Transportation – Lifeboat News: The Blog

10 Things Back to the Future 2 Got Right

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in futurism, transportation

Oct 21
2015

We’re going back to the future! In Back to the Future Part 2 Doc and Marty travel to the future—October 21, 2015. Yup, we’re living their future! But while we might not have flying cars, hoverboards, or self-fitting shoes, a lot of their predictions about the future weren’t that far off. Here’s a list of 10 they got right.

But seriously, they got a lot wrong. Find out what in our other video, 10 Things Back to the Future 2 Got Wrong!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWEIxdTB6Y

Join the China Uncensored 50-Cent Army!

Continue reading “10 Things Back to the Future 2 Got Right” | >

Lyft will pick you up in a DeLorean for ‘Back to the Future’ day in NYC

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in futurism, transportation

Oct 20
2015

1980s hero Marty McFly travels to Oct. 21, 2015, in Back to the Future II, otherwise known as this Wednesday — and nobody is more excited than the brands.

In a partnership with Verizon, ride-sharing service Lyft will be bringing a fleet of DeLorean DMC-12s to New York City to offer users free rides on Back to the Future day, Oct. 21, 2015.

Gibbs highspeed amphibious motorcyclesride straight into the lake and out again

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in transportation

Oct 20
2015

Serial amphibian creator Alan Gibbs has used the American International Motorcycle expo in Florida to launch three new outrageous recreational vehicles. Not satisfied making ridiculously fun-looking amphibious quadbikes, cars and trucks, Gibbs has now built two-and three-wheeled motorcycles that you can ride straight down a boat ramp into the water. At the touch of a button they convert to jet skis, retracting wheels out of the way and switching to jet propulsion. There’s almost no delay – the switch from road mode to water mode is done in less than 5 seconds, so you barely even lose momentum as you ride in or out of the water.

Irish students build all-electric DeLorean for Back to the Future Day

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in futurism, transportation

Oct 20
2015

The car will also serve as a promotional vehicle to help Irish students get excited for careers in STEM fields.

Amazing industrial 3D printer fits in a truck, can print an entire building in 24 hours

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in 3D printing, habitats, transportation

Oct 19
2015

Created by Russian engineer Nikita Chen-yun-tai, the new Apis Cor 3D printer is powerful enough to print a building in one day, yet small enough to be moved with minimal preparation and transportation costs. This portability allows users to print a building in one location and easily move the Apis Cor the next day to another spot. It promises to revolutionize the use of 3D printers in construction, especially in developing nations where low-cost, efficient printing is critical.

The 3D printing of houses is not a new idea — companies have been using the tenets of additive manufacturing for years. What makes the compact Apis Cor printer unique is the unit’s small size — it measures 16.4 ft by 5 ft, weighs 2.5 tons and can be assembled within 30 minutes. As a result, the Apis Cor can be moved easily without the need for an expensive method of transportation and setup. It requires no site preparation and no testing before use, which means it can be dropped on site and deployed right away after assembly.

I used virtual reality to take control of someone else’s car — while they were in it

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in robotics/AI, transportation, virtual reality

Oct 19
2015

Remote driving could be a good halfway step to fully autonomous vehicles, but it feels pretty weird.

How Tesla is ushering in the age of the learning car

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in Elon Musk, information science, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Oct 17
2015

Tesla’s new autopilot system is relying on the cutting edge of machine learning, connectivity and mapping data.

While Tesla’s new hands-free driving is drawing a lot of interest this week, it’s the technology behind-the-scenes of the company’s newly-enabled autopilot service that should be getting more attention.

At an event on Wednesday Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk explained that the company’s new autopilot service is constantly learning and improving thanks to machine learning algorithms, the car’s wireless connection, and detailed mapping and sensor data that Tesla collects.

The New Hendo Hoverboard Is a Warm-Up for Elon’s Hyperloop

Posted by Sean Brazell in transportation

Oct 15
2015

Hoverboard today, Hyperloop tomorrow.

Volvo’s first fully electric car will arrive in 2019

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in robotics/AI, transportation

Oct 15
2015

Volvo’s been bullish about self-driving vehicles, but it’s much more coy when it comes to electric cars. The company’s latest XC90 has a hybrid edition, and there’s an existing V60 plug-in, but nothing fully electric. Finally, the Swedish auto-maker is ready to go all in, confirming an all-electric vehicle will go on sale in 2019, plus plans to offer hybrid versions of every car in its range, alongside a new “series 40” range of smaller electrified cars. That’s still quite a wait for the full EV, and the hybrids might not show up until 2017, but as the Wall Street Journal suggests, Volvo might have been spurred on to make the announcement by the recent VW scandal around diesel engines.

Tesla is mapping the Earth, ‘cause your GPS won’t cut it for self-driving cars

Posted by Shailesh Prasad in Elon Musk, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Oct 14
2015

Self-driving cars require an incredible amount of information to operate safely. Tesla and Elon Musk know this well.

Tesla Motors formally launched its long-awaited Autopilot feature on Wednesday, which is not quite a self-driving car, but rather a higher degree of autonomy. One of the new features of Autopilot: Tesla is creating high-precision digital maps of the Earth using GPS.