Lifeboat Foundation

Drivers of electric vehicles could save an average of £110 a year—and cut their carbon footprint by 20%—by using “smart charging” to power up their cars at the best possible times, a report by a research team involving Swansea University experts has shown.

Smart charging helps spread out demand for electricity to avoid overloading the National Grid. This is a major issue given the huge growth in the number of electric vehicles, with up to 11 million forecast to be on Britain’s roads by 2030.

Already people can get cheaper electricity by charging at certain times, usually in the early hours of the morning. But smart charging could go much further than this. For example, it could mean charging when windy weather means surplus wind power is being generated, or having your charging automatically coordinated with your neighbors.

Chinese robotics market is projected to expand at 20% through to 2025, when the government is aiming to double manufacturing robot density and drive adoption in key sectors including automobile and mining.

Thus, the M109A6s help bring more modern mobile capability to Taiwan’s artillery forces, and brings to the table GPS-guided shells precise enough to pose a serious threat to point targets like landing craft and armored vehicles (at least when they aren’t moving much).

Of course, forty relatively modern howitzers will not dramatically affect the unfavorable balance of power Taiwan’s armed forces must hedge against. However, they are a modest step forward towards modernizing Taipei’s ground forces for a possible conflict one can only hope is never fought.

Mazda’s first electric car, the MX-30, is disappointing to many in the EV community due to its short range. Now, the Japanese automaker says that it is not so bad for buyers who also have a second car at home for longer travel. Mazda has long been a laggard when it comes to electric vehicles. […].

Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced the successful completion of proof-of-concept (PoC) testing for unmanned cargo transport by the cooperation of its K-RACER X1 unmanned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and delivery robot. The PoC testing was conducted with the aim of helping to solve societal issues such as labor shortages in the logistics industry.

In its Group Vision 2030, which describes the company’s future vision for 2030, Kawasaki specified three areas where it will focus its efforts: “A Safe and Secure Remotely-Connected Society,” “Near-Future Mobility” and “Energy and Environmental Solutions.” In the area of “Near-Future Mobility,” the company has been pursuing the development of unmanned VTOLs, delivery robots, and so on.

Continue reading “Kawasaki’s unmanned cargo VTOL aircraft completes PoC testing” »

Converting to electric is inevitable says the R&D Chief. 🚗

#engineering

The shift to electric transportation is imminent. Hyundai just shut down the engine division that was its pride for almost four decades.

Continue reading “Hyundai Motors Will Reportedly No Longer Develop Internal Combustion Engines” »

Alphabet’s self-driving car company Waymo is partnering with Chinese automaker Geely to create a fleet of all-electric, self-driving robotaxis.

The cars will be designed in Sweden (where Geely owns Swedish carmaker Volvo) and will be adapted from Geely’s all-electric five-door Zeekr. Waymo will then outfit the cars with the hardware and software necessary for autonomous driving. Waymo said in a blog post that it plans to deploy the vehicles in the US as part of its existing fleet of self-driving robotaxis some time “in the years to come.”

Concept images of finished vehicle shared by Waymo show a car that is designed specifically for autonomous ride-hailing trips. It has a flat floor, low step-in height, and B-pillarless design for easy entry and exit, as well as sliding doors, reclining seats, and plenty of headroom. Waymo says future models will have an interior without steering wheel or pedals — just a screen (presumably to let riders check on the progress of their journey).

TuSimple has stated that its “Driver Out” program is the first vital step in scaling its autonomous trucking operations on the TuSimple Autonomous Freight Network (AFN).

A robust AFN is now one step closer, following a successful 80-mile, driverless run in Arizona last week.

Continue reading “TuSimple successfully operates 80-mile, autonomous semi-truck ride on public roads without a human present” »

Chinese scientists are celebrating the success of a new hypersonic engine, according to reports. The past few months have been important for China in terms of the success of its hypersonic technologies.

Not only did the country get a new wind tunnel ready for tests of hypersonic weapons but it is also developing a hypersonic passenger plane. The fact that the country is in possession of a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon system that is orbital in nature was also revealed less than a month ago.

Now, the successful testing of this engine will pave way for more advanced developments in components used for hypersonic flight, SCMP reported.