Technology

If you remember, there was a campaign a while back that proposed the idea of fighting climate change with solar panel roads. The idea was to replace the tarmac on the road with solar panels. At that time, the campaign went viral and people lauded the whole concept. The idea underwent some road testing since then, and studies from the first results don’t look very promising. Didn’t we all see this coming?

Older vehicles that have no access to Amazon’s Alexa can now enjoy the benefits of the AI app courtesy of the new Echo Auto device. Measuring just 3.3” x 1.9” x 0.5”, the Echo Auto is a handy device that can be connected to any car that has a stereo system and a driver or occupant with a smartphone. Echo Auto doesn’t pick and choose which stereo it’s compatible with. Even vintage AM/FM 8-track players are compatible with the device. The Echo Auto cost $49.99.

The images posted look like screenshots from a video game with so many details around the windshield, but this is the reality that might soon be seen in Porsches and Hyundais. The automakers have invested in a company called WayRay, which is basically into augmented reality. In simple words, your ordinary head-up display is going to get all the more intuitive with a lot more information.

Blackberry chief executive John Chen believes that autonomous driving cars could be hacked and turned into “fully loaded weapons.” Chen made the proclamation just as the Canadian technology company is developing self-driving technologies with Chinese internet tech company, Baidu. According to Chen, an autonomous driving car could “easily be infected with viruses” by hackers, and the extent of what they can do could have negative effects on the industry.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has made history on a number of occasions, and the Big Falcon Rocket, aka BFR, is said to be the rocket that will make history yet again, by sending folks to Mars. Before that happens, though, that rocket will be flying SpaceX’s first private passenger around the moon.

Auto show season is creeping up, and that means the concepts are starting to roll on out. One of the first out the gates is this new all-electric, fully autonomous, highly customizable transportation bubble from Mercedes-Benz Vans, which offers highly intelligent conveyance for not only people, but goods and cargo as well.

Continue reading to learn more about the Mercedes Vision Urbanetic Concept.

Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing, is usually utilized for the rapid production of prototypes and specialty parts. Now, however, Volkswagen claims a breakthrough development has readied this cutting-edge technology for mass production, opening up a slew of customer customization opportunities.

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Off-roading can be a lot of fun - from exploring the great outdoors, to finding the right line through a challenging bit of terrain, to extracting every ounce of capability from your vehicle, it’s just the right activity to get away from it all. Now, Ford hopes to make it more accessible with its new Trail Control system for the 2019 F-150 Raptor, which the company likens to “cruise control for off-road driving.” Color us skeptical.

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We all know how amazing electric vehicles have become lately, with every mainstream manufacturer trying to include at least one or two EVs in their line-up. But there’s one glaring disadvantage that is perhaps the biggest reason for gas-powered vehicles to not have gone extinct yet – the time it takes to recharge batteries. In the case of combustion-powered vehicles, you can get set to travel for the next 200 miles in a matter of a minute, but that’s not possible in case of EVs – until now. General Motors is in collaboration with Delta America to develop a technology that can overcome this drawback, and it blows Tesla’s technology out of the water!

Volvo has pulled the sheets off of the 360C, a fully autonomous electric concept car that showcases a new way to go about domestic travel without having to pay the exorbitant amounts attached to airline tickets. The 360c concept is essentially a bedroom on four wheels that Volvo views as a possible alternative to regional flights. It’s not expected to go into production anytime soon, but it does open the door to a new and innovative way of using autonomous driving technology.

Proving that robotics is right in its wheelhouse, Roll-Royce, alongside Harvard University and The University of Nottingham, is looking into developing small robots, called SWARM robots, to help maintain aircraft engines. The technology, which was initially showcased at the Singapore Airshow earlier this year, involves microbots that measure roughly 10 mm in diameter. These microbots are deposited into the center of a plane’s engine where they can go around autonomously and conduct visual inspections of the engine, especially areas that are harder to reach than others, and make the necessary repairs in the event they’re needed.

Jaguar Land Rover has come up with a self-driving pod that can mimic eye contact that’s normally made between a driver and a pedestrian who’s about to cross a street. The self-driving pod even has “virtual eyes” that can literally “look” at a pedestrian who’s waiting to cross. The “look” is meant as a signal that the pod has identified the presence of a pedestrian and intends to stop for them so they can cross the street. The pod is part of JLR’s U.K. government-supported Autodrive project.