Editor Blogs

March 2019
ESA Mission Would Save us From Catastrophic Solar Storms
The Trump Administration wants astronauts on the moon by 2024, but the European Space Agency (ESA) is planning something far more ambitious – the ESA wants to slash the time it takes us to detect solar storms. The MIT Tech Review points out that 1859’s Carrington Event, one of the largest geomagnetic storm
Date:
03/27/2019
Germany: We Must Build the Best Batteries to Save Jobs
Germany's Economy Minister emphasized how important it is to stay competitive on the battery scene. “We can only prevent massive job losses if we build the world’s best batteries in Europe,” said Minister Peter Altmaier. With the global rise of alternative energy and electric vehicles, energy storage is
Date:
03/26/2019
Royal Mail's e-Trikes Are Green and Dorky
It sounds like something a five-year-old would drive, but Britain’s “e-Trikes” are … exactly something a five-year-old would drive. But a five-year-old’s legs aren’t this long. So there’s that. Neat technology, though. Britain's Royal Mail service is set to demo the three-wheeled e-trikes in S
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03/22/2019
Volvo: Margins on EVs, Conventional Vehicles Equal by 2025

Volvo’s first all-electric car, the Polestar 2, is expected to come out this year.

Volvo has a bold prediction – the Swedish carmaker expects its margins on electric vehicles and combustion engines to be roughly equivalent by 2025. And it’s not that far-fetched. “I would be absolute sure we will have the same margins with electric cars as we will with conventional combustion cars in
Date:
03/21/2019
U.S. to Germany: Don't do Business With Huawei or Else
The U.S. issued a stiff warning to Germany – don’t do business with Huawei or risk losing access to classified U.S. intelligence. And Germany isn’t backing down. "Our approach is not to simply exclude one company or one actor," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a conference in Berlin, "but rather we
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03/20/2019
Why are Automakers Abandoning Europe?

The Renault Zoe electric vehicle.

The NY Times has an interesting piece about the mass exodus of automakers from Europe – the obvious question being “why?” Is Brexit to blame, or is the auto industry undergoing a dramatic paradigm shift? Last Tuesday, Nissan announced a halt to its Infiniti production in northeast England. They join Hon
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03/18/2019
Las Vegas Convention Center to Host Autonomous People Movers
The Boring Company

Artist conception of high-occupancy autonomous electric vehicle (AEV) running between exhibit halls

Sin City. Disneyland for adults. The “entertainment capital of the world.” Las Vegas has something for everyone, but what they don’t have is a reliable public transit system. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) wants to change that with a proposed underground autonomous people mover. Like most citi
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03/07/2019
Autonomous Fighter Jet Presages End of Manned Flight

A full-scale mock-up of Boeing's Airpower Teaming System shown off at the Australian National Airshow.

Well, this was inevitable. From the first moment drones took flight, human pilots were on borrowed time. And while drones won’t replace fighter jockeys anytime soon, Boeing’s new unmanned combat jet reminds us how woefully inadequate the human body is. It goes without saying – machines aren’t affected
Date:
03/04/2019