Transportation – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Nov 16
2018

Cars without drivers still need a moral compass. But what kind?

We must prepare for tough choices as we subcontract ethical decision making to machines, says author David Edmonds.

Nov 14
2018

Terrifying footage shows Southern California fires nipping at a highway

Fires creeping in on daily life are becoming the new terrifying norm.

Nov 14
2018

New methane fuel cell fixes temperature issue

The new fuel cell could be a cheaper, more practical way to generate energy to heat homes and eventually run cars.

Nov 14
2018

Tesla confirms Model 3 is getting a CCS plug in Europe, adapter coming for Model S and Model X

After years of speculation, Tesla finally confirmed today that Model 3 is getting a CCS Combo 2 plug in Europe and an adapter is coming for Model S and Model X.

With growing third-party fast-charging infrastructure in Europe, electric vehicle owners are starting to have many options.

Tesla owners have access to those networks on top of Tesla’s own Supercharger networks, but they had to use an expensive CHAdeMO adapter, which has its own limitations and isn’t yet compatible with Model 3.

Nov 14
2018

Volkswagen announces 2 new factories to go electric, partners with SK Innovation for battery cells

Today, Volkswagen is announcing that it is converting two more factories to electric vehicle production and it is partnering with SK Innovation for battery cells.

Earlier this year, VW announced that its Zwickau factory will be the first to go all-electric.

The German automaker plans to produce 1,500 electric cars per day at the plant.

Nov 11
2018

Forget your car, this is awesome

Forget your car, this is awesome, via Jet Capsule.

Nov 11
2018

How Singles’ Day has helped Alibaba ascend on an AI-powered cloud in China

The technology and innovation that Alibaba has developed to serve the needs that arise from Singles’ Day have allowed Alibaba to expand into a variety of services, including Alibaba Cloud, logistics, and artificial intelligence.

Within minutes of the clock striking midnight on November 11 this year, consumers across China will be racking up billions in purchases on Alibaba’s e-commerce marketplaces. Alibaba engineers and employees watching the transaction numbers on big screens will whoop as the figure instantly crosses the hundred million yuan mark, then zooms into the billions.

As the orders start to roll in, the company’s proprietary cloud computing platform Alibaba Cloud will, at its peak, process hundreds of thousands in transactions and payments per second. Robots in the automated warehouses of Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao will begin sorting and packing the orders that come in, readying them for the battalion of trucks, scooters and millions of deliverymen that will send an estimated 1 billion packages to their rightful owners within days of November 11.

For China’s largest e-commerce firm, Singles’ Day is not just its most important shopping event of the year. It is also the day that the Alibaba pushes the boundaries on its technology and services, stress-testing its technology systems during the world’s largest shopping festival that grows in scale every year.