Lifeboat Foundation

Five prototypes were tested before the project was shelved.

In what might seem counter-intuitive at first, the U.S. Army supported the development of a helicopter that had no engine. One can even visit the Army’s Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker in Alabama to catch a glimpse of this design by the American Helicopter Company that is fondly called Jet Jeep.

The Jet Jeep was thought of many decades ago as the solution for a light observation needed by the Army. The U.S. Army was looking for a flight-capable option for light surveillance and by that, it meant enough to carry one or two people at the most. This is quite like the problem jet pack makers are trying to solve these days. But this was way back in the 1950s and helicopters and aircraft were largely the way flying worked.

Continue reading “The US Army Built Engineless Helicopters in the ‘50s. Here is Why It Didn’t End Well” »

REE Automotive has revealed Leopard, its autonomous concept vehicle based on a brand new ultra-modular EV platform design. The full-scale concept is intended for customers, including last-mile autonomous and electric delivery companies, delivery fleet operators, e-retailers, and technology companies seeking to build fully autonomous solutions.

Developed with leading global delivery and technology companies focused on autonomous delivery and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) fleets, the Leopard concept vehicle measures 3.4 meters in length and just 1.4 meters in width. It is built on a home-brewed platform that contains the batteries, along with REEcorner units, front-wheel-steer, rear-wheel-drive, steering, suspension, motor, gearbox, and braking components.

Leopard is powered by a 50 kWh battery of unspecified range and an undisclosed type of electric motor that provides a top speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). It has a cargo capacity of 180 cubic feet (5 cubic meters) and a gross vehicle weight rating of 2 tonnes (2.2 tons). The vehicle is also designed to carry significantly more cargo due to REE’s low, flat floor.

Qualcomm is diversifying from mobile phones, to supplying chips for BMW’s self-driving cars.

#News #Reuters #BMW #Qualcomm #SelfDriving.

Continue reading “Qualcomm to supply BMW with self-driving car chips” »

Honda and the engineering and construction firm Black & Veatch have tested a prototype of Honda’s autonomous work vehicle at a construction site in New Mexico.

During a month of tests, the AWV performed such tasks as towing, moving construction materials and other supplies to specific locations within the work site.

Honda’s AWV was first shown as a concept at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. It combines a durable off-road side-by-side platform with advanced autonomous technology. The vehicle uses a collection of sensors to maneuver without a driver, using GPS, radar and lidar for obstacle detection, as well as 3D cameras. Together, these features enable the AWV to be operated by remote control.

The new cable would be able to output four times more current than today’s best option.

The sale of traditional vehicles would have to cease completely by 2038 to reach the government’s target. So where’s the plan to get there?

Tesla’s CEO believes he can radically change how cars are put together.

Photo: The Boring Company.

The Boring Company’s tunnels are the future of transportation and while some people don’t think so, those who have had the opportunity to try them are sure of it. Skeptical, West Coast Editor of Autoweek, Mark Vaughn, went downstairs to figure out for himself what The Boring Co tunnels are all about—and whether they are as important as Elon Musk says.

Vaughn admits that he was a little skeptical before using the tunnel. He suggested that there would be long lines and too few cars, so it would be faster and easier to simply walk from the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) to the far South Hall. However, after the “critic” descended the escalator into the underground tunnels he was a little surprised to find that the wait was only about a minute. Vaughn said he just walked up to the Tesla Model X, greeted the human driver, and immediately after the door closed, they drove away.

Tesla Autopilot is a self-driving assistance system. In plain terms, it’s a capability that enables a Tesla to’see’ the cars and road ahead of it and, to a limited extent, drive itself.