Transportation – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Dec 18
2016

Shervin Pishevar explains his plan to create the world’s first supersonic Hyperloop

If it works? LOL it’s 1960’s technology.

Shervin Pishevar is a startup investor and one of the central social figures in Silicon Valley. He recently founded Hyperloop One, a project to move people long distances through tubes at supersonic speeds.

His reputation and fortune come largely from a single investment he made in 2011 while at the VC firm Menlo Ventures: a $26 million stake in a small ride-hailing app called Uber. Those shares are now worth more than $5 billion.

Pishevar’s friend Elon Musk came up with the idea for Hyperloop, which promises to take passengers from L.A. to San Francisco in 35 minutes with no friction and no pollution, and handed it off to Pishevar to develop.

Dec 17
2016

New BMW motorcycle

Click on photo to start video.

BMW revealed a motorcycle so artificially intelligent that you can ride it without a helmet.

Dec 16
2016

Uber defies California regulators and keeps its self-driving cars on the road

Uber “respectfully disagrees” with the California DMV that its self-driving cars are illegal.

Dec 15
2016

Autonomous Wings Could be the Future of Aviation

Scientists at NASA are designing airplane wings that can change shape mid-flight. Much like a bird’s feathers, the wings would move autonomously giving the pilot an incredible amount of control in the air.

Dec 14
2016

Uber draws ire of California DMV for testing self-driving cars in S.F. without permit

Ooops.

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 14 (UPI) — The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a warning of sorts to rideshare company Uber on Wednesday, apparently for wading too far into the waters of testing self-driving vehicles in San Francisco.

The department issued a statement Wednesday that said it “encourages the responsible exploration of self-driving cars.”

“We have a permitting process in place to ensure public safety as this technology is being tested,” the DMV said in the statement. “Twenty manufacturers have already obtained permits to test hundreds of cars on California roads. Uber shall do the same.”

Dec 13
2016

Nano-Nouvelle Trial Delivers Nanotech Breakthrough

A successful production trial by Australian battery technology innovator Nano-Nouvelle has proved its pioneering nanotechnology supports industrial-scale manufacture, with output rates 100 times faster.

The Sunshine Coast-based company is developing world-leading nanotechnology that can boost the energy storage capacity of lithium ion batteries by as much as 50 per cent. Lithium ion batteries are used in devices ranging from mobile phones and notebooks to and electric vehicles and home energy storage systems.

As well as proving its technology, Nano-Nouvelle has worked with companies worldwide to ensure its battery-boosting breakthrough is usable with today’s production lines.

Dec 11
2016

The future just arrived, first state legalizes driverless cars (5 Photos)

Michigan just made it into the history books today after Governor Rick Snyder signed 4 bills into law, all governing the legality of the autonomous car, making Michigan the first state to officially sign off on driverless cars on the roads.

Many states have allowed testing of driverless vehicles, but Michigan just officially put them on the road for consumers.

Dec 8
2016

Ambitious Student Project Aims At Renewable Hydrogen For Fuel Cell EVs

Award-winning students from Washington State University are developing a low cost, innovative hydrogen fuel station for fuel cell electric vehicles.

Dec 6
2016

Pilotless planes may be landing at airports by 2020

In 3 years; can you imagine that?!

Not a week goes by without an update regarding headway made by one automobile manufacturer or another testing out their self-driving prototypes. Some have even started testing the vehicles on site, exciting all who want to embrace a future where self driving vehicles are a common site.

That future is not too far off, but imagine a future where airplanes fly without pilots.

In October Geo.tv reported about ALIAS a project funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (commonly known as DARPA); the ALIAS project run by Aurora Flight Sciences tested pilotless flying using a Cessna Caravan in Manassas, VA where instead of a pilot ALIAS a robot with tubes and pipes and claws flew the plane, with instructions being fed to it by a human pilot using a tablet PC.

Dec 6
2016

Ukrainian Scientist Creates Battery That Can Power Smartphones for 12 Years

Ukrainian scientist Vladislav Kiselev claims that he has developed a type of battery that can power gadgets like smartphones and even cars for up to 12 years, without having to be recharged.

Kiselev, a senior researcher at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry in Kiev, and professor at Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, unveiled his intriguing battery prototype during the 2016 edition of Sikorsky Challenge, a prestigious international competition for research projects. The matchbox-like device looks fairly unimpressive, but the Ukrainian scientist claims that it has been continuously powering electrical devices for a year and four months without a single recharge, and will continue to do so for the next 11 years. That’s because his “battery” produces energy instead of simply storing it.