very stressed because if I sat up straight, my feet would dangle in the air and if I slid down to place them on the floor, my head would slip right off the seat too. I was extremely perturbed with this bit of injustice and kept repeating the action hoping that my limbs would grow with each repetition and fit me proportionately in the highchair. 

Ten years later, I learned to slouch whenever I wanted to avoid confrontation during mealtimes. Ironically, I would be asked to sit up straight, on the same chair! My mum would have a fit whenever she saw me in such a state. “Look at me when I’m talking to you and don’t droop like that,” she would scold. 

Another decade went by and I found myself sitting with my infant child on my lap. After my marriage whenever I visited my parents along with my husband, the dining table was set very formally. A crisp tablecloth would adorn it and the crockery, which was earlier saved for special occasions, would be laid out. My dad insisted that when we have our meals, our daughter should be made to taste a bit of everything. So, I would be seated, once again, on the same old chair, with my baby’s feet in the air. 

The next twenty years sped so fast that I have trouble in recollecting them individually. I thought turning thirty was a life-changing experience but when I turned forty was when my entire perception changed. I lost both my parents so I was forced to grow up in a hurry. 

However old you might be, even when you are seventy, if your mother or father are alive, you can continue to be childish. The unconditional love that they have for you overlooks all your shortcomings. But once they are gone, you have to learn to take accountability, which is a challenging experience.

On my fiftieth birthday, with my feet planted firmly on the ground, all I wish for is some divine blessings from my parents. I know they are listening. 

NEW YORK — After watching Americans suck down Big Gulps for decades, Coke and Pepsi are realising less could be more.

As people cut back on soda, the two beverage giants are pushing smaller cans and bottles they say contain fewer calories and induce less guilt. The goal is to offset falling consumption with packages that cost more per litre and are appealing for their novelty and portion control.

That means 220ml “mini-cans” and 235ml and 250ml glass and aluminium bottles are taking up more space on supermarket shelves. The cans and bottles have been around for a few years, but Coke and Pepsi are making them more widely available and marketing them more aggressively. As part of its “Share-a-Coke” campaign that printed popular names on cans and bottles last year, for instance, Coke says it distributed a million mini-cans.

The focus on pushing an array of smaller packages signals a shift from the past couple decades, when beverage makers measured success by the sheer volume of soda they sold. Yet soda consumption has declined persistently in recent years, with public health officials blaming it for making people fat and calling for special taxes and even warning labels on cans.

Soda hit its peak in 1998, when Americans on average drank the equivalent of 576 cans of it a year, according to data from the industry tracker Beverage Digest. That figure was down to about 450 cans a year in 2013.

Instead of fighting what seems to be a losing battle, Coke and Pepsi are pushing smaller cans and bottles that make their products seem new as they compete with a proliferation of beverage options. The companies also say the newer sizes cater to people’s desire for more modest servings.

“Coca-Cola is so delicious, but it’s like sun tanning or cigarettes — they’re these wonderful things that we now know are horrible for us,” said Lauren Utvich, a 31-year-old food stylist in New York, who bought the Coke mini-cans when she first spotted them.

Utvich doesn’t normally drink soda, but she likes that the mini-cans turn Coke into a relatively guiltless treat. But that’s not the only reason she bought them. “Let’s be honest. I like them because they’re freaking adorable,” said Utvich, who didn’t pay attention to how much they cost.

During a presentation in November, Coke’s North American President Sandy Douglas said the health and wellness trend has set up “a tremendous opportunity for the Coca-Cola brand with our smaller packages”.

He noted a regular 355ml can of Coke on average sell for 31 cents. By comparison, a 220ml mini-can sells for 40 cents.

Coca-Cola said that while it may be selling less soda, smaller packs are pushing up revenue. Sales of Coke’s smaller sizes — which include a 1.25-litre bottle as an alternative to the 2-litre bottle — were up 9 per cent last year through October, according to the presentation by Douglas. By comparison, sales of its 355ml cans and 2-litre bottles edged up 0.1 per cent.

That doesn’t mean Coke and Pepsi are abandoning their more generous servings, which still dominate the industry. And it’s not clear how big the appetite for the newer cans and bottles can grow over time. In 2013, mini-cans accounted for 1.1 per cent of sales volume in supermarkets, according to Beverage Digest. But they accounted for 2.4 per cent of sales dollars, more than double their volume share.

Bonnie Herzog, a Wells Fargo beverage industry analyst, said the smaller options are part of how Coke is repositioning itself amid changing habits around soda. She noted the company is also pushing Coke Life, a reduced-calorie drink sweetened with a mix of sugar and stevia.

“It’s responsible and it’s realistic,” Herzog said, noting the smaller sizes are marketed as “moments of pleasure” people don’t have to give up.

Soda’s bad reputation, after all, is in part the result of mushrooming sizes. For decades, Coke was sold primarily in 190ml glass bottles. In 1955, the company started introducing larger servings after Pepsi-Cola marketed a bigger glass bottle, according to Dan Deane, president of the Coca-Cola Collectors Club.

Eventually, he noted Coke sold a 3-litre plastic bottle in some regions.

Fountain sodas got bigger, too. In 1976, 7-Eleven introduced its 945ml Big Gulp, followed by a Double Gulp that holds  double that. A small drink at McDonald’s today is 470ml, while a large is 890ml. But the bigger sizes that helped enrich Coke and Pepsi also backfired, with many now seeing it as a culprit for the nation’s obesity rates.

In November, voters in Berkeley, California approved a special, per-ounce tax on sugary drinks.

Even as Coke and Pepsi fight such measures through their industry lobbying group, they’re embracing the mantra of moderation.

This fall, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper pledged at the Clinton Global Initiative to slash calorie consumption from beverages in the US by 20 per cent over the next decade. It sounds dramatic, but calories from drinks were falling anyway as people move away from soda on their own in favour of options like bottled water.

One of the ways the companies promised to achieve their goal: Smaller sizes.

LOS ANGELES — Link, Master Chief, Batman and Nathan Drake will be back in action.

The leading men are among the protagonists starring in totally new video game instalments in 2015, joined by newcomers like a team of intergalactic monster hunters and their prey (“Evolve”), a band of high-tech criminals and their tails (“Battlefield Hardline”) and a battalion of explorers and their procedurally generated universe (“No Man’s Sky”).

The gaming line-up for 2015 also includes a pair of original Victorian-inspired tales (“Bloodborne”, ‘’The Order: 1886”), the return of two long-gone, out-of-this-world gaming franchises (“Star Wars: Battlefront”, ‘’Star Fox”) and an expedition into the open-world genre for a long-running stealth series (“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain”).

Here’s a glimpse of some of 2015’s most anticipated games:

— “Batman: Arkham Knight” (for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC; June 2): After three editions of stomping, gliding and grappling through a virtual Gotham, Batman has keys to the Batmobile in Rocksteady Studios’ Dark Knight finale. This time, besides old-school baddies like Penguin and Scarecrow, Batman is facing off against a new menace called Arkham Knight.

— “Battlefield Hardline” (for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC; March 17): Visceral Games is dodging the military in favour of an interactive game of cops and robbers in the latest entry of the first-person “Battlefield” shooter series. The war-on-crime action will include bank heists, police chases and hostage rescue missions.

— “Bloodborne” (for PlayStation 4; March 24): “Dark Souls” mastermind Hidetaka Miyazaki takes a stab at the PlayStation 4 with this relentless role-playing title set in a gothic enclave that’s been overrun by infected monsters. “Bloodborne”, much like predecessors “Dark Souls” and “Demon’s Souls”, is expected to be quite the nightmare.

— “Evolve” (for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC; February 10): After tackling team-based zombie slaying with “Left 4 Dead”, Turtle Rock Studios takes on monster hunting in this multiplayer shooter with a twist. Instead of equal squads aiming for each other online, “Evolve” pits a team of four against one player portraying an oversized, overpowered behemoth.

— “Halo 5: Guardians” (for Xbox One, fall 2015): For his latest interstellar adventure, hardened “Halo” hero Master Chief is joined by a new companion, fellow supersoldier Locke. Developer 343 Industries has injected a slew of fresh abilities into the game’s multiplayer mode, including thruster-boosted dodging and ground pounding.

— “The Legend of Zelda” (for Wii U, 2015): Link and his trusty steed Epona are set free in an expansive open realm in the first original “Legend of Zelda” adventure crafted for Nintendo’s high-definition, touchscreen-centric Wii U console. “Legend of Zelda” producer Eiji Aonuma has promised that Link’s actions will have the ability to reshape his fantasy world.

— “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC; 2015): “Metal Gear” one-man army Snake is dispatched to Afghanistan during the Cold War to take down Soviet forces. “Phantom Pain” seeks to be the most liberating “Metal Gear” yet with sandstorms and daylight affecting the mercenary’s stealthy tasks.

— “No Man’s Sky” (for PlayStation 4, PC, 2015): While most game makers precisely position every polygon within their creations, the developers at Hello Games are dispatching players to virtual worlds with randomly generated landscapes, meaning plants, animals and atmospheres will look different for each person who picks up this ambitious exploration title.

— “The Order: 1886” (for PlayStation 4, February 20): In this third-person alternate history romp, the Knights of the Round Table battle supernatural forces with steampunk gear across London. “The Order” creators Ready at Dawn are harnessing the PS4’s souped-up processing power to transport gamers to an intricate and moody rendition of the foggy city.

— “Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End” (for PlayStation 4; 2015): After surviving a trek through a sprawling desert and a jaunt through an ancient crumbling city, “Uncharted” champion Nathan Drake returns for his first quest on the PS4. This time, the smart-alecky treasure hunter will be joined by his brother, portrayed by omnipresent video game actor Troy Baker.

Other anticipated titles include: role-playing sequel “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”; online-only shooter “Tom Clancy’s The Division”; time-bending action title “Quantum Break”; a next-gen rendition of “Star Wars: Battlefront”; Lara Croft follow-up “Rise of the Tomb Raider”; and “Star Fox” for the Wii U.

MIAMI — Telling people how pollution can harm kids’ health inspires them to use less electricity than telling them how much money they could save by cutting back on power use, US researchers said Monday.

The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences centred on people living in 118 apartment units in Los Angeles.

Over the course of about four months, residents were given weekly feedback about their energy usage.

Some were told how their electricity use compared to a more energy-efficient apartment nearby, and how much money they could save by turning off the lights and using less power.

Another group was given similar feedback, but were also told about how much their energy use contributed to pollutant emissions, and how air pollution can cause childhood health problems like cancer and asthma.

A control group received no feedback at all.

The apartments that received the health-related warnings began using an average of 8 per cent less power than the control group.

If there were kids in the household, apartment dwellers reduced their electricity use by 19 per cent, said the study.

Apartments that were told about cost savings from using less energy barely changed their habits at all.

Researchers said that touting monetary savings may not have worked, in part because electricity in the United States is already fairly inexpensive.

“For most people at our field site, the savings for cutting back to using the same as their most efficient neighbour would only be $4 to $6 per month. That’s a fast-food combo meal or a couple of gallons of milk,” said co-author Omar Asensio, a doctoral student studying economics and environmental sciences and engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.

But changes in daily habits could be significant on a large scale because residential and commercial buildings account for more than two-thirds of US energy usage, according to the study.

“We’re finding that you have to bundle the public good with the private good,” said lead author Magali Delmas, an environmental economist at the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management.

“Our message about health and the environment reminds people that environmentalism is also about them and their kids.”

DETROIT — Ford’s big move to aluminium for the body of its flagship F-150 truck has helped it garner some additional material: The hardware that comes with the North American Truck of the Year Award.

Ford took the top truck honour Monday alongside the Volkswagen Golf, which was named car of the year. The winners, voted on by about 60 automotive journalists, were unveiled at the start of press previews for North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

“Clearly the materials have a lot to do with the story of the truck,” Ford President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs said, though he added he is “most proud” of what the material does for the vehicle’s capabilities.

The aluminium body allowed Ford to reduce the truck’s weight by 315kg compared with last year’s model. That gave it greater hauling and towing capacity and better fuel economy. The lighter weight also makes the truck accelerate faster, stop quicker and handle better, he said.

Ford’s truck sales, which amount to 20 per cent of its North American sales, slowed last year as the company retooled factories to make the new one. Hinrichs said initial sales have been strong with trucks sitting on dealer lots for an average of only five days. Only one factory in Dearborn, Michigan, is currently making the F-150, but a second factory in Kansas City will be ready by the end of March, he said.

Hinrichs predicted sales would pick up as both plants start supplying dealers.

The F-150 beat out Ford’s Lincoln MKC and Chevrolet’s Colorado for truck honours.

Volkswagen officials were pleasantly surprised by the win over the Ford Mustang and Hyundai Genesis.

“We didn’t expect this award,” said Michael Horn, VW’s CEO in America, while praising competitors and fondly recalling driving a 1967 Mustang. “It’s confirmation of the way we’ve chosen to go forth. It’s a starting point to get back on track here in US.”

Horn said the German automaker’s US sales were down last year but started to climb in the final months of the year with the arrival of new models. He added the Golf, VW’s top-selling model, also represents “the DNA of the brand” as well as its strategy for design, technology and marketing.

It has received several other awards, including the Motor Trend Car of the Year.

General Motors’ Chevrolet brand swept the awards last year with wins for the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Silverado.

This is the 22nd year for the awards, and vehicles must be all new or substantially changed for eligibility. Organisers accept no advertising, though carmakers try to capitalise on the marketing value of the honours.

Promising modern V8 muscle and refinement with unmolested classic style and elegance, the hand-built Jensen Interceptor R is a re-engineered and re-furbished resurrection of a much-loved classic.

The height of elegantly indulgent yet unpretentious luxury and sophistication in its 1960s and 1970s glory days, the Interceptor claimed an impressively eclectic list of A-list celebrity owners including Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Tony Curtis, Dusty Springfield and Farah Fawcett.

Effortlessly charming yet moody and grand but unostentatious, the Interceptor is an enduringly desirable classic that is now revived and modernised by Jensen International Automotive (JIA), a firm established by Jensen-enthusiast businessmen and engineers in 2010.

Seductively graceful and uncomplicatedly charismatic, the Jensen Interceptor was originally launched in 1966 and designed by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan, with early bodies built by Vignale coachbuilders in Turin for the now defunct Jensen Motors of West Bromwich, UK. 

Powered by a brutishly effective and un-complex American V8 — like mane bespoke and exotic British and Italian cars of its time, the Interceptor design language and moody sense of dynamic tension was however more of Italian grand tourers of its milieu — like the Iso Grifo — than British ones.

Modernised by Oxfordshire-based JIA the reborn Interceptor R subtly but extensively improves on the original’s design and driving character with more modern components and techniques.

British built and rebuilt

A viable real-world daily driver that captures the charm of the swinging sixties, the Interceptor R is an altogether different, more charismatic, elegant and exclusive car for the client able to buy or already in possession of the latest exotic high performance and luxury cars.

With a team of experienced technicians, engineers and restorers, the Interceptor R offers improved handling, performance, refinement and reliability, and is re-built from either JIA-provided or client-sourced 1971-76 Mk3 or 1969-71 Mk2 donor cars.

Completed in 26-30 weeks for GBP £150,000, donor cars are first fully stripped down and inspected before the shell is repaired, the restored seam sealed, primed and painted to preference.

Fitted with a modern General Motors LS3 6.2-litre V8 in place of original 6.3- and 7.2-litre Chrysler engines, the Interceptor R’s rear live-axle is replaced with independent rear suspension.

Almost unchanged, keen observers will however notice the Interceptor R’s black grille slats, wider exhaust tips, lower front air dam and wire mesh intakes and side vents, while rounded indicator lights replace rectangular originals.

The Interceptor R also gets rechromed details, new steel bumpers, sill covers and kick-plates, while 17-inch (43.18cm) replicas replace original’s 15-inch (38.1cm) alloy wheels to accommodate modern brake discs, six-pot front callipers and wider lower profile 235/55VR17 tyres.

The demo car driven featured optional 255/50VR17 rear tyres and discretely wider rear wheel-arches from the supercharged version.

Italian glamour

With a name as dramatic as its design, the Interceptor is edgy and dramatically predatory, but is classy rather than overstated. With a long and low bonnet allowed by its compact OHV V8 engine design and front-mid position, the Interceptor has an airy and upright charisma, with low waistline, big glasshouse, distinctive wraparound glass hatch and thin pillars for excellent visibility to better place it on road that a modern GT, despite its indulgently long bonnet. Sitting low and close to the fixed steering wheel and door, the Interceptor R offers excellent front headroom, useable rear seats, and comfortably padded and luxuriously upholstered and double-stitched leather-bound seats for long journeys. .

Brimming with debonair style, presence and a sense of occasion, the Interceptor R seemed to bring out the courteous side of other road users, whereas a more ostentatious modern personal luxury coupe might have the opposite effect.

Along with luxurious reupholstery, the Interceptor R features an aircraft-like line of new gauges set deep within an upright refurbished and leather-bound dashboard, and large user-friendly buttons, rotary dials, chrome accents, brushed aluminium console and three-spoke period leather-steering wheel. Also included are new electrics, refurbished seals and original-style halogen headlights. Dramatic, luxurious and exotic, the Interceptor R exudes presence and a sense of occasion. Fitted with rear-anchored seatbelts, one can opt for B-pillar anchoring.

Modern American muscle

With modern and more evolved American muscle under the bonnet in the form of the same light and compact 6.2-litre V8 engine that powers the Chevrolet Camaro SS — replacing its lazy and heavy period cast-iron Chrysler V8s — the Interceptor R is more powerful and efficient, and offers a robust and low maintenance power-train.

True to the original’s character, the new V8 is a burbling and bass-rich brute with a insistent bellow at full chat, which is better enjoyed owing to less soundproofing than a modern clinical GT coupe. Mounted further back for better within wheelbase weighting, the Interceptor R’s 6.2 V8 429BHP at 5,900rpm and 424lb/ft torque at 4,600rpm.

With a modest-by-modern-standard 1.6-tonne weight and deep reservoir of torque from tick-over to redline, the Interceptor R is effortlessly and muscularly flexible throughout, and punches through high winds and 1960s aerodynamics with vigorous determination. Digging its sticky rear tyres into the tarmac the interceptor R leaps through the 0-100km/h benchmark in 4.5 seconds, and onto a 255km/h maximum.

With ample reserves of torque and linear delivery, the Interceptor R offers daily flexibility and punchy top-end power. The early build demo car driven featured a smooth and responsive four-speed automatic gearbox, but this has been replaced for production with a better integrated, smoother and more responsive six-speed automatic, or six-speed manual. 

Newly independent

The Interceptor R’s most significant improvement is, however, its Jaguar XJ-S-sourced lower wishbone and twin damper independent suspension, which replaces the outdated original live axle rear set up. Able to travel independently of the opposing side, the Interceptor R’s independent suspension provides enhanced refinement and handling.

Driven on various urban, country and motorway routes, the Interceptor R’s ride is confident, settled on rebound and comfortably supple over imperfections but not detached.

The Interceptor R’s tyre choice provides improved handling and braking without sacrificing comfort and practicality. Its revised and modern brakes are highly effective but require firmer pedal input owing to the original servo assistance still in use.

Reconciling a GT’s luxury, long-distance and sporting requirement, the Interceptor R’s revised suspension, springs, bushes and tightened-up and firmer steering deliver a connected and responsive but stable and refined drive, especially for a car of its vintage. With a natural feel and fluency, the Interceptor R is an anecdote to overly heavy, assisted and synthesized modern GTs.

The Interceptor R’s meaty steering delivered good feel and feedback, and tidier turn-in than expected, but a taller ratio requires more input. With more cornering lean than modern cars, the Interceptor R is however balanced, controlled and settles reassuringly from weight transfers, and provides a progressive and transparent feel to its high lateral grip limits. Wind noise was less than expected for its age.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 6.2 litre, front-mid, all-aluminium V8 cylinders

Bore x Stroke: 103.25 x 92mm

Compression: 10.7:1

Valve train: 16 valve, OHV, fuel injection

Gearbox: 7-speed automatic, RWD, 2.89:1, limited slip differential

Power, BHP [kW]: 429 [321] @ 5,900rpm

Torque lb/ft (Nm): 424 (575) @ 4,600rpm

Maximum engine speed: 6,600rpm 

0-100km/h: 4.5-seconds

Top speed: 255km/h

Length: 4,700mm

Width: 1,700mm

Height: 1,250mm

Wheelbase: 2,670mm

Kerb weight: approximately 1,600kg

Suspension, F: Double wishbone, adjustable Spax coil-over dampers, anti-roll bar

Suspension, R: Independent, lower wishbone, twin adjustable Spax coil-over dampers

Steering: PAS rack and pinion

Brakes, F/R 6 piston callipers, ventilated discs 330mm/1 piston callipers, discs, 280mm

Tyres, F/R: 235/55VR17/255/50ZR17 (optional)

Price, UK: £150,000

LAS VEGAS — On a dusty stretch of Nevada desert, a quadcopter drone kicks up a small cloud as it takes off. It then trails its operator on a drive across the flat terrain, filming the motion from a short distance above.

The AirDog drone was designed to capture the intensity of extreme sports that have been difficult to access — surfing, skiing, off-road biking and similar activities.

“We felt we could change the way video is captured in action sports,” said Agris Kipurs, co-founder or AirDog, created by a group of Latvian engineers and now based in California, which is starting beta-testing on its products later this year.

AirDog, one of dozens of drones being shown at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, is aiming for “an unassisted experience, so all you need is the tracking device on your wrist”, Kipurs told AFP during a demonstration in the desert outside Las Vegas.

Drones are showing up in a variety of shapes and sizes at the huge electronics fair, which has for the first time a space dedicated to “unmanned systems”.

More than a dozen companies are displaying the flying devices, for uses ranging from remote-controlled toys to professional filmmaking to industrial and agricultural applications.

The Hexo+ drone from Franco-American Squadrone System is another drone on display that can be pre-programmed to follow and film a person or object from any conceivable angle using a smartphone.

In a similar category, the show got a look at the Nixie drone, a flying camera which launches from one’s wrist and won a competition last year sponsored by Intel for wearable technology.

“We think drones have a possibility to change our lives in positive ways,” said Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich at a CES keynote speech where he demonstrated Intel-powered drones from Ascending Technologies that navigated obstacles on stage.

Fighters, micro drones

South Korean-based Byrobot is showing its “drone fighter”, which enables its users to simulate aerial combat with infrared signals to fire at enemy aircraft.

When one of the drones is hit, its lights flash and hand controller vibrates, signalling it is downed, according to the company, which offers an optional camera with the device.

With US regulations on drones still uncertain, some developers are looking for ways to avoid being grounded.

The Zano drone, a so-called nano-drone designed for aerial photography and selfies, weighs in at just 55 grammes to be under the current limit of 60 grammes to be regulated in the United States, said Thomas Dietrich, design director for the British-based Torquing Group.

“We’ve squeezed a lot of technology into a very small package,” Dietrich said. 

“It’s a smart device. It’s all gesture based and it has obstacle avoidance.”

At $279, he said, the drone “is affordable for everyone”.

A full lineup of drones is on display from the French electronics group Parrot, which has expanded its offerings over the past year in both consumer and industrial unmanned vehicles.

“The past year was very good” for drone sales, said Parrot marketing director Nicolas Halftermeyer.

Parrot recently introduced its Bebop drone for the consumer segment, which can take high-definition video and be controlled from a tablet or smartphone. 

It also sells a professional mapping drone called eBee and another designed for agricultural use called eBee Ag.

“This part of the business is growing very fast,” he said.

The Consumer Electronics Association, which organises the show, said the market for these devices is hitting new heights as the technology previously used for military aircraft is adapted for consumer and industrial activities.

The show includes a panel discussion on the plans for US regulations.

According to CEA research, the global market for consumer drones will approach $130 million in revenue in 2015, up 55 per cent from 2014, with unit sales of consumer drones expected to reach 400,000. 

Revenue from drone sales is expected to top $1 billion in just five years, CEA said.

LAS VEGAS — Smartwatches don’t have to look ugly to be functional. Clothing and accessories designers are collaborating with engineers to produce computerised wristwatches that people will want to wear all day and night.

With Apple Inc. preparing to release a watch line that includes an 18-karat gold edition, rivals know they need to think beyond devices that look like miniature computers — with their rectangular screens and wristbands made of rubber-like materials. If the watches aren’t attractive, the market won’t grow beyond a small niche of users.

“The big brick on the wrist is not what a fashionable person is going to wear on a day-to-day basis,” says Cindy Livingston, CEO of Sequel, a Timex business that makes traditional watches under the Guess clothing brand. That’s especially so for women, she says — many of the existing smartwatches are simply too big for their wrists.

At the CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week, Guess said it’s partnering with Martian Watches to make a line of fashionable smartwatches. Guess took its leading line of traditional watches, Rigor, and incorporated Martian’s technology. From a distance, the new Guess Connect watch looks like a Rigor, with analog hands and a crown, or dial, on the right. Closer inspection reveals the addition of two control buttons and a small, one-line display for notifications near six o’clock.

LG, meanwhile, consulted with outside design experts and a sister company that makes fashion and home-decor products. Its first smartwatch was rectangular primarily because of production constraints. A round model followed just months later.

Other companies took fashion into account from the start. Burg’s Dutch founder, Hermen van den Burg, has had 20 years of work in design. At CES, the company showcased new stainless-steel models and one with Swarovski crystals, both due out in March. Van den Burg says a watch, as something you wear, is highly personal and must fit your lifestyle. Cogito filled an in-house design studio in Paris with people from the fashion industry. Last summer’s Classic model has room for just 24 characters of text, so that most of the face can be devoted to making the watch a watch. A fitness tracker coming this April will have interchangeable parts to add patterns on the rim.

The Consumer Electronics Association projects that US sales of wearable devices will reach 31 million this year, up 61 per cent. Most will be health and fitness devices, such as step counters. Although general-purpose smartwatches are expected to reach just 11 million, or about a third of all wearable devices, that’s more than quadruple what was sold in 2014.

Those seeking specialized functions might not care about design, but those looking to wear something around the clock might, says Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T’s mobile and business solutions division. Apple will “raise the bar”, de la Vega adds. “Others are going to have to work hard to stay up with it.”

High fashion won’t come cheap. Health-tech company Withings hired traditional watch designers to make a fitness-tracking watch called Activite, pronounced activity. It looks like a regular watch except for a second dial on the face to show progress toward that day’s fitness goals. The watch can measure a lot more, but you’ll need a smartphone app to view that. Activite is being manufactured at an unspecified watch factory in Switzerland, rather than in Asia, where consumer electronics are typically produced. With high-quality materials, including calf leather for the band, Activite costs $450, compared with $200 to $300 for typical smartwatches today. But even at that price, Withings sold out an undisclosed number in a day when it came out in November.

At CES, Garmin says it partnered with designer Jonathan Adler to make patterned straps for its Vivofit 2 fitness tracker, to be sold in sets of three for $40. And Sony is making a stainless steel edition of its SmartWatch 3 for $50 more, or $300.

Efforts to make wearable technology more fashionable are intriguing, but companies will still need to convince consumers they need yet another device, says Jorge Aguilar at the brand-consulting firm Landor Associates. Apple is one of the few companies that might pull it off, he says, but even the iPad and iPhone maker still needs to make the case for yet another screen.

Apple has teased consumers with promises of an Apple Watch that can locate parked cars in a crowded lot or unlock hotel room doors with a tap. It will also make smaller versions, which might appeal to women, and designs and bands appropriate for different settings, such as a workout or a night out. But a lot still isn’t known, including how much these fashionable configurations will cost. The base model will cost $349. There’s been speculation the gold edition could cost in the thousands of dollars.

At such a price, the wearer will be making much more than a fashion statement.

NEW YORK — Fast-food chains have a New Year’s resolution: Drop the junk.

As people express distaste for food they think is overly processed, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other chains are trying to shed their reputation for serving reheated meals that are loaded with chemicals. That includes rethinking the use of artificial preservatives and other ingredients customers find objectionable.

“This demand for fresh and real is on the rise,” said Greg Creed, CEO of Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.

During the presentation for analysts and investors last month, Creed said the company needs to be more transparent about ingredients and use fewer preservatives.

Recasting fast-food as “fresh” and “real” will be tricky, in large part because it’s so universally regarded as cheap and greasy. Another problem is that terms like “fresh”, ‘’real” and “healthy” have nebulous meanings, making it hard for companies to pin down how to approach transformation.

One way chains are looking to redefine themselves is by purging recipes of chemicals people might find unappetising. Already, packaged food and beverage companies have reformulated products to remove such ingredients, even while standing by their safety. PepsiCo, for instance, said it would remove brominated vegetable oil from Gatorade after a petition by a teenager noted it isn’t approved for use in some markets overseas.

And fast-food chains are indicating they want to jump on the “clean label” trend too:

— Last month, McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres outlined improvements the company is working on, including the simplification of ingredient labels. Without providing details, he said to expect some changes in early 2015. The remarks came after the company reported a 4.6 per cent decline in US sales for November, capping two years of struggling performance.

“Why do we need to have preservatives in our food?” Andres asked, noting McDonald’s restaurants go through supplies quickly. “We probably don’t.”

— Subway, a privately held company that does not disclose sales, started airing TV ads Thursday for its new chicken strips free of artificial preservatives and flavours. After suffering bad publicity, the company said earlier last year it would remove an ingredient from its bread that an online petition noted was also used in yoga mats. The ingredient, azodicarbonamide, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and widely used as a dough conditioner and whitening agent.

—Chick-fil-A said in 2013 it would remove high-fructose corn syrup from buns and artificial dyes from its dressings. A couple months later, it said it plans to serve only chicken raised without antibiotics within five years.

— Carl’s Jr. last month introduced an “all-natural” burger with no added hormones, antibiotics or steroids. “We are obviously looking at other products on our menu to see which ones can be made all natural as well,” said Brad Haley, the chain’s chief marketing officer.

It’s not clear how far fast-food companies will go in reformulating recipes. But the nation’s biggest chains are facing growing competition. In the latest quarter, customer visits to traditional fast-food hamburger chains declined 3 per cent from a year ago, according to market researcher NPD Group. Fast-casual chains — which are seen as a step up from traditional fastfood — saw visits rise 8 per cent.

Part of the appeal of fast-casual chains is that they position themselves as being higher in quality. Chipotle, which touts its use of organic ingredients and meat from animals that were raised without antibiotics, said sales at established locations surged 19.8 per cent in the most recent quarter. And Panera vowed this summer to remove artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its food by 2016.

The ethos of wholesome ingredients is increasingly being embraced across the industry. But not without some challenges.

Dan Coudreaut, executive chef at McDonald’s, has noted the difficulties in changing recipes. In an interview last year, he said McDonald’s is looking at ways to use culinary techniques to replace the functions of certain ingredients.

“If you take [an ingredient] out, what are you giving up?” he said.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, said there are likely many cases where artificial preservatives or colours could be replaced with natural alternatives without significant costs. Since their functions vary, he said companies would have to evaluate recipes product by product.

“Sometimes, food additives can be crutches or insurance policies. If a food is frozen, germs aren’t going to grow. But preservatives might be added just in case, or they may be used just because their supplier has been using it for so long,” he said, adding that such changes are “not a big deal” in terms of the overall health.

Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and author of “Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines our Health and How to Fight Back”, also said getting rid of additives here and there won’t be enough to change the way people think about fastfood.

“That’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Simon said. “These companies have a fundamental problem in who they are.”

LAS VEGAS — Imagine a world in which your garage door opens automatically as you pull into the driveway. The living room lights and heater turn on — perhaps the oven starts warming up, too. In the so-called “smart home”, cars, appliances and other devices all have sensors and Internet connectivity to think and act for themselves, and make your life easier.

We’re not there just yet, but we’re getting closer.

The smart home concept is known in tech circles as the Internet of Things. Current iterations primarily include our ability to control gadgets such as lights and security alarms or view data remotely through a smartphone app. At the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week, manufacturers will promote more devices and functionality. Some gadgets will be able to talk directly with one another, not just to an app. The four-day show opens to the public Tuesday.

That garage door? Mercedes-Benz would like people to imagine their luxury car of the future pulling in all by itself, without a driver behind the wheel, to bring its passengers home.

The carmaker unveiled the sleek concept car that it is calling F 015 Monday night when it turned a stage inside The Cosmopolitan on the Strip in Las Vegas into a scene usually reserved for annual car shows, attracting a swell of people on stage afterward wanting a closer look.

The car’s futuristic look belies some historic inspiration in its design. Dieter Zetsche, head of Mercedes-Benz, said the wheels were pushed to the outer edges much like a horse carriage, giving ample room inside for seating rather than wheel wells — in this case four modern swivel chairs that can face each other.

And much like those horse carriages, the passengers inside the car of the future can chat, read a newspaper, or even take a nap while their car would ferry them home.

“Mankind has been dreaming of autonomous cars since the 1950s,” Zeetsche said. He said his company has been working to make it a reality, albeit still a concept and not in production yet, since the 1990s.

“It’s basically a revolution,” he said of the car.

The Internet of Things could mean big business for gadget makers. The Consumer Electronics Association projects US sales of smart energy and security systems alone will total $574 million this year, a 23 per cent increase from 2014. Although that pales by comparison to the $18 billion spent on TVs and displays, growth has been swift. In terms of people smartening up their homes in earnest, though, it will probably be another two years before devices are cheap and widespread enough for the typical consumer, says Eduardo Pinheiro, CEO of Muzzley, which makes a hub that allows devices to talk to each other.

For now, the smart home is more about possibilities than practice. Many companies exhibiting at CES are laying the foundation for what a smart home system will eventually do, hoping to entice consumers to start thinking about upgrading to smart gadgets. It’s not always an easy sell.

Consider wearable devices that track fitness and other activities. In many cases, the novelty wears off quickly, and devices end up in drawers. But what if a wearable device that tracks sleep could tell the coffeemaker to start brewing as soon as you awoke? When the coffee’s done, what if the sprinklers on the front lawn automatically turned off so you didn’t get wet walking out the front door to work?

“It’s these great benefits that we need to explain,” says BK Yoon, Samsung’s CEO and chief of consumer electronics. “We can’t just talk about the Internet of Things because it’s so impersonal like a bedtime story for robots. We have to show what’s in it for them.”

That includes freeing people from chores to spend more time with family, pursue more hobbies and, in his case, spend “quality time on the putting green”, he says.

Some examples: Lucis Technologies will soon ship a smart lighting device called NuBryte that can learn your behaviour, such as what time you tend to come home. Sensors can turn on the night light if you wake up to use the bathroom but switch on brighter lights during the day. A coffeemaker from Smarter will soon use data from fitness trackers such as Fitbit. If you had a bad night of sleep, the coffeemaker will know to make the java stronger that morning. Other products focus on better notifications: A battery for a smoke detector to alert you on your phone when the alarm goes off, or a bracelet that vibrates when the baby cries in its crib. (Moms rejoice: The bracelet is even smart enough to alternate which parent it alerts to get up.)

“It’s got to be something people are seeing it can do and want it to do,” says Chris Penrose, AT&T’s senior vice president for the Internet of Things. “It’s got to make their lives better and be incredibly easy to use.”

“True consumer value will come when devices work in concert with one another and in many cases across manufacturers,” adds Brett Dibkey, a Whirlpool Corp. vice president. “The home adapts to the way consumers live rather than the other way around.”

At CES, Whirlpool will showcase dryers that can run at a slower, energy-saving cycle if you aren’t home and thus aren’t in a rush. The dryer integrates with Google Inc.’s Nest smart thermostat, which has sensors to figure out that no one’s home and then lowers the heat automatically. Meanwhile, a smart home hub called DigitalStrom plans to take cues from Nest. If Nest is trying to cool down the house, for instance, DigitalStrom will lower automated window shades to block out sunlight.

These are the building blocks for an eventual automated home. Once those building blocks are in place, services can better predict what you want. For example, Netflix is already good about recommending movies to watch based on your preferences, but it might suggest something different if it could read data from a wearable device or camera and tell that you’re with friends, or stressed out, says Shawn Dubravac, senior director of research with the Consumer Electronics Association.