Collaborate Disseminate
A number of companies are now running remote-control rental car services, in which “teledrivers” guide an empty car out to you by remote control, and then you drive it around yourself. It’s a weird halfway step towards fully autonomous robotaxis.Contin… Continue reading Remote-control rental cars: Not as driverless as they look
The remarkable Seaglider promises a clean revolution in coastal transport; the convenience of an electric boat meets the speed and comfort of an aircraft, at unparalleled efficiency and range thanks to hydrofoils and the wing-in-ground effect.Continue … Continue reading Regent to debut its hydrofoiling ground-effect Seagliders in Hawai’i
Figure has signed its first commercial deal, and is sending its general-purpose humanoid robots off to start real-world work at BMW’s manufacturing plant in South Carolina. Founder and CEO Brett Adcock talks us through this rubber-meets-road moment.Con… Continue reading Figure’s humanoid robots are about to enter the workforce at BMW
ZeroAvia is working with San Francisco startup Verne to bring an even more energy-dense form of hydrogen to the clean aviation space. Cryo-compressed H2 could reduce costs, speed up fueling, and unlock 40% more flight range than cryogenic liquid H2.Con… Continue reading Cryo-compressed hydrogen: A 40% aircraft range boost over liquid H2
“This thing’s gonna be a chungus!” In the northern tip of Idaho, 70-odd miles from Spokane, Washington, a magnificently silly project is underway: a colossal batpod of a motorcycle with a KTM motor, monster truck wheels, and hydraulic steering.Continue… Continue reading KTM-powered “Monster Chopper” gets hydraulic steering
A Northwestern University team has demonstrated a remarkable new way to generate electricity, with a paperback-sized device that nestles in soil and harvests power created as microbes break down dirt – for as long as there’s carbon in the soil.Continue… Continue reading “Dirt-powered fuel cell” draws near-limitless energy from soil
Elon Musk has Xeeted out a video of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot folding a t-shirt – which would be great, but then followed up with a second Xeet clarifying that the video is far less impressive than it looks – after being called out by observers.Co… Continue reading Busted: Elon Musk admits new Optimus video isn’t what it seems
Power demand spikes in the early morning and later evening, when solar arrays can’t help. But researchers in Scotland say orbital launch costs are getting so cheap that giant space-based reflectors could soon be a viable way to power these timeslots.Co… Continue reading Orbital reflectors could boost solar energy around dusk and dawn
MIT’s Electric Vehicle Team has taken to the racetrack with a Ducati 900SS that’s been gutted and converted into a hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle, hoping to start collecting a few fossil-fuelled scalps. It’s also open-sourcing the design for others.Cont… Continue reading MIT’s EV team takes its open-source hydrogen motorcycle to the track
A Dutch startup says everyone’s hugely underestimating the potential of battery-electric aircraft – that it’s possible to build large battery-electric airliners covering distances most assume we’ll need hydrogen for. Elysian plans to prove it.Continue … Continue reading 90-seat Elysian airliner: 800-1,000-km range on batteries alone