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‘Robotaxis will be disruptive to conventional taxis and ride-hailing, but not car ownership’, says new report

November 14, 2021

Robotaxis remain one of the most pursued applications for autonomous vehicle technologies today, with many developers envisioning an end to – or at least a significant reduction in – car ownership.

Developers of autonomous vehicles, specifically those focused on Level-4 self-driving vehicles, often focus on mobility services as the first application.

Not only is there a demonstrated market for taxis and ride-hailing, but it’s a market where the high costs of labor create high prices, making it a ripe opportunity for autonomous vehicle deployment.

It is also a good technology fit as they can operate in geo-fenced areas, according to new data from Lux Research, a leading provider of tech-enabled research and innovation advisory services.

Driverless vehicles

GE Appliances and Einride unveil first autonomous and electric truck operating on US soil

November 14, 2021

Einride will bring its Pods to the US for the first time on GE Appliances’ 750-acre Appliance Park campus in Louisville, Kentucky.

By Jonathan Greig

Transportation is about to get a technology-driven reboot. The details are still taking shape, but future transport systems will certainly be connected, data-driven and highly automated.

GE Appliances and Swedish freight technology company Einride announced the debut of what they say is the first autonomous and electric truck to operate on US soil this week.

Einride has been operating internationally since 2019 but will bring its autonomous Pods to the US for the first time on GE Appliances’ 750-acre Appliance Park campus in Louisville, Kentucky.

Einride is also providing GE Appliances with electric vehicles at locations in Tennessee and Georgia. The companies claimed that the partnership would save GE Appliances 970 tons of CO2 emissions within the first year.

“Sustainability and cost-efficiency is a prerequisite for implementing innovation into our business strategy,” said Bill Good, vice president of manufacturing at GE Appliances.

quantum computing

‘Giant atoms’ May Create All-in-One Quantum Processing and Communication

November 14, 2021

By Matt Swayne

MIT News reports that researchers have introduced a quantum computing architecture that can perform low-error quantum computations while also rapidly sharing quantum information between processors. The work represents a key advance toward a complete quantum computing platform.

Before, small-scale quantum processors have successfully performed tasks at a rate exponentially faster than that of classical computers. However, it has been difficult to controllably communicate quantum information between distant parts of a processor. In classical computers, wired interconnects are used to route information back and forth throughout a processor during the course of a computation. In a quantum computer, however, the information itself is quantum mechanical and fragile, requiring fundamentally new strategies to simultaneously process and communicate quantum information on a chip.

“One of the main challenges in scaling quantum computers is to enable quantum bits to interact with each other when they are not co-located,” says William Oliver, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, MIT Lincoln Laboratory fellow, and associate director of the Research Laboratory for Electronics. “For example, nearest-neighbor qubits can easily interact, but how do I make ‘quantum interconnects’ that connect qubits at distant locations?”

The answer lies in going beyond conventional light-matter interactions.

Cancer

A revolutionary clinical trial is testing customized vaccines that target cancerous tumors

November 13, 2021

By Jessica Brown Anchor/Reporter

A vaccine with the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment is being tested in Boston. The customized vaccines are intended to help the body’s immune system target an individual’s tumor.

Heather Walker, a wife, mother and Boston Celtics executive, is participating in the clinical trial. In July, doctors discovered a fast-growing tumor in her brain, called glioblastoma. Advertisement

The rare and aggressive form of cancer is diagnosed in about 13,000 adults in the U.S. each year. More than 93% of patients die within 5 years and the average survival is about 15 months.

“Historically, when a glioblastoma was diagnosed, patients were often referred to a palliative care, a kind of hospice situation because treatment was not able to be effective,” said Dr. David Reardon, clinical director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Alternative Transportation

Electric air taxis planned to fly above potholes of Rome

November 13, 2021

The Volocopter displayed in the Piazza San Silvestro in central Rome on Thursday.

By Soraya Ebrahimi

Flying cab could be taking travellers from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport within three years.

With streets full of potholes, buses erupting in flames and soul-crushing traffic in the Eternal City, some say the only way is up.

A new electric air taxi could take passengers from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to the city centre within three years, according to German company Volocopter, Rome’s airport operator ADR and transport infrastructure holding company Atlantia.

The project, called VoloCity – which is also planned for Paris and Singapore – promises to whisk people from the airport to the city in 20 minutes, with no traffic and zero emissions, travelling at a maximum of 110kph.

Initially, the taxi will carry the pilot plus one passenger, “until the aircraft will fly completely autonomously”, when it will be able to take two passengers, the partners said.

brain hacking

A system to control robotic arms based on augmented reality and a brain-computer interface

November 13, 2021

By Ingrid Fadelli

For people with motor impairments or physical disabilities, completing daily tasks and house chores can be incredibly challenging. Recent advancements in robotics, such as brain-controlled robotic limbs, have the potential to significantly improve their quality of life.

Researchers at Hebei University of Technology and other institutes in China have developed an innovative system for controlling robotic arms that is based on augmented reality (AR) and a brain-computer interface. This system, presented in a paper published in the Journal of Neural Engineering, could enable the development of bionic or prosthetic arms that are easier for users to control.

“In recent years, with the development of robotic arms, brain science and information decoding technology, brain-controlled robotic arms have attained increasing achievements,” Zhiguo Luo, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. “However, disadvantages like poor flexibility restrict their widespread application. We aim to promote the lightweight and practicality of brain-controlled robotic arms.”

The system developed by Luo and his colleagues integrates AR technology, which allows users to view an enhanced version of their surroundings that includes digital elements, and a brain-controlled interface, with a conventional method for controlling robotic limbs known as asynchronous control. This ultimately allows users to achieve greater control over robotic arms, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of the resulting movements.

quantum computing

A New Quantum Computing Method Is 2,500 Percent More Efficient

November 12, 2021

And it’s ‘absolutely amazing.’

By Brad Bergan

We just moved years closer to viable quantum computers.

A company has revealed the results of benchmarking experiments that demonstrate how an advanced error-suppression method increased the probability of success for quantum computing algorithms to succeed on real hardware, according to a press release shared with Interesting Engineering via email.

And the new method increased the likelihood of success by an unprecedented 2,500%.

Automobiles

Hyundai has developed go-to-market technology to make vehicles move like crabs

November 12, 2021

2021 Hyundai Mobis Corner e-Module concept vehicle can turn 90 degrees to aid parking in tight spaces.Hyundai Mobis

by Pritesh Ruthun

In-wheel technology to reduce turning circle in congested environments.
Silent, electric technology will ensure use in areas with tight emissions controls.
Ideal for city distribution vehicles and small custom truck makers to consider.

Hyundai Mobis, the engineering wing of the South Korean automotive conglomerate, has announced that it’s developed an all-in-one technology that incorporates steering systems, braking components, suspension capability and driving systems into a wheel.

Called the Corner e-Module and said to go into production for concept vehicles in the next four years; the technology will be helpful in congested cities where streetside parking can be a nightmare.

Driverless vehicles

Volvo Unveils First Autonomous EV Made from Fossil-free Steel

November 12, 2021

By Nolan Beilstein

Volvo Group has built a prototype made with fossil-free steel and New Atlas reports the Swedish manufacturing corporation is claiming the vehicle is the first of its kind. The fully electric and autonomous vehicle is a load carrier and Volvo expects a small-scale series production in 2022 with mass production to follow.

In August, Swedish steelmaker SSAB completed the first fossil-free steel delivery to Volvo. Volvo then used the steel to make the new load carrier.

SSAB manufactured the steel by using hydrogen rather than coal and coke as a reductant. Also, instead of a coal-fired blast furnace, SSAB used an electric variant that runs on renewable energy.

Robotics

HADRIAN X ROBOT TO BUILD 5,000 HOMES IN MEXICO

November 12, 2021

Robotic bricklaying company FBR has executed a term sheet with GP Vivienda to supply its Wall as a Service (WaaS) robotic construction system to build between 2,000 and 5,000 homes in Mexico.

The company will also supply all associated retaining walls and other brick and block structures to a greenfield residential development sites.

Construction will utilise the company’s Hadrian X construction robot (pictured) which rapidly builds block structures from a 3D CAD model, producing far less waste than traditional construction methods while dramatically improving site safety.

With over 115,000 homes built and delivered, GP Vivienda specialises in developing master-planned communities.

Driverless vehicles

EINRIDE LAUNCHES AUTONOMOUS PODS AND ELECTRIC FREIGHT OPERATIONS IN US

November 12, 2021

By Rebecca Bellan

Swedish freight technology company Einride announced the launch of its operations in the United States. On Thursday, the company will officially begin testing its transport solutions — like its autonomous “pods,” electric trucks and “Saga” operating system — with partners like GE Appliances (GEA), Bridgestone and Oatly.

The company also announced that it would introduce a U.S. version of its pod which has been adapted to suit American road conditions and regulations, as well as a flatbed pod, a module vehicle built to accommodate a range of shipping needs, such as transporting containers from shipyards.

Einride operates one of Europe’s largest fleets of electric trucks. Its autonomous pods, which are built without a front cab, and thus, without room for a human safety operator, are also electric. Some of the other major players in the autonomous freight game, like Kodiak Robotics, TuSimple and Waymo, are not necessarily pursuing an electric-only approach.

“Between 7% and 8% of global CO2 emissions come from heavy road freight transport,” Robert Falck, CEO and founder of Einride, told TechCrunch. “One of the drivers for starting Einride is that I’m very worried that by optimizing and making road freight transport autonomous, but based on diesel, it’s likely that we will actually increase emissions because it would become that much cheaper to operate.”

Alternative Transportation

Spanish start-up Zeleros to start pilot hyperloop project carrying cargo next year

November 12, 2021

Company says it is on track to take cargo by the end of 2022 and people by 2030

By Ramola Talwar Badam

Spanish start-up Zeleros said it would have a working prototype of a hyperloop ready to carry cargo in the port of Valencia by the end of next year.

Juan Vicen, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Zeleros, told The National the company was also working on passenger pods that will carry between 50 to 200 passengers. The technology to test with passengers will be ready by 2030.We are kind of doing an electric aircraft inside a tube, without wingsJuan Vicen, co-founder of Zeleros

The company displayed a model of their hyperloop at the Spanish pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai for the first time on Tuesday.

“It will not be for passengers in the first test, as we want to ensure we can achieve reasonable speeds of 600kph,” Mr Vicen said.“For passengers we are talking about 2025 to 2030. This we consider reasonable in terms of safety to test passengers inside at higher speeds.”

The first capsule to be tested will carry about 300 kilograms to 2 tonnes of materials at the eastern Spanish port, which is the busiest in the Mediterranean Sea.