Lifeboat Foundation

Imagine being able to have a language conversation about anything with a computer. This is now possible and available to many people for the first time with ChatGPT. In this episode we take a look at the consequences and some interesting insights from Open AI’s CEO Sam Altman.

» Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6jKUaNXSnuW52CxexLcOJg.
Interviews with Altman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHoWGNQRXb0

Continue reading “It’s Time to Pay Attention to A.I. (ChatGPT and Beyond)” »

Most of us underestimate how quickly electric vehicles (EVs) will take over the car market. It’s mostly down to the plummeting cost of batteries. They have only become cost-competitive in the last few years and have fallen in price 98% since the 1990s. (99% if you include inflation.)

This gave me a combined series of the unit cost of lithium-ion batteries from 1991 to 2022 in $2022. I’ve plotted it as a chart here. And here is the logarithmic version.

Calculating the cost of EV batteries

Continue reading “Electric vehicle batteries would have cost as much as a million dollars in the 1990s” »

As gasoline continues to lose its cachet as a reliable energy source, auto manufacturers have started to turn toward cleaner-burning fuels. However, they’re still trying to figure out how to use the cleanest fuel of all — the air we breathe.

Year 2021 face_with_colon_three

Illinois Institute of Technology Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Mohammad Asadi has developed solutions to two major problems facing lithium-air batteries. Lithium-air batteries hold more energy in a smaller battery size than their more common counterpart, the lithium-ion battery, but until now, lithium-air batteries have been overlooked in commercial applications because lithium-air batteries tended to die after fewer recharges and require a lot more energy to charge than can be generated by the battery later.

After almost a decade working in the oil and gas industry, Asadi turned his focus to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, particularly caused by the transportation industry, which consumes around 38 to 40 percent of the world’s energy. “With more widespread use of electric vehicles, you can drastically reduce transportation-based carbon emissions,” says Asadi. “But to put more electric vehicles on the road, we’ll need batteries—lots of them.”

Continue reading “Breakthrough in Lithium-air Batteries Could Help Put More Electric Vehicles On The Road” »

Continental has won the innovation award at CES 2023 for the seventh consecutive year.

Continental AG, the German developer of pioneering technologies in mobility, has been picked to receive the Innovation Award for its Scenic View Heads-Up Display (HUD) at CES 2023, the company said in a press release. The CES is a technology trade show held in Las Vegas in January every year.

Continue reading “A new head-up display could change how we drive in the future” »

The new concept car will be “electric, circular, and digital.”

The future BMW plan calls for a large number of new electric vehicles. The company already has a strong portfolio of electric vehicles, but its new platform will only be focused on electrification.

BMW CFO Dr. Nicolas Peter previously announced at the end of the Q3 2022 quarterly report that BMW will unveil a new Vision Car at the upcoming CES 2023. “The next highlight on our way to the Neue Klasse will follow in January 2023. At the CES in Las Vegas, we will be presenting a visionary vehicle that will underpin our digital expertise. The future of the BMW Group is electric, circular, and digital,” Peter said.

Many like watching videos. This is a good one. I love hearing Christian talk about his cars tech. #Futurist

The Koenigsegg Gemera is alive! An in-depth look at the world’s fastest four seater car with Christian von Koenigsegg sharing all things Gemera while casually parked next the new Jesko!

Continue reading “Koenigsegg Gemera IS ALIVE! First Drive with Christian Von Koenigsegg” »

Like so many on-screen action heroes, she was elbowed aside when newer stars appeared and started grabbing more viewers with bigger weapons, better special effects and more elaborate adventures.

That’s when Lars Wingefors spied an opportunity and swooped in.

Earlier this year, the little-known Swedish billionaire bought the rights to British archaeologist Lara Croft and the vehicle that turned her into a household name. After debuting 26 years ago, “Tomb Raider” went on to become one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, spawning lucrative spinoffs and movies starring Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander, before faltering as bigger games and mobile apps appeared and gaming moved away from its core teenage male audience to young girls, college students and families.

It appears that Tesla’s 4,680 battery cell production line is hitting its rhythm. As recently announced by the company, its 4,680 team has managed to build 868,000 cells in the last seven days. That’s roughly equal to the battery packs of over 1,000 electric vehicles.

Tesla announced the milestone on its official Twitter account. The EV maker highlighted its appreciation for its 4,680 team in its post, while also including a couple of photos of the teams behind the milestone. “Congrats to the 4,680 cell team on achieving 868k cells built in the last 7 days—equal to 1k+ cars!” Tesla wrote.

While producing enough cells for over 1,000 electric cars may seem like a minor achievement considering the scale of Tesla’s overall operations, the accomplishment was likely achieved with just the company’s initial 4,680 production lines. Tesla currently produces 4,680 cells in its pilot line at Kato Road, close to the Fremont Factory. Giga Texas also has a 4,680 line.