Items tagged with Transportation
GE has announced that it has a new jet engine that has lifted off for the first time. The maiden flight of the GE9X jet engine happened on March 13 and it was hung under the wing of GE Aviation's 747 flying testbed in Victorville, California for the flight. One glance at the images and you can see just how massive the new GE9x engine is compared to the legacy engines that are slung under the wings of the 747. GE is designing the massive engine specifically for the Boeing 777X aircraft and the engine makes 100,000 pounds of thrust. The engine flew for over four hours on its maiden flight and was able to complete the entire test card and was validated for operational and functional characteristics....
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Uber, a pioneer in ridesharing, just can't seem to avoid controversy. The latest one involves alleged collusion to drive up prices in certain cities with large populations. If true, it would be another black eye for Uber, which once admitted to (and promised to stop) using special software to evade law enforcement and has been at the center of a sexual harassment scandal. In this instance, researchers at the University of Warwick claim that to have evidence that Uber drivers in London and New York have been manipulating the ridesharing service's mobile app to make it look like there is a shortage of cars in the area. The reason for doing so is to drive up the price of fares, which happens when...
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Hyperloop One may one day rule modern long-range transportation. For now, it is a work in progress and things seem to be going relatively smooth, and fast—Hyperloop One's first generation XP-1 pod just recently set a personal speed record by traveling up to 310 km/h (192 mph) during a 500 meter (1,640 ft) test run at its full-scale test track in Nevada. That is the fastest speed ever achieved by Hyperloop and even trumps test runs performed by research organizations participating in SpaceX's pod design competition. It was actually achieved within a 300 meter acceleration phase. The remaining 200 meters were used for gradual braking so that the Hyperloop One could slow down and ultimately come...
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Expanding a recall dating back to 2008, Japanese automobile airbag manufacturer Takata Corp is doubling the number of recalls for its potentially lethal product in the U.S. from 16.6 million to approximately 34 million vehicles (about one in seven of the over 250 million vehicles on American roads), which makes it the largest such recall in American history. The U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in conjunction with Takata state that the recall affects passenger- and driver-side airbag inflators that are installed in vehicles made by 11 automobile manufacturers. “We are committed to continuing to work...
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Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk couldn't stop talking about the future of transportation in 2013, and specifically about Hyperloop, an ultra high-speed vacuum transport system that could shuttle you to your destination at a frighteningly fast pace (think in the neighborhood of 800 miles per hour!). Though things have been quiet on the Hyperloop front as of late, Musk is still determined to see the project through, starting with a test track in Texas. There aren't a ton of details to go on at this point, but through a series of Twitter posts, we know that Musk is planning to build a Hyperloop test track for companies and student teams to test out their prototype pod designs....
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Despite the negative press over class action lawsuits and questionable tactics, Uber wants cities to know that it can be of benefit, not just to people in need of a ride from point A to point B, but also in shaping more efficient transportation. Uber's pitch is that its level of data collection is unmatched and can be of great benefit to municipal partners. "To date, most cities have not had access to granular data describing the flows and trends of private traffic. The data provided by Uber will help policymakers and city planners develop a more detailed understanding of where people in the city need to go and how to improve traffic flows and congestion to get them there,"...
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The jokes practically write themselves with this one, though in all seriousness, the UK is tickled pink (or brown) to have its first bus powered by food waste and human feces. Sounds disgusting, right? Far be it for us to argue against that one, though the upside to running on gas generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste is that it helps to improve urban air quality. That may sound like the equivalent of someone saying their flatulence smells like roses, but in reality, these poo-powered buses produce fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines. They're also capable of traveling up to 300 kilometers (over 186 miles) on a full tank of gas generated at Bristol sewage treatment...
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Lyft, a privately held ridesharing service headquartered in San Francisco, has pulled over curbside to pick up Hitch, a carpooling startup also located in the most densely populated city in California (and second most densely populated city in the entire U.S. after New York City). The acquisition will be used to accelerate Lyft Line, Lyft's own carpooling service. "We’re excited to welcome current Hitch drivers into the Lyft community, many of whom are already signed on as ridesharing drivers," Lyft said in a blog post. "Lyft Line is in its early stages, and we’re only beginning to see what we can do with shared rides. We have seen incredible growth and demand for Lyft Line in San...
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Driverless cars will soon be cruising streets around the U.K., the country's Department for Transport (DOT) has confirmed. In a report released on Tuesday, the DOT said that by the end of this year, "semi-autonomous" cars will be tested on U.K. streets. The initiative is part of a broader strategy on the agency's part to reduce pollution and congestion on the country's roads. Driverless vehicles have become something of a star in the technology industry after Google showed off the technology it developed that allows for traveling without human interaction. Since then, several automakers, including Nissan and Toyota, have started investing in driverless technology, realizing that it's probably...
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Wireless power isn't really a reality even in the consumer world, but already we're seeing wireless options crop up for the precious few who own electric vehicles. Bosch is amongst the first, announcing the first commercially available wireless electric vehicle charging system in U.S. The company has teamed with Evatran Group to offer the $3000 Plugless Level 2 EV Charging System, alongside financing options for all offered electric vehicle charging stations and their installation. Bosch will provide the complete installation solution for the Plugless L2 System. A Bosch-certified electrician will install the home infrastructure portion of the system, and Bosch Car Service centers will install...
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With the classic automakers struggling to make ends meet in America, it's clear that the time has come for a new regime to usher in a new wave of automobiles. With companies such as Tesla and Lightning doing their best to produce affordable, reliable electric cards, neither has actually shown an ability to craft a vehicle that the layperson could afford. Coda Automotive, however, is hoping to add a real option at the lower-end in the electric car space.Introduced this week, the simply named Coda -- a four door, five passenger sedan with an all-electric drive train -- has been pegged with a 2010 ship date in California. The car was originally designed by one Miles Rubin, and he's remaining an...
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