Archive for the ‘transportation’ category: Page 317
Sep 7, 2020
Brain-Inspired Electronic System Could Make Artificial Intelligence 1,000 Times More Energy Efficient
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: robotics/AI, transportation
Extremely energy-efficient artificial intelligence is now closer to reality after a study by UCL researchers found a way to improve the accuracy of a brain-inspired computing system.
The system, which uses memristors to create artificial neural networks, is at least 1,000 times more energy efficient than conventional transistor-based AI hardware, but has until now been more prone to error.
Existing AI is extremely energy-intensive — training one AI model can generate 284 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the lifetime emissions of five cars. Replacing the transistors that make up all digital devices with memristors, a novel electronic device first built in 2008, could reduce this to a fraction of a tonne of carbon dioxide — equivalent to emissions generated in an afternoon’s drive.
Sep 6, 2020
Urban Aeronautics CEO has designed a made-in-Israel flying car
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: futurism, transportation
In industry speak, he said it has to have electrical Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) to be a flying car. According to the Deloitte website, eVTOL vehicles have the potential to improve the future of elevated mobility by moving people and cargo more quickly, quietly, and cost-effectively than traditional helicopters. A separate journal described eVTOL as a new means of transport that can fly like an aircraft and take off and land vertically like a helicopter, “sometimes called personal aerial vehicle.”
Yoeli’s company has two models: the CityHawk and the Falcon XP, both of which weigh more than a ton, not including the passengers.
So how did he get these cars to fly?
Sep 4, 2020
FBI investigating ‘guy in a jetpack’ near planes at LAX
Posted by Brent Ellman in category: transportation
The FBI is conducting a probe after a pilot from American Airlines reported a man flying a jetpack above Los Angeles International Airport Sunday night.
“The FBI is aware of the reports by pilots on Sunday and is working to determine what occurred,” a spokesperson told FOX 11 Tuesday.
A second pilot from a separate airline company also reportedly spotted a man using a jetpack as the planes were approaching the airport at around 3,000 feet and 10 miles out for a landing.
Sep 4, 2020
Amazon Gets Its Own 767 Cargo Plane for Prime Air
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: transportation
This is the first time the e-commerce giant has registered a craft directly, rather than leasing it.
Sep 4, 2020
Correcting anode-free cell failure to enable higher-energy-density batteries
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: chemistry, energy, sustainability, transportation
Batteries with high energy densities could enable the creation of a wider range of electric vehicles, including flying vehicles that can transport humans in urban environments. Past studies predict that to support the operation of vehicles capable of take-off and landing, batteries require energy densities of approximately 400 Wh kg-1 at the cell level, which is approximately 30% higher than the energy density of most existing lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells.
In addition to powering flying vehicles, high-energy cells (i.e., single units within a battery that convert chemical into electrical energy) could increase the distance that electric cars can travel before they need to be charged again. They may also reduce overall fabrication costs for electric vehicles, as similar results could be achieved using fewer but better-performing cells.
Anode-free lithium metal cells are particularly promising for creating batteries with higher energy densities. While they use the same cathode as Li-ion cells, these cells store energy via an electroplated lithium metal instead of a graphite host, and they can have energy densities that are 60% greater than those of Li-ion cells.
Sep 4, 2020
Decades-old mystery of lithium-ion battery storage solved
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: chemistry, mobile phones, sustainability, transportation
For years, researchers have aimed to learn more about a group of metal oxides that show promise as key materials for the next generation of lithium-ion batteries because of their mysterious ability to store significantly more energy than should be possible. An international research team, co-led by The University of Texas at Austin, has cracked the code of this scientific anomaly, knocking down a barrier to building ultra-fast battery energy storage systems.
The team found that these metal oxides possess unique ways to store energy beyond classic electrochemical storage mechanisms. The research, published in Nature Materials, found several types of metal compounds with up to three times the energy storage capability compared with materials common in today’s commercially available lithium-ion batteries.
By decoding this mystery, the researchers are helping unlock batteries with greater energy capacity. That could mean smaller, more powerful batteries able to rapidly deliver charges for everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.
Sep 4, 2020
Scientists train spider to jump on demand in bid to launch army of pest-fighting robots
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: robotics/AI, transportation
Circa 2018
SPIDERS often make people jump but a bunch of clever scientists have managed to train one to jump on demand.
Researchers managed to teach the spider – nicknamed Kim – to jump from different heights and distances so they could film the arachnid’s super-springy movements.
Sep 4, 2020
Insanely humanlike androids have entered the workplace and soon may take your job
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: business, employment, finance, robotics/AI, transportation
November 2019 is a landmark month in the history of the future. That’s when humanoid robots that are indistinguishable from people start running amok in Los Angeles. Well, at least they do in the seminal sci-fi film “Blade Runner.” Thirty-seven years after its release, we don’t have murderous androids running around. But we do have androids like Hanson Robotics’ Sophia, and they could soon start working in jobs traditionally performed by people.
Russian start-up Promobot recently unveiled what it calls the world’s first autonomous android. It closely resembles a real person and can serve in a business capacity. Robo-C can be made to look like anyone, so it’s like an android clone. It comes with an artificial intelligence system that has more than 100,000 speech modules, according to the company. It can operate at home, acting as a companion robot and reading out the news or managing smart appliances — basically, an anthropomorphic smart speaker. It can also perform workplace tasks such as answering customer questions in places like offices, airports, banks and museums, while accepting payments and performing other functions.
Sep 4, 2020
Five ways autonomous cars could free us from the tyranny of commuting
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: robotics/AI, transportation
The self-driving car could transform our ideas of space and time, enabling us to do more of the things we love and less of the ones we loathe. Here are some of the most fascinating potential uses.