For people who wonder what types of trees surround them in these green spaces, quick response codes will help.

In Murrysville, Pennsylvania, it’s becoming easier to get to know the types of trees that share their clean air, shade and gorgeous green color, as QR codes are being added to these green spaces to identify the various species.

Nature enthusiasts carrying smartphones will be able to scan the quick response codes for more information.

The QR codes are being added to the signage by the Friends of Murrysville Parks. The barcode tags have been placed onto park signs so that visitors to the area can use their smartphones to scan the codes and inform themselves about the types of trees that can be found throughout the green spaces. A scan automatically directs a user to one of the webpages hosted by the municipality and that have been created to provide information about the different types of trees that can be found throughout the parks.

At the start of the project, there are four QR codes being added to Duff Park, and five going into Townsend Park.

This, however, will be only the start of the program. With the initial launch, the nine codes in the two parks will get things started. However, it looks as though this will be expanded into more codes and additional parks over time.

Originally, the intention had been to build a gazebo with the municipality’s funds for Duff Park. However, the Friends of Murrysville Parks decided that it would be more appealing to launch a project that would provide tree identification.

A couple of local students were brought in by the Friends as interns and they studied the existing signage. They researched the trees and decided that adding QRcode tags would be the easiest way to update the black locust wood sign posts that are already there, hardy and rot-resistant, but that would now be able to provide far more information when scanned by smartphones.

The Friends are expecting that these QR codes will be receiving a considerable amount of use, particularly considering that Duff Park is likely the busiest of Murrysville’s eleven parks.

Smartwatches and fitness bands are becoming more commonplace and may help to create smarter cars.

Wearable technology is becoming extremely popular, particularly when it comes to various types of health and fitness trackers, though smartwatches are slowly on their way in, as well. Ford hasn’t failed to notice this.

Moreover, Ford has not failed to notice the opportunity that wearables could present for its vehicles.

Scientists and engineers working for the automaker are currently looking into ways to integrate wearable technology and vehicles in order to improve driver assist technologies in a way that is much more customized to the unique experience of the driver who is behind the wheel. Of particular interest to the researchers is the detection of a stressed or sleepy driver and ways to help to promote a safer road experience as a result of the awareness of those conditions.

The Ford Research and Innovation Center researchers think wearable technology could bring vital health data to auto tech.

This could allow information about the condition of the driver to be shared with the in-vehicle technologies, such as the Blind Spot Information System and lane-keeping assist. For instance, Ford described a way in which wearables could be integrated into lane-keeping assist by causing the system to become more sensitive if it should detect that the driver had not received adequate sleep during the night before.

Connection to a health tracker could also work with the adaptive cruise control if a driver’s heart rate spikes with an increase of traffic, as it could encourage the vehicle to boost the distance between itself and the other vehicles around it. This could provide the driver with more breathing room and reaction time in order to decrease stress levels and raise road safety.

According to the vehicle design and infotronics global manager at Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, Gary Strumolo, “Wearable technology integrated with the vehicle allows for more accurate biometric data to stream continuously and alert active driver-assist systems to become more sensitive if the driver shows signs of compromised health or awareness.” It will be interesting to see how such technology fares in safety testing when it comes time to release it.