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Archive for the ‘transportation’ category: Page 550

Oct 19, 2015

Amazing industrial 3D printer fits in a truck, can print an entire building in 24 hours

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, habitats, transportation

Created by Russian engineer Nikita Chen-yun-tai, the new Apis Cor 3D printer is powerful enough to print a building in one day, yet small enough to be moved with minimal preparation and transportation costs. This portability allows users to print a building in one location and easily move the Apis Cor the next day to another spot. It promises to revolutionize the use of 3D printers in construction, especially in developing nations where low-cost, efficient printing is critical.

The 3D printing of houses is not a new idea — companies have been using the tenets of additive manufacturing for years. What makes the compact Apis Cor printer unique is the unit’s small size — it measures 16.4 ft by 5 ft, weighs 2.5 tons and can be assembled within 30 minutes. As a result, the Apis Cor can be moved easily without the need for an expensive method of transportation and setup. It requires no site preparation and no testing before use, which means it can be dropped on site and deployed right away after assembly.

Related: A Chinese company assembled this 3D-printed home in just three hours.

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Oct 19, 2015

I used virtual reality to take control of someone else’s car — while they were in it

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation, virtual reality

Remote driving could be a good halfway step to fully autonomous vehicles, but it feels pretty weird.

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Oct 17, 2015

How Tesla is ushering in the age of the learning car

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, information science, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Tesla’s new autopilot system is relying on the cutting edge of machine learning, connectivity and mapping data.

While Tesla’s new hands-free driving is drawing a lot of interest this week, it’s the technology behind-the-scenes of the company’s newly-enabled autopilot service that should be getting more attention.

At an event on Wednesday Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk explained that the company’s new autopilot service is constantly learning and improving thanks to machine learning algorithms, the car’s wireless connection, and detailed mapping and sensor data that Tesla collects.

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Oct 15, 2015

The New Hendo Hoverboard Is a Warm-Up for Elon’s Hyperloop

Posted by in category: transportation

Hoverboard today, Hyperloop tomorrow.

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Oct 15, 2015

Volvo’s first fully electric car will arrive in 2019

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Volvo’s been bullish about self-driving vehicles, but it’s much more coy when it comes to electric cars. The company’s latest XC90 has a hybrid edition, and there’s an existing V60 plug-in, but nothing fully electric. Finally, the Swedish auto-maker is ready to go all in, confirming an all-electric vehicle will go on sale in 2019, plus plans to offer hybrid versions of every car in its range, alongside a new “series 40” range of smaller electrified cars. That’s still quite a wait for the full EV, and the hybrids might not show up until 2017, but as the Wall Street Journal suggests, Volvo might have been spurred on to make the announcement by the recent VW scandal around diesel engines.

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Oct 14, 2015

Tesla is mapping the Earth, ‘cause your GPS won’t cut it for self-driving cars

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Self-driving cars require an incredible amount of information to operate safely. Tesla and Elon Musk know this well.

Tesla Motors formally launched its long-awaited Autopilot feature on Wednesday, which is not quite a self-driving car, but rather a higher degree of autonomy. One of the new features of Autopilot: Tesla is creating high-precision digital maps of the Earth using GPS.

See also: I went hands-free in Tesla’s Model S on Autopilot, even though I wasn’t supposed to.

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Oct 14, 2015

Tesla’s New Software Does the Lane-Changing and Parallel Parking For You

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Tesla Motors Inc.’s newest software brings elements of autonomous driving to some of its Model S cars. With updated software, the vehicles can help drivers stay in their highway lane or change lanes for them.

The car can also parallel park for the driver or warn when an object such as another car is too close the side of the Model S, the company said in post on its website.

The maker of luxury electric vehicles has highlighted many high-tech features on its models, such as the industry’s largest touch screen and robust wireless access that allows for software upgrades, such as this update to version 7.0. But it has lagged some rival high-end automakers and even a few mainstream brands in its use of driver-assist technology such as lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control. Tesla’s new system is the first to include automated lane changing.

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Oct 13, 2015

Self-driving hybrid sports car concept has its own helper drone

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Swiss carmaker and tuning house Rinspeed’s Σtos concept is a self-driving hybrid sports car with its own helper drone.

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Oct 13, 2015

A self-driving Mercedes-Benz truck drove on Germany’s Autobahn

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Click on photo to start video.

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Oct 12, 2015

Many of the world’s first cars ran on electricity

Posted by in category: transportation

We think that cars that run on gas are the norm, but that hasn’t always been the case.

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