A bicycle-car hybrid. đ
Meet the Bio-Hybrid, a bicycle and car hybrid that offers the freedom and agility of a bike, but the cargo space and weather protection of a small carâŠ
Contracts have been awarded to @GeneralAtomics, @LockheedMartin, and @northropgrumman for the new LongShot project to develop an air-launched unmanned air vehicle that can employ multiple air-to-air weapons. https://ddmdraft.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-02-05b
Contracts have been awarded to @GeneralAtomics, @LockheedMartin, and @northropgrumman for the new LongShot project to develop an air-launched unmanned air vehicle that can employ multiple air-to-air weapons. https://t.co/VuICSbHCz0 pic.twitter.com/dUwlYC7aX0
â DARPA (@DARPA) February 8, 2021
Weâve all met people so smart and informed that we donât understand what theyâre talking about. The investment advisor discussing derivatives, the physician elaborating about B cells and T cells, the auto mechanic talking about todayâs computerized enginesâwe trust their decisions, even though we do not completely grasp the meaning of their words.
Sergey Brinâs secretive airship company LTA Research and Exploration is planning to power a huge disaster relief airship with an equally record-breaking hydrogen fuel cell.
A job listing from the company, which is based in Mountain View, California and Akron, Ohio, reveals that LTA wants to configure a 1.5-megawatt hydrogen propulsion system for an airship to deliver humanitarian aid and revolutionize transportation. While there are no specs tied to the job listing, such a system would likely be powerful enough to cross oceans. Although airships travel much slower than jet planes, they can potentially land or deliver goods almost anywhere.
Hydrogen fuel cells are an attractive solution for electric aviation because they are lighter and potentially cheaper than lithium-ion batteries. However, the largest hydrogen fuel cell to fly to date is a 0.25-megawatt system (250 kilowatts) in ZeroAviaâs small passenger plane last September. LTAâs first crewed prototype airship, called Pathfinder 1, will be powered by batteries when it takes to the air, possibly this year. FAA records show that the Pathfinder 1 has 12 electric motors and would be able to carry 14 people.
Current high-speed bullet trains can bring passengers from Paris to London or Tokyo to Kyoto within 2.5 hours. Hyperloops theoretically could bring passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than 45 minutes.
The mini electric vehicle being made by Chinaâs biggest carmaker is now outselling Tesla two to one.
Archer Aviation, the electric aircraft startup that recently announced a deal to go public via a merger with a blank-check company, plans to launch a network of its urban air taxis in Los Angeles by 2024.
The announcement comes two months after the formation of the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, a one-year initiative between Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcettiâs office, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Urban Movement Labs to develop a plan for how to integrate urban aircraft into existing transportation networks and land use policies. Urban Movement Labs, launched in November 2019, is a public-private partnership involving local government and companies to develop, test and deploy transportation technologies. Urban Movement Labs and the city of Los Angeles are working on the design and access of âvertiports,â where people can go to fly on an âurban air mobilityâ aircraft. Urban air mobility, or UAM, is industry-speak for a highly automated aircraft that can operate and transport passengers or cargo at lower altitudes within urban and suburban areas.
Archer Aviationâs announcement comes two weeks since it landed United Airlines as a customer and an investor in its bid to become a publicly traded company via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Archer Aviation reached an agreement in early February to merge with special purpose acquisition company Atlas Crest Investment Corp., an increasingly common financial path that allows the startup to eschew the once traditional IPO process. The combined company, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with ticker symbol âACHR,â will have an equity valuation of $3.8 billion.
Elon Musk recently provided a quick update on the highly-anticipated Cybertruckâs development, with the Tesla CEO noting that the all-electric pickupâs final design is looking good. Musk shared his thoughts on Twitter after he visited the vehicle at Teslaâs studio.
The Cybertruck is arguably Teslaâs most radical vehicle to date, thanks in part to its unorthodox brutalist design and angular exoskeleton. Starting at less than $40000, the Cybertruck has the potential to break into one of the most lucrative vehicle segments in the United States. But to accomplish this, the Cybertruck must have the necessary balance between all-electric performance and classic pickup characteristics.
Final design is lookingđ Was just in the studio.
