Lifeboat Foundation

Sources “familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg that the team in charge of developing the Apple Car was previously stuck choosing between two different developments paths: a more traditional EV with some enhanced driver-assist features similar to what you get from a number of existing vehicles, or a more sophisticated EV capable of a true autonomous driving with no input from its passengers.

Now, based on Bloomberg’s report, it seems Project Titan (Apple’s codename for the Apple Car) and new project leader Kevin Lynch have decided to go the latter route, with Apple looking to create a fully autonomous vehicle with no pedals or steering.

Of course, deciding to make a true self-driving car is easier said than done, as no automaker has yet to release a proper Level 5 autonomous vehicle, defined as a car that can pilot itself without any human intervention under any conditions or driving situations.

The presence of a SECOND Earth in the Proxima Centauri […].

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Continue reading “It’s official by now: A Second Earth had been discovered just next door (video)” »

The German plugin vehicle market scored over 54,000 registrations last month, a 12% improvement year over year (YoY), an impressive performance considering the overall market crashed 35%. As a result, last month’s plugin share ended at 30% (17% BEV).

The yearly plugin vehicle share of the market stayed at 24% (12% BEV), an impressive result, especially if we look back to a year ago when the YTD market share was at 10%.

Interestingly, the current disruption is not only hurting gasoline and diesel sales, but is also starting to hit PHEVs, which were down 5% YoY in October. In the same period, BEVs grew 32%, allowing pure electrics to represent 56% of plugin vehicle sales last month, and flipping the YTD numbers to the BEV side (267,000 BEVs vs. 265,000 PHEVs).

On October 21, Sweden’s Jetson Aero launched the Jetson One, a single-seat flying car with 20-minute flight times and a top speed of about 63 mph. It has already sold all 12 of the electric vehicles in its first production run (to be delivered in fall 2022), and it’s now taking orders for 2023.

The vehicles will be delivered about 50% assembled, and customers must finish putting them together themselves.

Continue reading “You can now buy a flying car for $92,000” »

Vehicle retrofit company Orten E-Truck has developed an electric truck that incorporates Blackstone’s solid-state batteries. Blackstone is 3D printing the storage cells.

Five prototypes were tested before the project was shelved.

In what might seem counter-intuitive at first, the U.S. Army supported the development of a helicopter that had no engine. One can even visit the Army’s Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker in Alabama to catch a glimpse of this design by the American Helicopter Company that is fondly called Jet Jeep.

The Jet Jeep was thought of many decades ago as the solution for a light observation needed by the Army. The U.S. Army was looking for a flight-capable option for light surveillance and by that, it meant enough to carry one or two people at the most. This is quite like the problem jet pack makers are trying to solve these days. But this was way back in the 1950s and helicopters and aircraft were largely the way flying worked.

Continue reading “The US Army Built Engineless Helicopters in the ‘50s. Here is Why It Didn’t End Well” »

REE Automotive has revealed Leopard, its autonomous concept vehicle based on a brand new ultra-modular EV platform design. The full-scale concept is intended for customers, including last-mile autonomous and electric delivery companies, delivery fleet operators, e-retailers, and technology companies seeking to build fully autonomous solutions.

Developed with leading global delivery and technology companies focused on autonomous delivery and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) fleets, the Leopard concept vehicle measures 3.4 meters in length and just 1.4 meters in width. It is built on a home-brewed platform that contains the batteries, along with REEcorner units, front-wheel-steer, rear-wheel-drive, steering, suspension, motor, gearbox, and braking components.

Leopard is powered by a 50 kWh battery of unspecified range and an undisclosed type of electric motor that provides a top speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). It has a cargo capacity of 180 cubic feet (5 cubic meters) and a gross vehicle weight rating of 2 tonnes (2.2 tons). The vehicle is also designed to carry significantly more cargo due to REE’s low, flat floor.

Qualcomm is diversifying from mobile phones, to supplying chips for BMW’s self-driving cars.

#News #Reuters #BMW #Qualcomm #SelfDriving.

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Honda and the engineering and construction firm Black & Veatch have tested a prototype of Honda’s autonomous work vehicle at a construction site in New Mexico.

During a month of tests, the AWV performed such tasks as towing, moving construction materials and other supplies to specific locations within the work site.

Honda’s AWV was first shown as a concept at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. It combines a durable off-road side-by-side platform with advanced autonomous technology. The vehicle uses a collection of sensors to maneuver without a driver, using GPS, radar and lidar for obstacle detection, as well as 3D cameras. Together, these features enable the AWV to be operated by remote control.