Lifeboat Foundation

Lotus targets almost2000horsepower for its new hypercar.

Lotus is wary of corporate hubris these days, preferring to remain quiet when previously it would have shouted. Former boss Dany Bahar once introduced five sports-car concepts on the same auto-show stand, none of which made it even close to production. Lotus’s resources have grown massively since the thinly applied gild of the Bahar era; Chinese automaker Geely took a majority stake in the British sports-car maker two years ago. But although the company has recruited hundreds of new engineers, and is known to be working on several new models, few details have been shared so far.

An Australian company by the name of HyperPower Technologies has developed an electric motor that generates a mammoth 1,340 horsepower.

The electric motor, code-named the QFM-360-X, measures about 17 inches in diameter and is designed to be scalable. HyperPower said ten of them could be mounted on a common shaft to deliver 13,400 hp.

To demonstrate the performance, HyperPower teamed up with electric drag racers Top EV Racing and built a Top Fuel-style dragster powered by four of the motors for a combined output of 5,360 hp. Performance estimates for the electric beast include a 0–124 mph time of 0.8 seconds, a 0–330 mph time of 3.7 seconds, and a top speed of 380 mph.

The two companies have raised an initial US$6.5 million toward what could genuinely be a revolutionary powertrain for electric aircraft; a fully FAA-certified hydrogen system would instantly allow electric aircraft to carry several times more energy on board, vastly boosting flight endurance while also enabling fast refueling instead of slow charging.

HyPoint claims its “turbo air-cooled” fuel cell system” will be able to achieve up to 2,000 watts per kilogram (2.2 lb) of specific power, which is more than triple the power-to-weight ratio of traditional (liquid-cooled) hydrogen fuel cells systems. It will also boast up to 1,500 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, enabling longer-distance journeys.” For comparison, today’s commercially available lithium battery packs rarely break the 300-Wh/kg mark.

Circa 2020

Carmaker is to begin testing proposal to fit its Dyna vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells[br].

Eight states will roll out a feature allowing users to add driver’s license and state IDs to Apple Wallet for iPhone and Apple Watch to use at security at participating airports, Apple announced Wednesday.

Arizona and Georgia are the first states to adopt the feature and Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah will follow, though the company did not specify a timeline.

The news comes just months after Apple said at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June that it was working on the feature with the Transportation Security Administration. The update is a crucial step in Apple’s plan to replace physical wallets and will offer more convenience to travelers looking for a touchless airport experience, the company said.

The global semiconductor shortage has dealt another huge blow to Stellantis, with the automaker announcing new production issues. Semiconductors are the backbone of today’s automotive industry, controlling electronic features like driver-assist technologies, hybrid-electric systems, and even infotainment connectivity. This time, the shortage is affecting production for several of the company’s most popular vehicles in North America.

According to several United Auto Workers (UAW) local union websites and a report from the Automotive News, several Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, and Ram Truck vehicles will be affected by the latest shortage of semiconductor chips.

Continue reading “Semiconductor Shortage Idles Four Stellantis North America Assembly Plants” »

Russian start-up NTechLab has released FindFace Multi, a detection technology that uses an advanced algorithm to recognize not only faces, but also bodies of people and cars. This is an update to the company’s flagship product and is able to support numerous video streams and facial database entries.

Body recognition allows FindFace Multi users to count and search people moving through an environment as well as identifying individuals and tracking movements. The algorithm also takes into account markers such as height, color of clothes and accessories.

The vehicle recognition function determines the body type, color, manufacturer, and model of a car, as well as searching by license plate. Even if license plates, or parts of the vehicle are not visible or obscured, the system can still identify a car.

Plan ahead.

We have brought you multiple videos of Tesla cars in ‘boat mode’ wading through flooded streets across different parts of the world. Electric SUV maker, Rivian, seems to have an unofficial ‘boat mode’ as well, judging from a reasonably well performance in a recent test run.

Tesla’s rival electric SUV-maker Rivian just showcased its new R1T going through deep waters and unlike gas-powered cars, it seemed unbothered.

Continue reading “Watch Rivian R1T Wade Through 3-Foot-Deep Water in Trial” »

The automotive electric vehicle revolution paves the way for urban air mobility, but people must not be naive to believe that electric vehicle batteries are enough for electric flight. The need for fast charging, 30 times the energy throughput, and three times the power demand requires a new generation of batteries.

Engineers at Penn State have now demonstrated two energy-dense lithium-ion batteries that can recharge with enough energy for a 50-mile eVTOL trip in five to ten minutes. These batteries could sustain more than 2,000 fast charges over their lifetime.

In the last couple of years, several prototypes have emerged – including from companies like Volocopter, Boeing, Lilium, SkyDrive. While some prototypes have included wheels, they all incorporate spinning rotors to facilitate takeoff and landing, including the air taxi shown off last year by Hyundai, which is basically a small helicopter.