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Category: transportation – Page 140

In a project commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed poly(styrenesulfonic acid)-based PEMs with a high density of sulfonic acid groups.

One of the key components of environmentally friendly polymer electrolyte fuel cells is a (PEM). It generates through a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen gases. Examples of practical fuel cells include fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and combined heat and power (CHP) systems.

The best-known PEM is a membrane based on a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer, such as Nafion, which was developed by DuPont in the 1960s. It has a good proton conductivity of 0.1 S/cm at 70–90 °C under humidified conditions. Under these conditions, protons can be released from sulfonic acid groups.

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Flying across the world from Europe to Australia currently takes around 20 hours in a regular passenger jet.

But Swiss startup Destinus is looking to slash that time to just four hours — by taking jet travel to hypersonic speeds.

Founded by Russian-born physicist and serial entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich, Destinus is developing a prototype hydrogen-powered aircraft capable of travelling at Mach 5 and above. That’s five times the speed of sound: over 6,000 kph.

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The earliest artificial neural network, the Perceptron, was introduced approximately 65 years ago and consisted of just one layer. However, to address solutions for more complex classification tasks, more advanced neural network architectures consisting of numerous feedforward (consecutive) layers were later introduced. This is the essential component of the current implementation of deep learning algorithms. It improves the performance of analytical and physical tasks without human intervention, and lies behind everyday automation products such as the emerging technologies for self-driving cars and autonomous chat bots.

The key question driving new research published today in Scientific Reports is whether efficient learning of non-trivial classification tasks can be achieved using brain-inspired shallow feedforward networks, while potentially requiring less .

“A positive answer questions the need for deep learning architectures, and might direct the development of unique hardware for the efficient and fast implementation of shallow learning,” said Prof. Ido Kanter, of Bar-Ilan’s Department of Physics and Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, who led the research. “Additionally, it would demonstrate how brain-inspired shallow learning has advanced computational capability with reduced complexity and energy consumption.”

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When used at home, it might take care of your yard, and even your grandparents, as Musk suggests in his piece, Believing in technology for a better future, in the Cyberspace Administration of China’s publication:

Tesla Bots are initially positioned to replace people in repetitive, boring, and dangerous tasks. But the vision is for them to serve millions of households, such as cooking, mowing lawns, and caring for the elderly.

The Tesla Bot is supposed to free up labor that you don’t want to do yourself. Since we already have machines that help us do all kinds of tasks (think: vehicles, dishwashers, forklifts), where it’d really succeed is when AI is used. That way, it can learn and recognize what needs to be done, and then do it for you by completing those last-step actions (driving to the store to get something, loading the dishwasher, etc.).

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The energy per unit mass of 500 Wh/kg is twice that of typical Li-ion batteries. In addition to doubling the range of EVs, this could enable longer-haul electrified aviation.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has today launched a new ‘condensed battery’ with up to 500 Wh/kg. This ultra-high energy density could enable the electrification of passenger aircraft.

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Either the great copyright battle pitting the record industry against generative artificial intelligence has begun or someone’s clout-chasing AI headlines.

The generative AI music hype train only needed about 48 hours to go from “oh, that’s interesting” to full Balenciaga pope territory, and while it’s clear someone is using the technology to run a scheme, we’re still not sure who it is.

Here’s the short version:

Continue reading “What’s really going on with “Ghostwriter” and the AI Drake song?” | >

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Self-driving cars are taking longer to arrive on our roads than we thought they would. Auto industry experts and tech companies predicted they’d be here by 2020 and go mainstream by 2021. But it turns out that putting cars on the road without drivers is a far more complicated endeavor than initially envisioned, and we’re still inching very slowly towards a vision of autonomous individual transport.

But the extended timeline hasn’t discouraged researchers and engineers, who are hard at work figuring out how to make self-driving cars efficient, affordable, and most importantly, safe. To that end, a research team from the University of Michigan recently had a novel idea: expose driverless cars to terrible drivers. They described their approach in a paper published last week in Nature.

Continue reading “These Self-Driving Cars Are Trained in a Simulation Packed With Terrible Drivers” | >

Nearly every air taxi concept involves rapidly spinning propellers or ducted fans placed in strategic positions outside of the main fuselage of the aircraft — moving air fast enough to achieve thrust in the direction of propulsion.

However, a new air taxi concept from a company in Seattle breaks from the norm — reinventing flight with bladeless fans at incredible power levels, according to Jetoptera’s official website.

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