Waymo self-driving cars in Arizona have had their tires slashed, and some of the vehicles’ safety drivers have had guns pulled on them, the Arizona Republic reports.
Twenty-one instances of people attacking Waymo cars have been recorded, according to the Arizona Republic, citing police reports.
Alphabet’s self-driving car unit Waymo today took a huge step toward launching its first public self-driving taxi service.
Waymo has been testing a driverless car service in Phoenix for a while already, but today the company officially lifted the lid on its first commercial service that riders can actually pay for.
Waymo One, as the service is called, will work much like Uber and other popular ride-hailing apps. After Waymo One gives you a price estimate based on your starting and end points, you can beckon a car that will transport you from A to B.
However, Waymo One isn’t yet available for everyone. Initially, only riders who were involved in the early stages of the trial program will have access, though plans are afoot to extend the service to more people in the future.
Fast and fierce: The Embraer E190-E2, nicknamed the Profit Hunter, is part of the E2 family of regional jets, which encompasses the E175-E2, E190-E2, and E195-E.
(CNN) — There’s a shark on the runway.
No, it’s not some nightmare scenario brought about by severe flooding, but a real-deal Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, painted up in a special great white shark livery.
In recent months, this ferocious flier has been turning heads and starring in travel Instagrams from the Maldives to South Africa while on a world tour and in October, it was spied at Nepal’s Kathmandu-Tribhuvan International Airport following a fly-past of Mount Everest.
Nicknamed the Profit Hunter, this is the show plane for Embraer’s E2 family of regional jets, which encompasses the E175-E2, E190-E2, and E195-E2, and it’s stealing some of the attention that’s lately been lavished on its competitor, the Airbus A220.
Aeronautics giant Boeing is acquiring Aurora Flight Sciences, a company focused on the development of autonomous electric aircraft. The move confirms Boeing’s commitment to bringing their first self-flying commercial passenger vehicle to reality.
Aurora won a significant amount of acclaim in 2016 when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded them a contract to help build the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) X-Plane. Uber also enlisted Aurora Flight Sciences’ help on their Uber Elevate flying taxi project.
Brightline’s Miami-West Palm Beach link will be rebranded in 2019
Sir Richard Branson is extending his rail empire across the Atlantic. Virgin Group has announced that it will take a minority share in Brightline, a start-up train operator in Florida.
Brightline launched express services earlier this year from Miami via Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach, with an extension to Orlando under construction and plans for a line to Tampa. It also intends to build a link between Las Vegas and southern California.
The Dutch company Port-Liner is building two giant all-electric barges dubbed the ‘Tesla ships‘. The company announced that the vessels will be ready by this autumn and will be inaugurated by sailing the Wilhelmina canal in the Netherlands.
The 100 million-euro project supported by a €7m subsidy from the European Union is expected to have a significant impact on local transport between the ports of Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.
If you want to be as healthy as possible, there are no treadmills or weight machines required. Don’t just take my word for it—look to the longest-lived people in the world for proof.
People in the world’s Blue Zones—the places around the world with the highest life expectancy—don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms.
Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without even thinking about it. This means that they grow gardens, walk throughout the day, and minimize mechanical conveniences for house and yard work.
In fact, Blue Zones researchers determined that routine natural movement is one of the most impactful ways to increase your life span, and a common habit among the world’s longest-lived populations.
General Motors said it plans to bring two new electric bikes to market next year — one folding and one compact — as the automaker makes a broader push into electrification and other ideas that try to move beyond its traditional business model of producing and selling gas-power vehicles.
The automaker didn’t have a lot of information to share about the e-bikes or its ultimate plans. For instance, Hannah Parish, director of General Motors Urban Mobility Solutions, wouldn’t say if GM plans to launch a bike-sharing service as a result of these two new products. “I can’t say anything is on or off the table at this point,” she added.
Reaction Engines of the UK could be part of a winning group of bidders for open-ended hypersonic weapons development.
They have proven an innovative pre-cooling system which does not require the development of new materials to handle the heat of hypersonic flight speeds.
The US Air Force Research Labs are already working with them. They would need to partner with US companies like Lockheed or Boeing to get the big military contract.
The pre-coolers are made from thousands of thin-walled tubes to provide high surface area to low weight. Each tube is joined to an inlet and outlet manifold, which allows coolant to be injected and removed for the cooling process. We’re the only people in the world with the heat exchanger manufacturing experience to bond thousands of joints in a single operation, and achieve zero leakage. The joints in our pre-cooler modules are hermetically sealed, meaning that the gas which escapes can be measured by the molecule.
GE Aviation engineers have unveiled Affinity, a new family of supersonic jet engines for civilian aircraft.
GE Aviation has given impetus to the revival of civilian supersonic flight by revealing a new family of engines designed to fly faster than the speed of sound. Called the Affinity, the new engine will be incorporated into the Aerion AS2 supersonic business jet, which is being developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin, GE Aviation and Honeywell, and could cut the time of a transatlantic flight by three hours.
For much of the emerging world, the key to reducing pollution is making the transition to battery-powered motorcycles and scooters.
Even those who can afford cars often prefer two-wheelers.
Given recent market turmoil, it would easy to overlook the upcoming IPO of Niu Technologies, a Chinese manufacturer of electric mopeds. The $95 million the company plans to raise is a pittance compared to the billions burnt by Tesla Inc. But, the technologies developed by Niu and other pioneers of electric two-wheel vehicles will transform transportation as much as anything dreamed up by the likes of Elon Musk.
“There’s no doubt that we not only cover the costs, but also come out with a surplus.”
Estonia made waves in 2014 for becoming the first country to offer digital citizenship and for using blockchain technology to transform civic life.
Now the country is improving the physical experience of being a citizen by offering free public transportation.
After providing free public transportation for five years in the capital city of Tallinn, the Estonian government is ready to expand the service to the entire country, according to Pop-Up City.
Once that happens, anyone who has a “green card” can ride buses, trains, and ferries whenever and wherever — without charge.
The announcement makes Estonia the first country in the world to offer the service.
