MIT takes the wrappers off autonomous, robotic helicopter with intelligent navigation

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Advances in autonomous helicopters have been many over the years, but as far as we can tell, there's essentially no limit to how awesome they can get. MIT's recently developed an autonomous, robotic helicopter which is also able to navigate itself intelligently through a changing environment. The helicopter, which is equipped with a dual-camera array and a laser scanner, maps its terrain in real time, identifying changes along the way. An integrated autonomous exploration module allows the heli to interact with the changing, unknown environment it is mapping. The helicopter was shown off at the AUVSI 2009 International Aerial Robotics Competition, completing five missions -- a feat not before seen in the 19-year history of the show.

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The Coolest Car I Have Seen to Date

If Nissan has its way, your next car's cockpit will look like an star fighter out of Macross or Tron.

This is the Nissan Land Glider, an electric car with two seats. it has a narrow body, which Nissan says will help reduce traffic congestion by allowing more cars in the same city space, as well as making parking easier. It has a balancing system to make it stable as it takes curves, compensating for inertia with the car's body movement.

The winner, however, is that stunning cockpit equipped with flat color screens and joysticks with touch surfaces.

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This plug-in vehicle shoots for the moon

AutoblogGreen - With no time on its hands for promotional appearances at glitzy European autoshows, one of America's most advanced electric vehicles has been busy being put through its paces on the torturous terrain found at Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona. The Lunar Electric Rover (LER) has spent the last couple weeks wandering about this wasteland simulating a search for lost crew members in a trial that's putting the modern plug-in electric car architecture to the test.

Unlike the dune buggy-like moon rovers of yore, the Ford Ranger-sized LER depends on lithium ion batteries and is currently using a chemistry that packs 125 wh/kg of energy, though NASA, not unlike today's would-be electric car buyer, hopes to have at least a 60 percent improvement in that number before it leaves the launch pad. The pack will not only need to hold lots of juice but be engineered to perform without being affected by the exterior temperature which can swing from -153 C all the way up to 107 C. Unlike any electric earth-based vehicles (so far), the LEV has an exercise bike built in that can be used to give the batteries a boost in case of emergency or just to alleviate perceived range anxiety. Also, like many of the new breed of electric cars, the moon rover features an advanced navigation software. The improved smarts helped the rover track down the missing crew in less than an hour without any help from its heuristically programmed algorithmic computer. Hit the jump for a NASA Desert Rats video discussing the machine and its mission.

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Foldable, Carbon Fiber Bike Is Sleek, Useful High Wheeler

Gizmodo - This weird thing is a 1.2kW electric motor powered, carbon fiber foldable bike called the YikeBike. It's real, unfolds in 15 seconds, and aims to solve the eternal problem of urban mobility, and probably become Woz's favorite new toy.

Folded, the YikeBike only takes 6 x 23.6 x 23.6 inches (150 x 600 x 600 millimeters) and weighs 22 pounds (10 kilograms), so it can be easily carried around. And while its pneumatic wheels may follow an old high wheeler configuration, according to the manufacturer, this thing is designed to be easy to maneuver, and it's equipped with electronic brakes with built-in anti-skid system.

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Boeing aims sky-high with 'Phantom Ray'

The aerospace giant said Friday that intends to get its "Phantom Ray" technology demonstrator up in the air for its first flight in December 2010. The aircraft, intended as a test bed for advanced air systems, would make a total of 10 flights over a six-month stretch to show off its skills in missions ranging from surveillance to attack to autonomous aerial refueling.

Late in 2009, lab testing will begin for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and ground testing will follow in 2010. In putting the design through its paces, Boeing also aims to demonstrate its skills at rapid prototyping.

Boeing's Phantom Works unit won't be starting from scratch--it will be picking up where the company left off with its work on the Pentagon's Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program, which ended in 2006. (In this case, "joint" means a collaboration between the Air Force and the Navy--not always a recipe for success--along with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.) This time around, though, Boeing will be funding the project internally.

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100-MPG Delivery Van Is a Bright Idea

WIRED.com - A startup led by a veteran of General Motors EV1 program plans to put thousands of plug-in hybrid delivery vans on the road by 2012 and says "America needs" the 100-mpg vehicles.

Bright Automotive gave lawmakers a glimpse Tuesday of an eco-conscious truck called the "Idea" that promises low operating costs for fleet operators and less pollution for the rest of us.

The Indiana company joins a growing number of automakers and startups promising to give us cars with cords in the next few years, but it's targeting the fleet market. It's a smart move, said Darryl Siry, a clean tech analyst with Peppercom, because there's a need for fuel-efficient fleet vehicles.

The Bright Idea (a name too clever by half!) is aimed squarely at fleet customers -- the local cable company, the post office, that sort of thing. It's got lots of room -- 180 cubic feet, to be exact -- and a 2,000-pound payload. With a 50-mile, all-electric range, the Idea sounds like a great urban delivery rig.

It has a mixed hybrid drivetrain under the hood. A gasoline engine delivers the front wheels when needed (when the battery gets low) and helps recharge the battery pack as it approaches depletion. An electric motor drives the rear wheels. Bright is still shopping for an engine supplier, but the rest of the drivetrain will use Bosch and Getrag components.

The vehicle uses composite body panels and a lot of aluminum to keep the weight down and increase efficiency and range.

The company is looking to the Department of Energy for a $450 million loan to start production, and according to Dow Jones Newswire is in "very positive discussions" with the feds.

"Americans are demanding that we save money on energy and that we create jobs," Waters said. The company would use the money to build a factory capable of producing 50,000 vehicles annually.

While it might seem odd to focus on the fleet market, Waters says it makes sense. Fleet operators are more likely to be a "rapid adopter" of new technology. That makes it easier to "make a dent" in our oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions by bringing cleaner vehicles to the fleet vehicles that spend hours a day in stop-and-go traffic. Company chairman Reuben Munger says the firm is talking to PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division and Duke Energy about adding the Idea to their fleets.

GM, Segway To Unveil New Two-Wheeled Urban Vehicle

Jalopnik.com - GM and Segway will announce today they're working together to develop a two-wheeled, two-seat electric vehicle part of the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility or PUMA project.

The companies plan to announce Tuesday that they are working together to develop a two-wheeled, two-seat electric vehicle designed to be a fast, safe, inexpensive and clean alternative to traditional cars and trucks for cities across the world.

The Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, or PUMA mobility pod, also would involve a vast communications network that would allow vehicles to interact with each other, regulate the flow of traffic and prevent crashes from happening.

The 300-pound prototype runs on a lithium-ion battery and uses Segway's characteristic two-wheel balancing technology, along with dual electric motors. It's designed to reach speeds of up to 35 miles-per-hour and can run 35 miles on a single charge.


The companies did not release a projected cost for the vehicle, but said ideally its total operating cost — including purchase price, insurance, maintenance and fuel — would total between one-fourth and one-third of that of the average traditional vehicle.

Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development, and strategic planning, said the project is part of Detroit-based GM's effort to remake itself as a purveyor of fuel-efficient vehicles. If Hummer took GM to the large-vehicle extreme, Burns said, the PUMA takes GM to the other.

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Bring On The Affordable Green Sports Cars

WIRED - The hybrid revolution is well under way. Honda is rolling out the new Insight, the third-gen Prius is coming and even Ford's got a winner with the Fusion Hybrid. Nice cars one and all, but about as much fun as a root canal. Not one of them is something you'd back out of the garage on a Sunday morning to take for a quick blast up your favorite twisty road.

But don't worry. Affordable eco-conscious sports cars are coming, and soon.

We were impressed by the Prius, we love the Insight and we're thrilled to see Toyota rising to Honda's low-cost challenge with a Yaris-based hybrid. We're also eager to get behind the wheel of a Fusion hybrid. Cars like these are smart answers to thorny questions about fuel efficiency, oil dependence and CO2 emissions.

But they don't get the blood racing.

If automakers make green cars people want to drive as opposed to cars they think people should drive, everyone wins and the technology catches on that much faster. Tesla Motors gets it, but the Roadster runs 100 large. The Fisker Karma and electric Porsche that Ruf is working on won't be much cheaper. Make a green(er) car that's fun to drive, pleasant to look at and affordable and people will line up for them.

The auto industry is beginning to get this, and there are at least three cars - the Honda CR-Z hybrid, the Volkswagen BlueSport Roadster and the Toyota MR2 hybrid - poised to prove sports cars can be environmentally responsible and reasonably priced.

Of the three, only the CR-Z (main photo, above) is a sure-thing. Honda says we'll see the gas-electric two-seater - which beautifully updates the awesome CRX - in 2011. Word is it'll have a 140-horsepower motor mated to the IMA system found in the Insight and - importantly - a manual transmission. With a curb weight in the vicinity of 2,800 pounds coupled with a torquey electric motor and one of Honda's high-revving fours, how could it not be fun?

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Rumored Toyota Hybrid Sportscar is Prius-based

Reports claim Toyota may build an environmentally-friendly rear-wheel-drive Toyota MR2 coupe utilizing the Toyota Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive. A Prius-based MR2? Yeah, that'd be the third horseman of the Carpocalypse.

The car under speculation would be influenced by the FT-HS concept car Toyota trotted out a few years ago, which was then powered by a hybridized 3.5 liter V6.

The gasoline powerplant is not mentioned, but the car would get a heavily massaged version of the Hybrid Synergy Drive with gear selection courtesy of steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. An unnamed Toyota executive noted the targeted price point is somewhere around $24,000 with a 0-60 MPH time around 7 seconds. So a historically quirky, lightweight mid-engined, manual transmission sports car gets green by going heavy with hybrid bits, an automagic transmission and God-only-knows what powertrain layout.

Source: Gizmodo.com

Terrafugia "Flying Car" Makes First Flight

Jalopnik.com -- We're expecting more details out of a Terrafugia press conference at 9:30 AM this morning, but for the moment we're able to announce that the Transition, their first "roadable aircraft" (we're going to go ahead and call it a Jetsons-like "flying car"), took its official first flight on March 5th, 2009 at Plattsburgh International Airport. It's the first time we've seen an actually plausible "roadable aircraft" work in real life

What do we know about the Transition? Well, it's an unleaded-fueled front-wheel drive vehicle on the ground, It gets a fuel economy of around 30 MPG and has a top speed of 65 MPH. The design features an automotive-style entry and exit and it'll retail at a street price of $194,000 when it eventually goes on sale. But, you can reserve one now for just $10,000 at Terrafugia's website.

UPDATE: Terrafugia's just sent over the press release from this morning's press conference providing a few more details on the Transition. The most important? The two-seat aircraft is able to fly 450 miles at over 115 MPH and is designed to transform from plane to car in less than 30 seconds.

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Downloadable Dashboard Apps for Cars Coming in 2010

NYTimes.com - Hughes Telematics, which is behind the communications systems in Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz vehicles that are to make their debuts this summer, is headed in that direction. Its next-generation technology, expected to appear in 2010, would allow drivers to install software in their cars, just as iPhones let users download applications to their handsets.

For the eco-conscious, for example, an application the company is developing could track your peregrinations and estimate your total carbon emissions. It could offer tips on how to shrink your carbon footprint.

Other applications proposed by Hughes include remotely starting a car, resetting its alarm or unlocking the doors with an iPhone. Unlike wireless key fobs, commands could be sent to the car over the Internet.

Cars equipped with blind-spot-detection video cameras could be used to nab thieves. A vehicle could be programmed to take a picture of anyone near the car during a break-in and then e-mail it directly to a cellphone or computer. (continue here)

Maxximus Acceleration: Zero to 60 in 2.1 Seconds

An Indiana businessman and a race car-driving chauffeur have built what they and the World Record Academy call the world's fastest street-legal car, a 1,600-horsepower beast that does zero to sixty in just 2.1 seconds.

That's right. Two-point-one seconds.

Designer Marlon Kirby and financier David McMahan unveiled the Maxximus G-Force this morning in Beverly Hills, and they'll happily sell you one for $3 million. That kind of money buys you a car with a 7-liter twin turbocharged Chevrolet V8 engine powerful enough to leave the Ferrari Enzo, McLaren F1 and even the mighty Bugatti Veyron in its dust. When Kirby let 'er rip at Rockingham Raceway in North Carolina a few months ago, the car did zero to 100 in 4.541 seconds and peeled off a zero-to-100-back-to-zero time of 8.861 seconds. (continue here)

Los capitaleños de RD al fin tienen medio de transporte decente

ListinDiarion.com -- Desde tempranas horas de la mañana la gente acudía a las diferentes paradas del Metro para trasladarse a sus lugares de trabajo y estudios, así como para adquirir las boletas a través de las cuales podrán hacer uso del servicio.

Los usuarios que hoy se benefician del servicio dijeron que la obra significa un cambio en el transporte público, ya que tiene mayor seguridad, confort y un servicio completo, además que pueden llegar en menor tiempo a sus destinos por el mismo precio.

Mientras algunos utilizaban el Metro, otros aprovechaban para observar el ambiente y conocer la nueva obra, como es el caso de los hermanos Yolanda de los Santos y Eddy Celesten, quienes llegaron desde La Romana y aprovecharon para visitar y aunque no lo la utilizarán con regularidad les parece “fabuloso”.

Enlace de la ruta del Metro de Santo Domingo

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Uncle Sam wants you to buy a new car

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With auto sales at crisis levels, Washington is trying to figure out how to get Americans buying cars again.

Several ideas are on the table, but two of them are really making the industry pay attention. One plan is to make new car costs tax deductible. The other is to give rebates to Americans with old cars so they can better afford to buy new ones, a program otherwise known as "cash for clunkers.".... (more in the link below)

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Solar Hybrids Vehicles

Solar pioneer Greg Johanson set a world record for the fastest speed in a sun-powered car way back in 1986. That car, Sunrunner, has since been retired and its solar array relegated to some California rooftop, but Johanson is still building cars fueled by the sun. Now you can too.

Johanson and the guys at Solar Electrical Vehicles will slap a solar panel on just about anything, and they've developed a DIY kit for the Toyota Prius that he says provides up to 20 miles of range and boosts fuel economy up to 29 percent. The company is testing its first solar energy system exclusively for hybrids in four "PV Prius" prototypes and a "PV Highlander."

"Designing solar modules to be hooked up to cars has always been one of Greg Johanson's pet projects," company spokesman Billy Bautista tells us. "He has now finally developed that idea, and SEV hopes to be making sales deliveries by early next year."

SEV is working with Kyocera to develop the solar modules, which are fabricated from fiberglass and sold as kits you install with help from an instructional DVD. A DC-DC converter connects the module directly to the nickel-metal hydride battery in your Prius.

The system can generate as many as 1,300 watt-hours a day, enough to give your solar Prius a solar-power range of 5 to 8 miles, according to the company's white paper. Couple that with the NiMH battery and you're looking at an all-electric range of up to 20 miles, the company says. That's enough to boost fuel economy 17 to 29 percent.

SEV knows the kit's $3,500 asking price is a decent chunk of change — particularly when gas is somewhere around a buck-sixty a gallon — but it hopes to continue refining the technology with an eye toward making it more affordable. As it stands, SEV realizes the kit will probably appeal only to hard-core greenies. "Production costs were raised due to the recent economic downturn," said Bautista. "So right now, we're focusing on catering to the environmentally friendly."

And the PV Prius is nothing if not environmentally friendly. The solar conversion extends battery life and cuts CO2 emissions by at least 9,000 pounds over the life of the car, the company says.

SEV is working with Ford to develop solar modules for its hybrids and hopes to strike a deal with General Motors to design one for the Chevrolet Volt. It also is trying to get the government to offer tax incentives so customers can break even on the cost after two or three years.

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Aeroplano Personal Eclipse 400, un verdadero Skycar deportivo

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Honda Insight Hybrid 2010 Revelado: A ser el Híbrido más barato del mundo, US$18,500.00 (Prius Killer)

Honda nos entrega una noticia bien caliente, se trata del Prius-killer llamado Honda Insight 2010. Aunque ciertamente no creativo, la intención detrás de este vehículo sí lo es. A un precio estimado de US$18,500 dólares, el nuevo Honda Insight se espera que compita a un mucho menor precio que cualquier otro híbrido en el mercado. Aunque es solo una versión "concepto", se ha dicho que debemos esperar la versión final la cual mostraría ser 90% igual que la foto mostrada aquí en Blog-RD. Vamos a comprobar todo esto con seguridad cuando sea demostrado oficialmente en el "Paris Motor Show" en Octubre, y con los arreglos finales de producción debutando en el "Detroit Auto Show" en Enero. La primera impresión es que el Insight se ve sorprendentemente parecido al especulado concepto, pero actualmente mejorado con algunos retoques como aros más grandes y llamativos, pantallas más finas y bajas y muchos detalles en cromo, lo cual se sospecha que pase todo igual a producción. El carro es impulsado primariamente por un motor de gasolina, con un motor eléctrico híbrido estándar para las tareas de arranque y aceleración. Honda además promociona una función de "soporte de manejo" el cual ayudaría a los conductores a lograr un millaje mayor.

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MDI matricula el primer AirCar

Llevamos oyendo hablar del AirCar desde hace tiempo (bueno, desde 1996), pero parece que por fin la cosa se mueve. El primer automóvil con motor de aire fabricado por MDI ya ha sido matriculado, lo que implica que podría llegar al mercado el año que viene, tal y como se ha propuesto el fabricante luxemburgués. Teóricamente el AirCar sería capaz de recorrer 80 km con una sola "recarga", aunque podría ampliar su autonomía mediante la instalación de un calentador de aire especial. Si nada se tuerce, será presentado en el mes de octubre durante el Salón del Automóvil de París.

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HEL TD: El Cañón Láser Móvil de Boeing

El proyecto del súper rayo láser de la empresa norteamericana Boeing, conocido como HEL TD (High Energy Laser Technology Demostrator; algo así como Demostrador Tecnológico Láser de Alta Energía), ha sido encarado como un arma capaz de destruir proyectiles de artillería, misiles y otros tipos de proyectiles que pueden caer desde un avión.

El objetivo perseguido por el ejército de los EE.UU. es proporcionar a sus bases y tropas una efectiva protección contra los ataques efectuados con artillería ligera. A pesar de lo que la palabra "ligera" de la frase anterior puede hacerte creer, este tipo de ataque representa la principal amenaza que enfrentan estas fuerzas en todas las guerras en las que está involucrado actualmente.

Las bajas sufridas por tropas son muy elevadas, tanto como para que el Departamento de Defensa haya enviado a Boeing 31 millones de dólares para este fin. Si los cohetes y fuego de mortero pudiesen controlarse y anularse con este tipo de láser, las bases militares en territorio enemigo serían perfectamente seguras.

Las primeras pruebas estan previstas para el año 2010 y su empleo efectivo en los campos de batalla comenzará en 2013. Estas fechas suelen demorarse pero, por lo pronto, sirven para "deducir" que los EE.UU. preveen seguir en guerra dentro de cinco años.

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La NASA retrasa un viaje no tripulado a la Luna

La NASA ha retrasado el envío de un robot de reconocimiento a la Luna, retraso que les costará 7 millones de dólares (4,76 millones de euros) al mes, según cita un informe. Según varias fuentes, el Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter tenía previsto aterrizar en el satélite en diciembre, pero el periplo se ha retrasado de momento al 27 de febrero.

En la misión iría un robot de reconocimiento que cuesta 491 millones de dólares (320,56 millones de euros) y serviría de avanzadilla para un nuevo viaje tripulado previsto para 2020. Además del Orbiter, la agencia estadounidense planea lanzar una "prueba de impacto" a uno de los polos lunares en búsqueda de hielo. Va a ser la bomba.

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