Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers have developed a novel material using tiny organic crystals that convert light into a substantial mechanical force able to lift 10,000 times its own mass. Without the need for heat or electricity, the photomechanical material could one day drive wireless, remote-controlled systems that power robots and vehicles.

Photomechanical materials are designed to transform light directly into mechanical force. They result from a complex interplay between photochemistry, polymer chemistry, physics, mechanics, optics, and engineering. Photomechanical actuators, the part of a machine that helps achieve physical movements, are gaining popularity because external control can be achieved simply by manipulating light conditions.

Researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder, have taken the next step in the development of photomechanical materials, creating a tiny organic crystal array that bends and lifts objects much heavier than itself.

Led by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and backed by the UK government, FlyZero has concluded that green liquid hydrogen is the optimum fuel for zero-carbon emission flight and could power a midsize aircraft with 280 passengers from London to San Francisco directly, or from London to Auckland with just one stop.

FlyZero, the UK study into zero-carbon emission commercial air travel, has published its vision for a new generation of aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen, today Thursday 17th March.

The report “Our Vision for Zero-Carbon Emission Air Travel” marks the conclusion of a 12-month study which set out to consider the feasibility of zero-carbon emission aircraft. The project concludes aviation can achieve net zero 2050 through the development of both sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green liquid hydrogen technologies.

Continue reading “First generation of zero-carbon emission aircraft needs hydrogen technologies by 2025” »

Commercial sensors will be reliable, tiny, and affordable.

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Two autonomous “robotaxi” companies in San Francisco received the green light to start increasing their operations in the city, after previously facing limits on when or where they could charge for rides.

The promise of driverless car services transforming transport has been very slow to develop since they first came into the public eye over a decade ago, having been faced with technology glitches, safety fears, and high-profile accidents involving vehicles.

The shuttle is electric and has no driver’s seat or steering wheel.

San Francisco has launched a new service that lets people ride a driverless shuttle around Treasure Island, a former naval base in the middle of the bay. The free shuttle, which runs daily on a fixed route, is part of a pilot program to test how autonomous vehicles can improve public transportation.

Credits: AP Photo/Terry Chea.

Continue reading “San Francisco launches driverless bus services on Treasure Island” »

YouTuber Shane Wighton from the channel “Stuff Made Here” has created a terrifying bow that aims itself and never misses.

The bow is so sophisticated that Wighton doesn’t even have to look at the target — he demonstrates with an apple perched on top of a Styrofoam apple — to hit a bullseye.

Continue reading “Inventor Builds Auto-Aiming Bow That Never Misses” »

People are having sex in the backseat while their driverless robotaxi is ferrying them to their final destination in San Francisco.

According to the video’s description, “every year: 16,915,140 drivers are pulled-over in traffic. 195,078 motorists have physical force used on them, and 4,488 officers are assaulted. 89 of those motorists die, and 11 of those officers die.”

It’s no surprise that machines have the same problem. Although they’re armed with a myriad of sensors, self-driving cars are still trying to live up to their name. They perform well under perfect weather conditions and roads with clear traffic lanes. But ask the cars to drive in heavy rain or fog, smoke from wildfires, or on roads without streetlights, and they struggle.

This month, a team from Purdue University tackled the low visibility problem head-on. Combining thermal imaging, physics, and machine learning, their technology allowed a visual AI system to see in the dark as if it were daylight.

Continue reading “New Night Vision Tech Lets AI See in Pitch Darkness Like It’s Broad Daylight” »