Lifeboat Foundation

Apptronik, a NASA-backed robotics company, has unveiled Apollo, a humanoid robot that could revolutionize the workforce — because there’s virtually no limit to the number of jobs it can do.

“The focus for Apptronik is to build one robot that can do thousands of different things,” Jeff Cardenas, the company’s co-founder and CEO, told Freethink. “The best way to think of it is kind of like the iPhone of robots.”

Continue reading “NASA partner unveils the ‘iPhone’ of robots” »

The first FLO Ultra DC fast chargers are rolling off the assembly line at the company’s Auburn Hills, Michigan, factory – and they’re pretty powerful.

The 320 kW FLO Ultra DC fast chargers feature a dual-port power configuration. The EV charging company designed them to comply with the federal government’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI) standards and the Buy America Act, including 98% uptime. They can charge most EVs to 80% in just 15 minutes.

The FLO Ultra DC fast chargers feature the new FLO motorized cable management system. The EZLift system is designed to keep cables off the ground and provide extended reach, allowing the cable to reach EVs no matter where the port is located. The motorized system makes the cables feel lighter and easier to maneuver.

Mobile car care company Yoshi Mobility just launched a DC fast charging EV mobile unit that it likens to “a supercharger on wheels.”

Yoshi Mobility saw that its existing customers needed mobile EV charging in places where infrastructure has yet to be installed, so the Nashville-based company decided to bring the mountain to Moses.

“We recognized a demand among our customers for convenient daily charging, reliable private charging networks, and proper charging infrastructure to support their fleet vehicles as they transition to electric,” said Dan Hunter, Yoshi Mobility’s chief EV officer and cofounder.

Although this is still an emerging area of research, a new study has announced a leap. Researchers from the Center for Neuromorphic Engineering at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have implemented an integrated hardware system consisting of artificial neurons and synaptic devices using hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) material.

They aimed to construct building blocks of neuron-synapse-neuron structures that can be stacked to develop large-scale artificial neural networks.

Continue reading “Neural networks: What it takes to build brain-like computers” »

Autonomous and AI-enabled systems increasingly rely on optical and radio frequency sensors and significant computer power. They face growing vulnerabilities from directed-energy laser and microwave weapons.

By David C. Stoudt

In May the U.S. secretary of the Air Force flew in an F-16 that engaged in a mock dogfight over the California desert while controlled by artificial intelligence. Carmakers from San Francisco to Boston are jousting to deliver driverless cars. In Norway a crewless cargo ship carries fertilizer from port to port. On the land, sea and in the air, we face the coming of such autonomous platforms—some envisioned to benefit humanity, and others meant for destruction—available to everyone, to governments, businesses and criminals.

After a strong start to 2024, Hyundai expects the momentum to continue with some of the most affordable and efficient EVs on the US market. In an exclusive interview with Electrek, Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker said the company is “humble and hungry” as it remains committed to EVs in the US.

Despite rivals pulling back, Hyundai is doubling down on its EV commitment as it looks to separate itself from the competition.

Its early dedication is already paying off. Hyundai is outpacing the US electric vehicle market with a wide-ranging lineup of award-winning EVs, including the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, and Kona Electric.

NY-based startup and EV infrastructure specialist Gravity has launched a new line of universal EV charger “trees” it hopes will bring convenient charging sessions curbside on city streets. The deployment will start modestly, but Gravity is targeting a street charging network that is” more expansive than Tesla’s current Supercharger network.”

Gravity Inc. is a startup focused on sustainable fleets and the infrastructure required to operate them efficiently. In 2021, Gravity began rolling out a fleet of all-electric Mustang Mach-E yellow cabs around New York City while partnering with building owners and parking operators to implement electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support individual drivers and large EV fleets.

At that time, Gravity was already teasing plans to open the “only true fast-charging site in Manhattan” to support the taxis and local EV owners. In October 2023, Gravity released a full suite of 500kW EV chargers, some of the fastest we’ve seen.

An electric car doesn’t need a clutch, but GM’s potentially developing one anyway.

ChargePoint’s (NYSE: CHPT) new Megawatt Charging System for commercial electric trucks is capable of dispensing enough energy to power around 1,000 homes.

Hossein Kazemi, ChargePoint’s CTO for hardware, said, “Megawatt charging solves one-half of the electrification equation for trucking. The companies developing electric trucks can now leverage this infrastructure to test and enable their vehicles until they meet – or even exceed – the distances covered by internal combustion trucks.”

The Megawatt Charging System cable and connector will be available on ChargePoint’s Power Link 2000 stations, part of its modular Express Plus DC fast charging platform.