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Archive for the ‘transportation’ category: Page 302

Nov 9, 2020

First passengers travel in Virgin’s levitating hyperloop pod system

Posted by in category: transportation

The company is working towards safety certification by 2025 and commercial operations by 2030, it has said.

Canada’s TransPod and Spain’s Zeleros also aim to upend traditional passenger and freight networks with similar technology they say will slash travel times, congestion and environmental harm linked with petrol-fuelled machines.


High-speed pods could eventually make New York-Washington trip in 30 minutes.

Continue reading “First passengers travel in Virgin’s levitating hyperloop pod system” »

Nov 9, 2020

First passengers travel safely on a Hyperloop

Posted by in category: transportation

In the Nevada desert yesterday, Virgin Hyperloop tested human travel in a hyperloop pod for the first time.

Nov 9, 2020

The Air Force’s new combat rescue helicopter is officially here to save the day

Posted by in category: transportation

Have no fear: the Jolly Green II is finally here.

The Air Force officially took possession of its first two HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopters at Moody Air Force Base last week, the service announced.

23rd Wing and 347th Rescue Group leadership took receipt of the new helos after they were flown from Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky Training Academy in Connecticut to Moody AFB in Georgia by Air Force personnel.

Nov 9, 2020

IBM, others run pilot test of AI suitcase for guiding blind

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

A group of five companies including the Japanese unit of IBM Corp are currently developing an artificial intelligence suitcase to assist visually impaired people in traveling independently, with a pilot test of a prototype conducted at an airport in Japan earlier this month.

The small navigation robot, which is able to plan an optimal route to a destination based on the user’s location and map data, uses multiple sensors to assess its surroundings and AI functionality to avoid bumping into obstacles, according to the companies.

At the pilot experiment held on Nov 2, the AI suitcase was able to successfully navigate itself to an All Nippon Airways departure counter after receiving a command from Chieko Asakawa, a visually impaired fellow IBM overseeing the product’s development.

Nov 9, 2020

Electric Volkswagen camper van road trips 7,500 km to top of Europe

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability, transportation

All-electric camper vans are still quite rare. Those that are available tend to be designed for camping and commuting locally, not road-tripping indefinitely. But VW fanatic Frank Eusterholz had different ideas. He threw a PlugVan camper module into the e-Crafter cargo van and hit the road … the long road. Eusterholz’s 7,500-km (4,660-mile) journey sent him highway-cruising, switchback-climbing and island-hopping across Europe, from VW van HQ Hannover, Germany to the northernmost tip of Continental Europe. His journey serves as an inspiring early look at the electric RVing possibilities that will only grow with time.

Electric camper vans have been available for years, but a practical version with enough range always seems just a few years off. Next-generation EV campers from the Rivian R1T overland truck to VW’s own ID. Buzz promise more practical ranges and capabilities, but for now e-campers remain limited to small, modest-range minis like the Sussex e-NV200 Camper Car.

In an announcement released last month, Volkswagen painted a different picture of electric camper van touring. It described the story of 54-year-old Frank Eusterholz, a longtime EV driver determined not to let the modest ranges of contemporary electric vans deter him from EV van life. A resident of Samsø, a Danish island that’s been committed to sustainable energy for decades, Eusterholz considered the e-Crafter a natural vehicle choice, and the perfect camper base.

Nov 9, 2020

Tesla electric aircraft: Elon Musk responds to ‘Model V’ concept VTOL

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

The Tesla CEO has responded to new concept art that imagines a Tesla-designed vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

Nov 7, 2020

NASA’s Electric Aircraft With ‘Folding Propellers’ Successfully Completes Wind Tunnel Test: WATCH

Posted by in category: transportation

Once again, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is on a pathbreaking mission to develop an electric propulsion-powered aircraft, which would be quieter, more efficient, and environmentally friendly than today’s commuter aircraft.

Nov 7, 2020

1st Look At 2021 Tesla Model 3

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

A new version of Tesla’s Model 3 has arrived in Hong Kong. Driving UpCar shared a first look at it on YouTube. DDcar also reported that Hong Kong Tesla has officially brought the new 2021 Model 3 into the K11 Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui for public display. This batch of Model 3 cars was made in the Fremont factory and is expected to have basically the same configuration around the world.

Some of the changes discussed in the video include a minor change in the headlights, new design on the wheels, all-black trim, and door handles, of which they say, “I believe it’s not that easy to leave a fingerprint on them now.”

Nov 7, 2020

TMC DUMONT — Motorcycle with an Airplane Engine

Posted by in category: transportation

This is the TMC DUMONT, which is a concept art motorcycle, designed and built by Retired F1 driver and designer Tarso Marques.

This ultra sleek, hubless wheel, motorcycle, is powered by an actual 300 hp, six-cylinder, Rolls-Royce Continental Aircraft Engine from 1960.

Continue reading “TMC DUMONT — Motorcycle with an Airplane Engine” »

Nov 7, 2020

Earth Grows Fine Gemstones in Minutes – Crystals Could Grow Up to 3 Feet per Day in Some Cooling Magmas

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but some of Earth’s finest gemstones were, according to new research from Rice University.

Aquamarine, emerald, garnet, zircon and topaz are but a few of the crystalline minerals found mostly in pegmatites, veinlike formations that commonly contain both large crystals and hard-to-find elements like tantalum and niobium. Another common find is lithium, a vital component of electric car batteries.

“This is one step towards understanding how Earth concentrates lithium in certain places and minerals,” said Rice graduate student Patrick Phelps, co-author of a study published online in Nature Communications. “If we can understand the basics of pegmatite growth rates, it’s one step in the direction of understanding the whole picture of how and where they form.”