Transportation – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Robot Car GIF

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in robotics/AI, transportation

Dec 19
2018

Disney’s wall-riding robot.

Elon Musk unveils his test car tunnel as a fix for traffic in Los Angeles

Posted by Genevieve Klien in Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Dec 19
2018

The Loop system from his adjacent Boring Company startup, once up and running, would take vehicles underground on an elevator and then send them zipping along a track to their destination.

An earlier concept of public-transportation-like “skates” based on Tesla chassis was abandoned, apparently, in favor of regular Teslas with the enhanced wheels. Those who tried the tunnel described a very bumpy ride at less than optimum speeds.

Self-driving car drove me from California to New York, claims ex-Uber engineer

Posted by Shane Hinshaw in robotics/AI, transportation

Dec 19
2018

A car has completed the first autonomous coast-to-coast trip in the US. (via The Guardian)

Trip by Anthony Levandowski, controversial engineer involved in Uber-Waymo lawsuit, would be longest without human taking over.

Ford applied noise-cancelling technology to a doghouse, and it’s awesome

Posted by Genevieve Klien in materials, transportation

Dec 18
2018

Keeping passengers in a vehicle from hearing the noise of a busy road is a problem that many auto manufacturers have attempted to solve over the years. Noise dampening materials can only do so much, but Ford is now working with noise cancelling technologies that aim to actively combat road sounds by cancelling them out.

The company recently applied its new noise-cancelling know-how to a project that has nothing to do with vehicles, but instead focuses on man’s best friend. Ford Europe built a new kind of doghouse that allows canines to rest without worry of loud noises, like fireworks, disturbing them.

Solar Voyager forced to abandon mission

Posted by Genevieve Klien in sustainability, transportation

Dec 18
2018

A car made from waste plastic has been forced to abort its mission to the South Pole because of bad weather.

Solar Voyager was set to be the first solar-powered expedition to reach Antarctica.

But despite it being Antarctica’s summer, unexpected heavy snow has meant progress has been slow, and now the team have had to turn around.

The Tesla Model 3 ‘Superbottle’ Easter Egg Is a Fascinating Packaging Solution

Posted by Genevieve Klien in engineering, sustainability, transportation

Dec 18
2018

By many accounts, the Tesla Model 3 is a great car. Sure, it’s needed some work on the body and on fit and finish, but there’s lots of cool engineering behind Tesla’s highest volume offering, including the “Superbottle,” an awesome packaging solution for the cooling system that contains a fun little easter egg.

Last week, I stopped by Munro and Associates, the fascinating company that tears cars apart to find out exactly how they’re built. While there, manufacturing experts showed me the Tesla Model 3’s bizarre-looking coolant bottle, which features a cape-wearing bottle as part of the mold:

Also on the bottle is the text “Superbottle”:

The technology that could end traffic jams

Posted by Genevieve Klien in transportation

Dec 18
2018

With the number of cars clogging roads around the world expected to double in the coming decades, new ways of responding to crashes, controlling traffic lights and creating diversions will be needed to keep traffic moving.