An example of the pods at Dallas Love Field Airport – credit: JetWind Corporation
An intuitive piece of hardware is collecting days’ worth of renewable energy from airplane engine exhaust before take-off from a Dallas airport.
“Boarding is completed” is a common refrain heard over the intercom system in the moments before taxiing to the runway.
At that moment, the pilot will begin a series of engine tests and pre-flight checks during which time the turbine engines are idling with their ferocious noise and exhaust fumes.
A company called JetWind has realized that all that idling force is like the strong winds needed to power a wind turbine, and has built a series of pods that can capture it during the 5-10 minutes the aircraft is sitting at the gate waiting for clearance to taxi.
“The main goal of our project is to harness the consistent wind created by jets and convert it into an eco-friendly energy source,” JetWind’s founder and president Dr. T. O. Souryal told Interesting Engineering.
“What was once considered wasted energy can now benefit energy grids, ultimately promoting smarter and more sustainable infrastructure across the globe.”
Three years of testing between 2021 and 2024 have informed the official deployment of JetWind’s flagship product at Dallas Love Field airport. 13 sets of pods will sit beneath the gate hooked up to external batteries that connect to the grid the airport uses. Solar panels add to the energy generation, and the whole set can create about 30 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy, enough to power a family home for a few days.
While on its own it isn’t nearly what the average airport will consume during a day of operations, when combined with 12 other systems just like it, it can make a serious difference in reducing the carbon footprint of the building.
“Dallas Love Field has always been a hub of progress, and the introduction of JetWind’s Energy Capturing Pods reinforces its position as a testing ground for innovative technologies,” said former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert.
“By converting man-made wind into energy, we are highlighting Dallas as a leader in sustainable solutions and proving that cities can take significant steps toward tackling global energy challenges.”
New Delhi, (IANS): In a bid to realise the dream of air taxis and transform urban mobility in India, the country’s first flying taxi prototype, called ‘Shunya’, has been unveiled at the ‘Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025’ here.
Precision manufacturing firm Sona SPEED signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bengaluru-based Sarla Aviation towards this goal.
Sarla Aviation is developing India's most sophisticated electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy, visited the Sarla Aviation booth, and showed keen interest in the flying taxi prototype, considered a historic step toward sustainable and futuristic mobility in the country.
Sona SPEED motors have been part of several space missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The agreement positions Sona SPEED as a key partner in revolutionising urban air mobility in the country.
“This partnership is a significant step in Sona SPEED’s evolution as a hub for aerospace innovation. Together, we aim to shape a cleaner, faster, and more efficient future for urban transportation,” said Chocko Valliappa, CEO of Sona SPEED.
Under the MoU, Sona SPEED will utilise its state-of-the-art facilities in Karnataka to design and manufacture critical components, like the motors and landing gear among others for Sarla Aviation’s eVTOL aircraft.
"Sona SPEED’s expertise in precision engineering perfectly complements our vision for electric flying taxis. This collaboration reinforces our mission to redefine urban mobility with cutting-edge eVTOL technology,” said Rakesh Gaonkar, CEO of Sarla Aviation.
The development highlights India’s growing aspiration in sustainable urban air mobility and underscores the importance of synergies in driving innovation.
Late last week, American company Boom Supersonic flew faster than the speed of sound with its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft. It’s now the first piloted non-military aircraft to break the sound barrier since the Concorde was retired from service in 2003.
But what exactly is supersonic travel? There are good reasons why it’s not more common, despite the hype.
What is supersonic flight?
The Mach number is defined as a plane’s speed divided by the speed that sound waves move through the air. To “break the sound barrier” means to fly faster than the speed of sound, with Mach numbers greater than 1.
The Mach number is an important ratio: as a plane flies, it disturbs the air in front of it. These disturbances move at the speed of sound. In supersonic flight these disturbances combine to form shock waves around the vehicle.
The sound from the fighter jet is trapped inside its shock wave; until the shock wave moves to your position on the ground, you won’t hear the plane.
The allure of supersonic travel
For efficiency reasons, most passenger jets cruise slightly slower than the speed of sound, at around Mach 0.8 (this is subsonic flight).
Boom plans to build an airliner called Overture that can fly at Mach 1.7. Flying supersonically can drastically decrease flight times. The company claims a trip from New York to Rome on Overture could take just four hours and 40 minutes, instead of eight hours.
Boom isn’t the only company working on this lofty goal. American firm Spike Aerospace is also developing a supersonic business jet, with the tagline “delivering the world in half the time”.
This is the value proposition of supersonic passenger travel.
In limited ways, it did already exist in the 20th century. However, due to timing, bad luck and the laws of physics, it didn’t continue.
Remember the Concorde?
Designs for supersonic airliners began in the mid-20th century, and by the 1970s we had supersonic passenger flight.
There was the little-known Russian Tupolev-144 and Concorde, a Franco-British supersonic airliner operated by British Airways and Air France from 1976 to 2003.
Concorde had a capacity of up to 128 passengers and cruised at Mach 2. It regularly travelled from London to New York in around three hours. The flights were expensive, mainly shuttling business people and the rich and famous.
Why supersonic passenger flight didn’t take off
Concorde was designed in the 1960s when it seemed like supersonic passenger transport was going to be the next big thing.
Instead, the Boeing 747 entered commercial service in 1970. Cheap, large and efficient airliners like it blew Concorde out of the water.
Designed to cruise efficiently at supersonic speeds, Concorde was extremely fuel inefficient when taking off and accelerating. Concorde’s expensive, “gas guzzling” nature was a complaint levelled against it for most of its lifetime.
A catastrophic 1973 Paris air show crash of the competing Russian airliner, Tupolev Tu-144, also shifted public perception on supersonic flight safety at a time when many airlines were considering whether or not to purchase Concordes.
Remember the fighter jets? When a plane travels supersonically, its shock waves propagate to the ground, causing loud disturbances called sonic booms. In extreme cases they can shatter windows and damage buildings.
In the early 1970s, sonic boom concerns led the United States government to ban supersonic passenger flight over land in the US. This hurt the Concorde’s potential market, hence its only two regular routes were trans-Atlantic flights principally over the water.
The Concorde was also a very loud plane at take off, since it needed a lot of thrust to leave the ground.
Video footage of the final Concorde takeoff from New York’s JFK airport.
The future of supersonic travel
A future for supersonic travel relies on solving some or all of the issues Concorde faced.
NASA and Lockheed Martin’s Quesst project aims to show sonic boom can be dissipated to manageable levels. They plan to fly their X-59 supersonic aircraft over US cities and gauge responses from citizens.
Quesst aims to use the geometry of the X-59, with a long elongated nose, to dissipate sonic booms to a weak “thump”, hopefully allowing supersonic airliners to travel over land in the future.
Spike Aerospace’s Spike S-512 Diplomat concept also aims to be a “quiet” supersonic aircraft with a less disruptive sonic boom.
Can Boom surpass Concorde?
Boom Supersonic don’t plan to fly supersonically over land. Their plan is to fly over land at Mach 0.94, which they claim will allow 20% faster overland travel than standard passenger airliners, even subsonically.
In terms of gas guzzling, they plan to use up to 100% sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions and their carbon footprint.
Concorde was made of aluminium using design tools available in the 1960s. Modern design methods and modern aerospace materials such as titanium and carbon fibre should also allow Overture and similar craft to weigh much less than Concorde, improving efficiency.
Additionally, Concorde was the product of an analogue era when the idea of flying to London or New York for the day for an important business meeting seemed like a necessary thing. In a world of remote work and video meetings, is there still a need for a supersonic airliner in the 2020s?
For now, supersonic airliners like Overture are likely to remain in the realm of the rich and famous, like Concorde did. But with modern technological advances, it will be interesting to see whether supersonic passenger travel once again becomes reality – or even goes mainstream. Only time will tell.
Artist impression of vehicle partly constructed with batteries made of carbon fibre composite stiff as aluminum – Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden / Henrik Sandsjö / SWNS
Cars and planes could soon be built from the world’s strongest batteries, thanks to a ground-breaking innovation from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
Researchers detailed the advance of so-called massless energy storage—and a structural battery that could cut the weight of a laptop by 50%, make mobile phones as thin as a credit card, or increase the driving range of an EV by up to 70 percent on a single charge.
Structural batteries are materials that, in addition to storing energy, can carry loads. Stiff, strong carbon fibers could store electrical energy chemically and, in this way, the battery material can become part of the actual construction material of a product.
And, when cars, planes, ships, or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced.
“We have succeeded in creating a battery made of carbon fibre composite that is as stiff as aluminum and energy-dense enough to be used commercially,” says Chalmers researcher Richa Chaudhary, the first author of a paper recently published in Advanced Materials. “Just like a human skeleton, the battery has several functions at the same time.”
When it comes to vehicles there are high demands on the design to be sufficiently strong to meet safety requirements. There, the research team’s structural battery cell has significantly increased its stiffness, or more specifically, the elastic modulus, which is measured in gigapascal (GPa), from 25 to 70. This means that the material can carry loads just as well as aluminum, but with a lower weight.
Battery made of carbon fibre and artist – Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden SWNS
“In terms of multifunctional properties, the new battery is twice as good as its predecessor – and actually the best ever made in the world,” said research leader Leif Asp, professor at the Department of Industrial and Materials Science at Chalmers.
“Investing in light, energy-efficient vehicles is a matter of course if we are to economize on energy and think about future generations. We have made calculations on electric cars that show that they could drive for up to 70 percent longer than today if they had competitive structural batteries.”
Massless energy storage – Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden
The team said the goal was always to achieve a performance that makes it possible to commercialize the technology. The link to the market has been forged through the newly started Chalmers Venture company called Sinonus. And, they’ve received “a great deal of interest from the automotive and aerospace industries”.
However, there is still a lot of engineering work to be done before the battery cells have taken the step from lab manufacturing on a small scale to being produced on a large scale for our vehicles.“It will require large investments to meet the transport industry’s challenging energy needs, but this is also where the technology could make the most difference,” added Professor Asp. New Carbon Fiber Batteries Could Form the Actual Framework of Cars and Airplanes
New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has praised the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras startup that is developing an electric flying taxi, saying that the institution has become one of the world's most "exciting and active incubators".
"A company is being incubated at IIT Madras to build a flying electric taxi by sometime next year," Mahindra posted on X.
Thanking the institution, he further said that with the rapidly growing number of ambitious incubators throughout India, "we're no longer seen as a country that lacks genuine innovators".
"Audacious aspirations matter. Accept no limits," Mahindra wrote.
Since being shared, his post has been viewed by more than 190K times. Several users also shared their thoughts in the comments.
"Exciting times, this is audacious thinking taking root. With our immense talent pool and a supportive environment, Indian innovators are truly taking flight," a user wrote.
"India's incubators are hatching the future, and IIT Madras is leading the charge with their electric flying taxi project. This is the kind of innovation that puts a country on the map and inspires the next generation of dreamers and doers," another user said.
UK self-driving car startup Wayve has secured $1.05 billion in investments to develop its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered vehicles, led by Japanese bank Softbank and with1notable contributions from Nvidia and Microsoft.
Founded in 2017, Wayve develops AI foundation models to help enable autonomous driving. Its technology equips vehicles with a ‘robot brain’ that can learn from and interact with real-world environments. Known as ‘embodied AI’, the technology will help self-driving vehicles react to situations that do not follow set patterns or rules, such as unexpected events from pedestrians.
“AI is revolutionising mobility,” said Kentaro Matsui, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers in a press release.
“Vehicles can now interpret their surroundings like humans, enabling enhanced decision-making that promises higher safety standards. The potential of this type of technology is transformative; it could eliminate 99% of traffic accidents. SoftBank Group is delighted to be at the forefront of this effort with Wayve,” he continued.
“By utilizing Microsoft’s supercomputing capabilities and cloud computing technology, copilot-enabled developer platform, enterprise data management applications, and leading AI model commercialization expertise, Wayve can deliver and scale innovative Embodied AI solutions that enable safer and more accessible autonomous driving experiences,” said Dominik Wee, Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing and Mobility at Microsoft.
The deal has caught the attention of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said in a government press release that “the fact that a homegrown, British business has secured the biggest investment yet in a UK AI company is a testament to our leadership in this industry.” The news of the investment comes as the UK’s Automated Vehicles Bill, which will regulate the use of automated vehicles in the UK is in the final stages processing, having sailed though both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Wayve secures $1bn in funding for AI-powered autonomous vehicles
One of the most hotly anticipated concept cars in recent history, the Aptera solar-powered car took a large step towards reality recently as the first-ever production-grade body arrived at the company’s headquarters in San Diego.
This three-wheeler is advertised as containing 34 square feet of solar paneling that actually powers the car as it drives or while it’s parked, but so many aspects are completely new in a commercial automobile designed for mass production that extra precautions and preparations are needed before it can hit the road.
“We had so much fun last week celebrating a company milestone—the arrival of Aptera’s first production body in San Diego,” the company wrote in a post on X. “Now Team Aptera is back to work finalizing the cable routing, connectors, and placement of components in preparation for our first [production-intent] builds.”
According to Elektrek, the company has ordered all the parts for its production-intent battery packs, and other non-structural components are currently being “validated” in Italy by the company’s supply partner.
The suspension, safety equipment, and drivetrain are yet to be finalized for production models. Still, the company has gone further than many before them, because the design they are currently finalizing is not meant to be an eye-raiser or science project, like some GNN has reported on.
When the PI-2 Aptera solar trike is finally ready, it will be because the company is producing 10,000 a year.
Despite looking as dramatic as any Pagani or Lamborghini, the Aptera’s tapered backside, aerodynamic body, and arched, dolphin-like undercarriage are all designed to reduce drag.
In fact, the detail paid to the reduction of drag and energy use borders on obsessive. But it’s through this ultra-efficiency that solar power, a relatively limited form of electricity generation, can actually become a useful feature for powering a car.
“We think energy should be used to turn your wheels—that starts with aerodynamics,” says Co-CEO Chris Anthony, in a video released by the company in 2021 announcing it was taking preorders.
“In a typical vehicle you use 60% of your fuel just pushing the air out of the way at highway speeds; so if you could take that aerodynamic drag down to 0, you’d instantly get 60% better fuel economy.
“Instead of having 200-300 parts to the body, [the Aptera] have four parts to the main structure, and that makes it much easier to build, track, and assemble,” says Steve Fambro, the second co-founder of the company, in the same video.
The company says the Aptera’s solar panels will deliver 40 miles of range from charging per sunny day, but the car can be plugged in like any other EV. Aptera also maintains that its vehicle will have 1,000 miles of range because of this perfect aerodynamism, low-weight, and efficient drivetrain. Source: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-car-fueled-entirely-by-the-sun-takes-huge-step-towards-production/
Alstom, global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, on Wednesday announced the launch of the world’s first hydrogen powered train, the Coradia iLint, setting another historical milestone. The train has started plying on the world’s premiere 100 per cent hydrogen train route in Bremervörde, Lower Saxony, Germany, for passenger service. This regional train only emits steam and condensed water while operating with a low level of noise. Altom has developed 14 vehicles with fuel cell propulsion for Landesnahverkehrsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (LNVG). LNVG had started looking for alternatives to diesel trains in 2012, providing the momentum for the development of the trains in Germany. Other project partners for this world debut are the Elbe-Weser railways and transport company (evb) and the gas and engineering company Linde. “Emission free mobility is one of the most important goals for ensuring a sustainable future and Alstom has a clear ambition to become the world leader in alternative propulsion systems for rail. The world’s first hydrogen train, the Coradia iLint, demonstrates our clear commitment to green mobility combined with state-of-the-art technology. We are very proud to bring this technology into series operation as part of a world premiere, together with our great partners,” said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO and chairman of the board of Alstom. On the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude, 14 hydrogen-powered Alstom regional trains will be operated by evb on behalf of LNVG, gradually replacing 15 diesel trains. They will be fuelled daily and around the clock at the Linde hydrogen filling station. Thanks to a range of 1,000 kilometres, the Alstom multiple units of the Coradia iLint model, which are emission-free in operation, can run all day long on just one tank of hydrogen on the evb network. In September 2018, there had been a successful trial run of almost two years with two pre-series trains. “Emission free mobility is one of the most important goals for ensuring a sustainable future and Alstom has a clear ambition to become the world leader in alternative propulsion systems for rail. The world’s first hydrogen train, the Coradia iLint, demonstrates our clear commitment to green mobility combined with state-of-the-art technology,” Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO and chairman of the board of Alstom, said. “Despite numerous electrification projects in several countries, a significant part of Europe’s rail network will remain non-electrified in the long term. In many countries, the number of diesel trains in circulation is still high, with more than 4,000 cars in Germany, for instance,” he pointed out. Alstom currently has four contracts for hydrogen fuel cell powered regional trains. Two are in Germany, the first for 14 Coradia iLint trains in the region of Lower Saxony, and the second for 27 Coradia iLint trains in the Frankfurt metropolitan area. The third contract comes from Italy where Alstom is building 6 Coradia Stream hydrogen trains in the region of Lombardy – with the option for 8 more, while the fourth is in France for 12 Coradia Polyvalent hydrogen trains shared across four different French regions. Furthermore, the Coradia iLint has been successfully tested in Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden to name a few. The Coradia iLint is the world’s first passenger train to run on a hydrogen fuel cell that generates electrical energy for propulsion. This completely emission-free train is quiet and emits only water vapour and condensation. The Coradia iLint features several innovations: clean energy conversion, flexible energy storage in batteries, and intelligent management of motive power and available energy. Specifically developed for use on non-electrified lines, it enables clean, sustainable train operation while maintaining high performance. On evb’s network, the train travels at speeds of 80 to 120, with a maximum speed of 140 kilometres per hour. The iLint was designed by Alstom teams in Salzgitter (Germany), its centre of excellence for regional trains, and in Tarbes (France), centre of excellence for traction systems. The project benefits from the support of the German government and the development of the Coradia iLint was funded as part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) by the German government. The Coradia iLint is the 2022 German Sustainability Design Award recipient. The award recognises technical and social solutions that are particularly effective in driving the transformation to sustainable products, production, consumption, or lifestyle in line with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. The Linde facility in Bremervörde contains sixty-four 500-bar high-pressure storage tanks with a total capacity of 1,800 kg, six hydrogen compressors and two fuel pumps. The use of hydrogen as a fuel for trains noticeably reduces the burden on the environment, as one kg of hydrogen replaces approximately 4.5 litres of diesel fuel. A later hydrogen production on site by means of electrolysis and regeneratively generated electricity is planned; corresponding expansion areas are available.The project is funded by the federal ministry of digital affairs and transport as part of the National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Programme. The federal government is contributing 8.4 million euros to the costs of the vehicles and 4.3 million euros to the costs of the filling station. The funding directive is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Julich (PtJ). Source: https://www.domain-b.com/
Tata Motors on Thursday unveiled a state-of-the-art electric vehicle technology ‘Ziptron’, which will power a range of aspirational Tata electric cars, starting with a new launch in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
The new technology will form the basis of Tata Motors’ future EVs, and with it the auto major will ramp up its presence in the electric vehicle segment. The new technology, branded ‘Ziptron’, will first be used on a model set for launch in early 2020.
“Ziptron, a soon to be introduced EV powertrain technology, is a building block towards Tata Motors’ consistent strive for commonality, to drive economies of scale and to make new technologies affordable for the Indian consumers. It embodies distinctive characteristics: efficient high voltage system, zippy performance, long range, fast charging capability, battery with warranty of 8 years, and adherence to IP67 standard,” Tata Motors stated in a release.
Tata Motors says Ziptron has been developed keeping Indian climatic and traffic conditions in mind, and also addresses typical EV buyers' concerns of performance, range and safety.
While Tata Motors has not revealed final specifications as yet, company spokespersons announced that cars built with Ziptron will have a “minimum range of 250km” and will support fast charging. The battery pack comprises lithium-ion cells and features liquid cooling to maintain the ideal operating temperature. The battery pack comes in a high-strength steel casing and boasts an IP67 rating, assuring highest standards for waterproofing and dust protection. Tata Motors will offer a standard eight-year warranty on the battery pack and motor.
The high-voltage 300V-plus permanent magnet synchronous electric motor also promises to be leagues ahead of the 72V AC induction-type motor on the Tigor EV in performance and output. The motor will come mated to a single-ratio transmission that has been optimised for Indian traffic. Ziptron cars will also feature drive modes to give drivers the option to maximise range or enhance performance.
Speaking at the launch, Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD, Tata Motors said the state-of-art technology brand `Ziptron’ has been designed in-house while utilising the group’s global engineering network.
“At the heart of our future EV line-up, this technology will deliver a thrilling driving experience to our customers aspiring to go-green. Rigorously tested across 1 million kms, Ziptron technology is well proven, advanced and reliable. With this technology, we hope to usher in a new wave of eMobility in India and accelerate faster adoption of EVs, supporting the government’s vision,” he added.
Connected technology will also be part of the package on Tata’s upcoming electric cars giving buyers remote access to vehicle health, status and location reports.
Ziptron technology comprises a highly efficient permanent magnet AC motor providing superior performance on demand. It also offers best in industry dust and water proof battery system meeting IP67 standards. Further, Ziptron utilises smart regenerative braking to charge the battery while on the drive, the company stated.
Along with Ziptron, Tata Motors also rolled out the Ziptron Freedom 2.0 campaign. This campaign aims at highlighting how this technology breaks existing barriers and provides freedom from pollution, addresses range anxiety, and offers electrifying driving performance. Source: https://www.domain-b.com/
The world's first fully electric commercial aircraft took its inaugural test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and offering hope that airlines may one day free themselves from polluting fossil fuels and end their polluting emissions.
The first flight of the fully electric commercial aircraft took place on Tuesday around Vancouver, Canada. The whole flight lasted just 15 minutes.
The plane was a 62-year-old, six-passenger seaplane that had been retrofitted with an electric motor. It was designed by Australian engineering firm MagniX and tested in partnership with Harbour Air, the world’s largest seaplane airline.
Harbour Air says it plans to electrify its entire fleet by 2022, depending on whether it can secure the necessary safety and regulatory approvals. The aircraft can only fly about 100 miles (160 kilometers) for now, but that’s sufficient for the sort of short-hop journeys the airline needs.
However, Harbour Air will have to wait at least two years before it can begin electrifying its fleet of more than 40 seaplanes. The e-plane needs to be tested further to confirm it is reliable and safe. In addition, the electric motor must be approved and certified by regulators.
Harbour Air ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities.
"For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids. I actually had to back off on the power," he said.
"This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work," said Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Seattle-based engineering firm MagniX.
Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines - not to mention zero emissions.
"This signifies the start of the electric aviation age," he told reporters.
Civil aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to get off the ground.
At 285 grammes of CO2 emitted per kilometre travelled by each passenger, airline industry emissions far exceed those from all other modes of transport, according to the European Environment Agency. The emissions contribute to global warming and climate change, which scientists say will unleash ever harsher droughts, superstorms, and sea-level rise.
In Ottawa, transport minister Marc Garneau told reporters ahead of the maiden flight that if the flight proves successful. "it could set a trend for more environmentally friendly flying."
While battery power can be used to fly about 160 kilometers on lithium battery power, Ganzarski said, "The range now is not where we'd love it to be, but it's enough to start the revolution."
The aviation sector is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, and a move to electric mode is the ultimate goal for many in the industry.Source: https://www.domain-b.com/
domain-b: Self-driving cars are involved in fewer crashes on average than vehicles with a driver behind the wheel, a study released on Friday by the Virginia TechTransportation Institute shows. The study was commissioned by Alphabet Inc's Google unit, which has reported a series of minor crashes involving its self-driving fleet. It looked only at Google's fleet of more than 50 self-driving cars, which has logged 1.3 million miles in Texas and California in self-driving mode. The test fleet has reported 17 crashes over the last six years, although none were the fault of the self-driving cars, Google said. After adjusting for severity and accounting for crashes not reported to police, the study estimated cars with drivers behind the wheel are involved in 4.2 crashes per million miles, versus 3.2 crashes per million miles for self-driving cars in autonomous mode. Crash rates for conventional vehicles at all severity levels were higher
than self-driving crash rates, the study found. A 2015 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found about 60 percent of property-damage-only crashes and 24 percent of all injury crashes are not reported to the police. California law requires all crashes involving self-driving vehicles be reported to police. Google spokesman Johnny Luu said the company asked Virginia Tech "to look into the topic given the interest and develop a robust methodology to be able to make meaningful comparison between regular cars on the road as well as our self-driving cars". Luu said the study "will be helpful making apples-to-apples comparisons moving forward". A study released in October by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute compared crash rates among Google, Delphi and Audi self-driving cars in 2013 and found they had a higher rate than for conventional cars. But that study noted the low volume of driver-less miles -- 1.2 million compared with 3 trillion miles driven annually on US roads. In December, California proposed state regulations that would require all autonomous cars to have a steering wheel, throttle and brake pedals when operating on California's public roads. A licensed driver would need to be in the driver's seat ready to take over in the event something went wrong. Google, eager to demonstrate its vehicles are safe, criticized the proposed rule, which it said would maintain "the same old status quo and falls short on allowing this technology to reach its full potential, while excluding those who need to get around but cannot drive". Source: domain-b.com, Image: @flickr.com/photos/markdoliner/7694478124
An EU-funded project has flown a drone controlled from the ground using only a person's brainwaves. The technology could one day make it easier to pilot larger aircraft, such as cargo jets, and result in safer airways, say the project's researchers. The BRAINFLIGHT project’s demonstration of a control system to interpret a humans brain signals and convert them into commands took place at a small airport near Lisbon, Portugal in May 2014. An operator wearing a skin-tight head cap that picks up electric signals from brain activity was able to control the drone's path by thinking about the movements he wanted it to take during the live test. The drone was a specially equipped model of a plane about half the length of a human. Essentially, the electricity flowing through a pilot's brain acts as an input to the drone's control system to follow a flight path, says project coordinator Andre Oliveira, of Tekever in Portugal. The demonstration results suggest that the technology could eventually be used to help pilots fly small aeroplanes and even large cargo jets more efficiently – increasing safety in the air. A more developed system, once authorised for use, could allow pilots to concentrate more than is currently possible on evaluating their current flight situation, while another part of their brain focuses simultaneously on controlling the plane. The system, in effect, transforms thoughts into an additional ‘hand’, or way to control flight. The project suggests that larger jets, such as cargo planes, could even be controlled this way without the need for a crew on board. But a fully developed system would take some time before it could become operational “during this century”, says Oliveira. Much more development work is needed, along with testing and regulatory clearance, before it can be put into commercial use. “This is an amazing high-risk and high-payoff project, with a long-term impact that will require a lot more development,” he adds. “We truly believe that BRAINFLIGHT represents the beginning of a tremendous step change in the aviation field, empowering pilots and reducing risks.” From theory to flight An increasing proportion of a pilot’s workload is related to managing flight, which requires checking instruments, verifying aircraft systems, navigating, observing the surroundings, and carrying out a number of pre-defined procedures – all while flying an aircraft. When pilots have to do both types of activities at the same time, such as when landing or flying in poor visibility, they need to divide their attention and cognitive skills between thosedifferent activities and become more prone to making errors, says Oliveira. BRAINFLIGHT based its research on previous studies that revealed how the brain’s neuron activity is capable of providing enough data to enable the control of electronic devices. The researchers adapted high-performance electroencephalogram (EEG) technology so it could issue instructions to software that can guide an aircraft. The project also investigated the best approaches to train pilots to use the technology. Test subjects were trained to use the system over a number of months until they were able to control a circle on a computer screen, moving it up or down using only their thoughts, simulating steering a drone. The subjects then successfully tested the system in a flight simulator for the Diamond DA42, a four-seat, propeller-driven aircraft. The later demonstration in Portugal using a drone controlled by a pilot on the ground marked the project’s conclusion in May 2014. Tekever is continuing to develop the demonstration system. The company says it believes people will eventually be able to “pilot aircraft just like they perform everyday activities like walking or running”. The technology could be adapted in the short term to enable people with physical disabilities to control aircraft, opening the way for them to become pilots, says Oliveira. The pilot is wearing a white cap with myriad attached cables. His gaze is concentrated on the runway ahead of him. All of a sudden the control stick starts to move, as if by magic. The airplane banks and then approaches straight on towards the runway. The position of the plane is corrected time and again until the landing gear gently touches down. DURING Maneuver the Entire Touches Neither the pilot Pedals nor controls. This is not A scene from A Science Fiction Movie, But rather the rendition of A test at the Institute for Flight System Dynamics of the Technische Universität München (TUM). Scientists working for Professor Florian Holzapfel are researching ways in which brain controlled flight might work in the EU-funded project "Brainflight." "A long-term vision of the project is to make flying accessible to more people," explains aerospace engineer Tim Fricke, who heads the project at TUM. "With brain control, flying, in itself, could become easier. This would reduce the work load of pilots and thereby increase safety. In addition, pilots would have more freedom of movement to manage other manual tasks in the cockpit." Another area of application is advanced prosthetics – the technology could enable people with severe physical disabilities to interact with their surroundings more easily. The project results could also be adapted to control other complex systems, like cars, boats and trains, says Oliveira. Contacts and sources: Research and Innovation: European Commission. Source: Article
The solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, flying from Japan to Hawaii, on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid, has beaten the record for the longest solo flight, organisers said yesterday. They admitted though that veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was exhausted after over four days of continuous flying, which made the final 24 hours of flight particularly challenging. The plane was set to land this morning local time at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Honolulu. By 7:30pm GMT (1am IST, Friday) on Thursday, Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 86 per cent of the way to the tropical US state, after flying 7,075 kilometers. However, it was in the process of crossing a cold front that required careful navigation on the part of Borschberg, which would significantly increase stress levels for the 62-year-old. Borschberg had so far flown over 97 hours easily beating the previous longest solo endurance flight undertaken in 2006. The Japan to Hawaii trip was expected to take 120 hours. The Swiss aviator was napping for only 20 minutes at a time so as to maintain control of the pioneering plane and has on the plane a parachute and life raft, in case he needed to ditch in the Pacific. The experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 6pm GMT (11:30pm IST) on Sunday the early hours of Monday local time after spending a month in the central city of Nagoya. The aircraft, piloted alternately by Swiss explorers Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, embarked on its 22,000-mile (35,000-km) journey around the world from Abu Dhabi on 9 March. ''Can you imagine that a solar powered airplane without fuel can now fly longer than a jet plane!'' said Piccard in a statement. ''This is a clear message that clean technologies can achieve impossible goals.'' The plane, weighs about as much as a family sedan and has 17,000 solar cells across its wingspan. The aircraft was expected to make the trip around the globe in some 25 flight days, broken up into 12 legs at speeds between 30 to 60 miles per hour. The Solar Impulse 2 initially left Nanjing, China, on 31 May for Hawaii, but its bid was cut short a day later due to what Borschberg termed ''a wall of clouds'' over the Pacific. The plane landed in the central Japanese city of Nagoya. The solo record was earlier set in 2006 by American adventurer Steve Fossett, who flew the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer for 76 hours non-stop. Source: domain-b.com
The Virgin tycoon believes all-electric and solar-powered racing cars will prove more attractive to sponsors and racing enthusiasts within the next four or five years. Richard Branson celebrates with Formula E inaugural champion Nelson Piquet Jr in London. Richard Branson, the British billionaire and owner of the Virgin brand, suggested at the weekend that the pace of development of electric vehicles (EV) is so great that the all-electric Formula E racing series will soon surpass Formula 1 as the de facto choice for racing enthusiasts and sponsors. Speaking ahead of the U.K.’s first-ever 100% electric motor car race in London at the weekend – which featured solar-charged vehicles at the Battersea Park track in front of 60,000 spectators – Branson was bullish on EVs’ potential to seriously disrupt the automobile industry in all its guises."I think there is still going to be room for Formula 1 in the next few years, but four or five years from now you will see Formula E overtaking Formula 1," said the tycoon. "Just as clean energy type of businesses will power ahead of other types of businesses." Branson said that he is "willing to bet" that 20 years from now no new vehicles will be made anywhere in the world that are not powered by an electric battery. "The current technology is antiquated and polluting and will disappear. Like other sectors, everything will be clean and companies that move quickest in that area are going to dominate the marketplace." The Formula E racing series – the first season of which was fittingly won at the weekend by Nelson Piquet Jr, the son of Formula 1 legend Nelson Piquet – has attracted a strong following in a relatively short space of time since its opening race in Beijing last year. Hailed as a "sexy" breakthrough in clean energy by Branson, the Formula E series is set to push clean technology to its limits in the same way that Formula 1 drove the development of traditional motoring. "Ten or 20 years ago, people might have thought electric cars were what granny drove, but now they see wonderful hybrids, Elon Musk’s cars, or Formula E vehicles going 140mph around the track," added Branson. "I think it will spur on the revolution the world needs." Showcasing the power of solar: The final race in London at the weekend was the first in the world to use cars that have been regularly charged by solar, with even the safety and medical cars powered by solar-powered batteries located in the pit lane. The entire event was also connected to a small off-grid solar station consisting of 26 solar panels. This tiny array was used to power the big screens that displayed the race, as well as cell phone recharging stations and ticket scanners. Although the 10 two-car teams were not directly solar-powered, the potential is there in the future, said FIA Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag. "The problem with solar is the rhythm at which the energy is generated or the amount of panels you need at any given moment. To charge all the racing cars, we would have to cover the whole park with solar panels." Agag added, however, that Formula E’s denouement demonstrated what is possible. "Now what you need is to be able to store the energy because if you can store it [the solar power] for a day you have enough energy to charge the cars." Agag spoke at the annual Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership conference in London last week, where it was revealed that the U.K. plans to have "every car on the road ultra low emission" by 2050. "One day, electric vehicles will be the clear choice for the majority of drivers," said Andrew Jones MP. "This is a huge opportunity to make the U.K. one of the world’s leading markets and producers of electric cars." According to government forecasts, replacing the country’s fleet of private cars with EVs would help to prevent as many as 29,000 deaths – caused by pollutants – annually. A study in March by Cambridge Econometrics found that the U.K. could cut its oil imports by 40% if six million EVs were deployed on British roads. This would also lead to a 47% drop in carbon emissions by 2030, saving each motorist more than $1,500 a year in fuel bills. The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership surveyed motorists about their future purchases and found tha t almost half polled expect their next car to be an EV. "The world is moving in our direction," said Agag. "It is not so easy to change the minds of 50 and 60 year olds, but the important ones are the kids because when they become 18 they will want to buy a car. We can have an effect on new generations." Source: PV-Magazine
The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is an electric vehicle that can be charged while stationary or driving, thus removing the need to stop at a charging station. Likewise, an OLEV tram does not require pantographs to feed power from electric wires strung above the tram route. Following the development and operation of commercialized OLEV trams (at an amusement park in Seoul) and shuttle buses (at KAIST campus), respectively, the City of Gumi in South Korea, beginning on August 6th, is providing its citizens with OLEV public transportation services. Two OLEV buses will run an inner city route between Gumi Train Station and In-dong district, for a total of 24 km roundtrip. The bus will receive 20 kHz and 100 kW (136 horsepower) electricity at an 85% maximum power transmission efficiency rate while maintaining a 17cm
OLEV tram, Credit: KAIST
air gap between the underbody of the vehicle and the road surface. OLEV is a groundbreaking technology that accelerates the development of purely electric vehicles as a viable option for future transportation systems, be they personal vehicles or public transit. This is accomplished by solving technological issues that limit the commercialization of electric vehicles such as price, weight, volume, driving distance, and lack of charging infrastructure. OLEV receives power wirelessly through the application of the “Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR)” technology. SMFIR is a new technology introduced by KAIST that enables electric vehicles to transfer electricity wirelessly from the road surface while moving. Power comes from the electrical cables buried under the surface of the road, creating magnetic fields. There is a receiving device installed on the underbody of the OLEV that converts these fields into electricity. The length of power strips installed under the road is generally 5%-15% of the entire road, requiring only a few sections of the road to be rebuilt with the embedded cables. OLEV has a small battery (one-third of the size of the battery equipped with a regular electric car). The vehicle complies with the international electromagnetic fields (EMF) standards of 62.5 mG, within the margin of safety level necessary for human health. The road has a smart function as well, to distinguish OLEV buses from regular cars—the segment technology is employed to control the power supply by switching on the power strip when OLEV buses pass along, but switching it off for other vehicles, thereby preventing EMF exposure and standby power consumption. As of today, the SMFIR technology supplies 60 kHz and 180 kW of power remotely to transport vehicles at a stable, constant rate. Dong-Ho Cho, a professor of the electrical engineering and the director of the Center for Wireless Power Transfer Technology Business Development at KAIST, said: “It’s quite remarkable that we succeeded with the OLEV project so that buses are offering public transportation services to passengers. This is certainly a turning point for OLEV to become more commercialized and widely accepted for mass transportation in our daily living.” After the successful operation of the two OLEV buses by the end of this year, Gumi City plans to provide ten more such buses by 2015. Contacts and sources: Dong-Ho Cho, Professor of Electrical Engineering Department, KAIST, Director of Center for Wireless Power Transfer Technology Business Development, KAIST (http://smfir.co.kr/) Source: ineffableisland.com
By Dan McCue, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. will begin selling its 100 percent electric commercial vehicle, the "e-NV200," in Japan next year, with the intention of eventually offering it to prospective buyers worldwide. The e-NV200 is the Yokohama, Japan-based auto makter's second all-electric model available globally, following on the heels of its successful = Nissan LEAF. Production of the e-NV200 will begin at Nissan’s plant in Barcelona, Spain in mid-2014, the company said. In order to establish an effective model case that leverages the characteristics of e-NV200, Nissan is discussing specific strategies with Yokohama's city government. Under consideration are the use of e-NV200 by Yokohama city for its public services vehicles and the establishment of a vehicle monitor user program which would be available to all city residents. Nissan and the city are already collaborating on the "Yokohama Mobility Project Zero," which aims to create a working model of a functional city with a low carbon footprint. Activities so far have included the use of Nissan LEAF and the Nissan New Mobility CONCEPT, an ultra-compact electric vehicle. The parties may expand the project with the introduction of e-NV200. Measures to utilize the e-NV200 are evolving in Barcelona, Spain, which is involved in a mutually cooperative arrangement with Yokohama city in the formation and development of smart cities. Plans are being made to use the e-NV200 for smart transportation in Barcelona, such as for taxis. Along with this, preparations are in process to install a quick charger network and dedicated EV parking areas to support the taxis. For additional information: Nissan Motor Co., e-NV200 information, Source: Renewable Energy Magazine
The Epic Electric American Road Trip, a 24-day, 12,183-mile battery-powered journey sponsored by electric vehicle (EV) software and information services company Recargo Inc. came to its triumphant conclusion on 22 April 2014. Now the sponsors are seeking Guinness World Record verification for longest vehicle journey ever taken using 100 percent electric power, a trip they say served to emphasize the possibilities of the nation's current electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Norman Hajjar, Managing Director of Recargo's driver research division, PlugInsights, crossed the finish line in a stock Tesla Model S sedan. At the trip's end, Norman has ventured across a 27-state route spanning the four corners of the lower 48 states: Washington, Maine, Florida, and California, ending at Recargo's offices in Venice, California. Hajjar took advantage of Tesla's newly built, proprietary string of cross-country "Supercharger" stations, in order to make the coast-to-coast electric venture. "We wanted to illustrate what's possible with the nation's charging infrastructure, and draw attention to needs for further improvement," said Norman Hajjar. "The plausibility of a mass switch to EV usage in America simply can't be separated from the need for a robust fast-charging network. I've traveled over 12,000 miles in under 3.5 weeks. With the proper infrastructure, there's nothing an EV can't do." Recargo's Epic Electric American Road Trip navigated via PlugShare, the company's widely used mobile app directory of public electric vehicle charging stations. PlugShare helps electric vehicle drivers pinpoint charging locations from a database of over 48,000 public charging stations worldwide. The Epic Electric American Road Trip was be powered by a new version of PlugShare.com for Tesla drivers, uniquely adapted to the Model S's 17" touch screen monitor. For additional information: Recargo Inc.Road Trip Website, Source: Article
Car manufacturer Nissan has developed a new and stylish ‘wedge’ shaped electric car called the ‘BladeGlider’ which it describes as a proposal for the future direction of Nissan EV development The company developed the vehicle in order to give both the driver and passengers a new, sustainable and exhilarating driving experience. It has a unique architecture which Nissan describes as ‘targeting the visionary individual’ and incorporates a ‘pioneering’ spirit that distinguishes it from anything yet envisioned for EV’s. “The goal was to revolutionise the architecture of the vehicle to provoke new emotions, provide new value and make visible for consumers how Zero Emissions can help redefine our conception of vehicle basics” said Francois Bancon, division general manager of Product Strategy and Product Planning at Nissan. The car has a narrow front track which is designed to challenge the orthodoxy of car design that the company says has dominated the roads since the earliest days of the internal combustion engine. The concept has its roots in the aerial images of a soaring, silent, glider and the triangular shape of a high performance "swept wing" aircraft. This means that the main developmental focus was aerodynamics in order to achieve low drag and generating a road-hugging downforce. “BladeGlider was conceived around delivering a glider-like exhilaration that echoes its lightweight, downsized hyper-efficient aerodynamic form” said Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's senior vice president and chief creative officer. “This design is more than revolutionary; it's transformational, applying our most advanced electric drive-train technology and racetrack-inspired styling in the service of a new dimension of shared driving pleasure.” The BladeGliders front wheels are set close together in order to reduce drag and enhance manoeuvrability for high-G cornering power. This in turn is assisted by a 30/70 front/rear weight distribution ratio while the aerodynamic downforce is created by a highly rigid yet lightweight carbon-fibre underbody. In-wheel motors provide rear-wheel propulsion with independent motor management, while also contributing to freedom of upper body design and space-efficient packaging. Once the BladeGlider matures into a production car, it will be the first time Nissan has used in-wheel motors. The car’s electric motors employ lithium-ion batteries which have already demonstrated proven performance in the Nissan LEAF EV. In the BladeGlider the battery modules are mounted low and towards the rear to enhance stability and handling. The cockpit inside the car’s canopy seats three occupants in a triangular configuration with the driver sat centre-forward. The steering wheel is like that inside an aircraft and the dashboard incorporates state-of-the-art instrumentation technology which includes an IT system displaying relief maps and atmospheric data. “I think that the excitement of the racing car should be mirrored in the excitement of driving the road car” said Ben Bowlby, director of Nissan Motorsport Innovation, who has supported the BladeGlider's development. “I think there are elements we can bring from the race track to make these future road cars more exciting, more fulfilling and give greater driving pleasure.” For additional information: Nissan, Source: Article, Image: flickr.com
The solar plane, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, will circumnavigate the world in March 2015. (Reuters)
A next generation solar-powered plane that will fly around the world for five consecutive days next year without using any fuel has been developed. The solar plane, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, will circumnavigate the world in March 2015. Swiss pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, who unveiled the futuristic flying machine in a ceremony, hopes to accomplish the first around-the-world flight in a solar-powered aircraft. Solar Impulse officials said the plane will take off from the Gulf region, and will fly over the Arabian Sea, China, the Pacific Ocean, the US, the Atlantic Ocean and Southern Europe or North Africa. Landings will be made every few days to change pilots and to accommodate outreach events with participating governments and schools, ‘LiveScience’ reported. “Today, we are one step closer to our dream of flying around the world on solar power,” Piccard said. Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan that stretches 72 meters, longer than a Boeing 747 commercial jet. According to the company, the wings are covered with 17,000 solar cells that power the plane’s various systems. The upgraded aircraft also features a larger cockpit with better ergonomic designs, which will help Borschberg and Piccard live comfortably in the space during the nearly weeklong flight. to help us personalise your reading experience. The plane will undergo a series of test flights in May, followed by training flights over Switzerland, the company said. Borschberg and Piccard are aiming to begin their round-the-world journey in March 2015. Last year, Borschberg and Piccard flew a first-generation prototype of the Solar Impulse plane on a record-setting coast-to-coast flight across the US. Source: The Indian Express
Car manufacturer Nissan has developed a new and stylish ‘wedge’ shaped electric car called the ‘BladeGlider’ which it describes as a proposal for the future direction of Nissan EV development The company developed the vehicle in order to give both the driver and passengers a new, sustainable and exhilarating driving experience. It has a unique architecture which Nissan describes as ‘targeting the visionary individual’ and incorporates a ‘pioneering’ spirit that distinguishes it from anything yet envisioned for EV’s. “The goal was to revolutionise the architecture of the vehicle to provoke new emotions, provide new value and make visible for consumers how Zero Emissions can help redefine our conception of vehicle basics” said Francois Bancon, division general manager of Product Strategy and Product Planning at Nissan. The car has a narrow front track which is designed to challenge the orthodoxy of car design that the company says has dominated the roads since the earliest days of the internal combustion engine. The concept has its roots in the aerial images of a soaring, silent, glider and the triangular shape of a high performance "swept wing" aircraft. This means that the main developmental focus was aerodynamics in order to achieve low drag and generating a road-hugging down force. “BladeGlider was conceived around delivering a glider-like exhilaration that echoes its lightweight, downsized hyper-efficient aerodynamic form” said Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's senior vice president and chief creative officer. “This design is more than revolutionary; it's transformational, applying our most advanced electric drive-train technology and racetrack-inspired styling in the service of a new dimension of shared driving pleasure.” The BladeGliders front wheels are set close together in order to reduce drag and enhance manoeuvrability for high-G cornering power. This in turn is assisted by a 30/70 front/rear weight distribution ratio while the aerodynamic downforce is created by a highly rigid yet lightweight carbon-fibre underbody. In-wheel motors provide rear-wheel propulsion with independent motor management, while also contributing to freedom of upper body design and space-efficient packaging. Once the BladeGlider matures into a production car, it will be the first time Nissan has used in-wheel motors. The car’s electric motors employ lithium-ion batteries which have already demonstrated proven performance in the Nissan LEAF EV. In the Blade Glider the battery modules are mounted low and towards the rear to enhance stability and handling. The cockpit inside the car’s canopy seats three occupants in a triangular configuration with the driver sat centre-forward. The steering wheel is like that inside an aircraft and the dashboard incorporates state-of-the-art instrumentation technology which includes an IT system displaying relief maps and atmospheric data. “I think that the excitement of the racing car should be mirrored in the excitement of driving the road car” said Ben Bowlby, director of Nissan Motorsport Innovation, who has supported the BladeGlider's development. “I think there are elements we can bring from the race track to make these future road cars more exciting, more fulfilling and give greater driving pleasure.”For additional information: Nissan Source: Renewable Energy Magazine, Image
credit – Aptera, via X
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