Transportation
The latest trends in transportation and related research. Explore how new modes of transportation are changing how we get from here to there.
The UK’s First Autonomous Passenger Bus Started Road Tests This Week
Driverless buses may beat driverless cars in becoming a commonplace mode of transportation. It would make sense; buses run on fixed routes, always stop in the same places, don’t need to go too fast,...
GM Just Patented a Self-Driving Car That Teaches People How to Drive
For more than a decade, people have been trying to teach cars how to drive. In the not-too-distant future, this effort may come full circle, with cars teaching people how to drive; last week,...
Nissan and NASA Are Teaming Up to Make a Metal-Free Solid-State Battery
The slow but steady transition to renewable energy was already underway when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, and since then the global energy market has been turned on its head. We’re likely to witness...
The Electric Revolution: EV Sales Doubled in 2021 and Are Surging This Year Too
Electric vehicles (EVs) will play a crucial role in decarbonizing our transport systems and helping us avoid the worst effects of climate change. The latest figures suggest they are making major inroads into the...
A UK Startup Is Building 200 Flying Taxi Hubs Around the World
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas two years ago, Hyundai and Uber unveiled an air taxi concept they’d partnered on, claiming people would be riding in the flying vehicles by 2030. Now Hyundai...
This Autonomous Delivery Robot Has External Airbags in Case It Hits a Person
Autonomous delivery was already on multiple companies’ research and development agenda before the pandemic, but when people stopped wanting to leave their homes it took on a whole new level of urgency (and potential...
A Chinese Company Says It Will Be Selling Driverless Cars by 2024
As recently as 2015, auto industry insiders predicted fully self-driving cars would be on the road by 2020. As you know, that didn’t come to pass, and two years later we’re still waiting for...
H2 Clipper Will Resurrect Hydrogen Airships to Haul Green Fuel Across the Planet
Airships might seem like a technology from a bygone era, but a startup says their new design could become a crucial cog in the green hydrogen supply chain.
While transitioning away from fossil fuels will...
A Plane Powered by Cooking Oil Just Flew Across the US
The global aviation industry is responsible for two percent of the world’s total carbon emissions. Some countries are having success convincing people to fly less, but let’s be honest—we’re not going to stop taking...
Your Holiday Gifts Could Be Shipped by Robot Semi, Courtesy of UPS and Waymo
Between a supply chain full of holes, labor shortages across various sectors of the economy, and rising inflation, it’s shaping up to be a somewhat chaotic holiday season. Technology can’t fix all of these...
Rolls-Royce Says Its Electric Plane Just Smashed the World Record for Speed
The first electric plane took flight in 1973. There was just one person on board and the plane only stayed in the air for 14 minutes, but it was the beginning of an ongoing...
GE’s New Autonomous Electric Pods Have No Steering Wheel, Pedals, or Cab
Self-driving cars are taking longer to become a reality than many experts predicted. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t steady progress being made; on the contrary, autonomous driving technology is consistently making incremental advancements...
This Tiny Personal Aircraft Costs Under $100K and Can Take Off From Your Driveway
From buses to taxis to ambulances, the number and type of vehicles set to take to the skies in the allegedly near future keeps growing. Now another one is joining their ranks, and it...
Tele-Driving Startup to Deploy Remote-Controlled Cars as a Step Towards Full Autonomy
Self-driving cars are taking longer to hit roads than many experts predicted. Despite impressive progress in the field—like trucks using self-driving features to move freight more efficiently, Waymo launching its robotaxi service for vetted...
Electrifying the Future: Toyota Puts Over $13 Billion Into Battery Technology
The world’s largest car manufacturer by volume has been sluggish in its efforts to electrify compared to competitors. But Toyota has just announced a huge investment in battery technology that may be a sign...
Flight Testing Will Soon Start on the World’s Fastest Reusable Aircraft
Last week, NASA released a timelapse video showing construction of a supersonic jet called the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST or “son of Concorde” for short). The experimental aircraft is designed to fly faster...
Magnetizable Concrete in Roads Could Charge Electric Cars While You Drive
One of the biggest barriers to electric vehicle adoption is the fear of running out of juice before you get to your destination. Roads that can charge your vehicle as you drive could be...
NASA Timelapse Shows X-59 Supersonic Jet Being Built Over Two Years
The final flight of British Airways’ Concorde took place in October 2003, going from New York to London in three and a half hours. Inaugurated in 1976, the supersonic jet flew more than 2.5...
This Tiny Electric Car Is Solar-Powered and Costs $6,800
In December of last year, a California-based startup called Aptera Motors started taking pre-orders for an electric car that’s partly solar powered. The Aptera has a unique, streamlined design, just three wheels, and a...
An ‘Uncrashable’ Car? Luminar Says Its Lidar Can Get There
As a recent New York Times article highlighted, self-driving cars are taking longer to come to market than many experts initially predicted. Automated vehicles where riders can sit back, relax, and be delivered to...
Why Flying Cars Could Be Here Within the Decade
Flying cars are almost a byword for the misplaced optimism of technologists, but recent news suggests their future may be on slightly firmer footing. The industry has seen a major influx of capital and...
Waymo Self-Driving Trucks Will Soon Start Moving Freight Across Texas
Last month, self-driving technology company TuSimple shipped a truckload of watermelons across the state of Texas ten hours faster than normal. They did this by using their automated driving system for over 900 miles...
This Drone Bus Will Carry 40 Passengers Between Cities for the Price of a Train Ticket
Multiple companies are working on new aerial modes of transportation, be they taxis that fly, drones that drive, or cars that drive and fly. What most of these vehicles have in common is that...
A Self-Driving Truck Got a Shipment Cross-Country 10 Hours Faster Than a Human Driver
Self-driving cars are taking longer to come to market than many expected. In fact, it’s looking like they may be outpaced by pilotless planes and driverless trucks, with self-driving technology already coming in handy...
Japan Wants to Build Intercontinental Passenger Spaceships by the Early 2040s
A booming space industry is making it easier than ever to get into orbit, but Japan is betting that it could revolutionize terrestrial travel, too. The country’s science ministry has unveiled a plan to...
Google-Funded Startup Merlin Labs Will Soon Fly 55 Autonomous Planes
Self-driving cars are taking longer to come to market than initially predicted by industry insiders, as a New York Times article highlighted this week. Indeed, it turns out that having a complex, interconnected set...
Scientists Figured Out How to Turn Food Waste Into Jet Fuel
Aviation is a major contributor to climate change, and also one of the hardest sectors to wean off fossil fuels. New research suggests we could reduce the carbon footprint of jet fuel by 165...
Flying Taxis Will Hit LA Skies by 2024, According to a California Startup’s Plan
Air taxis still seem like a far-off concept, especially in a time when a lot of people have stopped flying or using shared transportation altogether. But the technology has continued to advance nonetheless, as...
New Fast-Charging, Low-Cost Batteries Could Be a Game-Changer for Electric Cars
Despite their growing popularity, electric vehicle sales still lag behind gasoline cars, and one reason is the anxiety that comes from short ranges and slow refueling times—but recent breakthroughs suggest those fears might soon...
These Futuristic Flying Ambulances May Soon Be Zooming Around New York
Ambulance use surged in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, even as emergency medical service providers struggled due to the revenue hit they took from delayed and canceled elective procedures. While we’re fervently hoping...
Amazon’s New Robotaxi Has No Steering Wheel, But It Can Drive for 16 Hours Straight
After almost a year of limiting our contact with the people in our lives and humanity in general, it’s hard to imagine a future where we freely move about our cities and towns going...
Smart Concrete Could Pave the Way for High-Tech, Cost-Effective Roads
Every day, Americans travel on roads, bridges, and highways without considering the safety or reliability of these structures. Yet much of the transportation infrastructure in the US is outdated, deteriorating, and badly in need...
You Can Buy This Electric Car for $7,999 in California
A tiny electric car that costs just $4,200 has been all the rage in China this year. The Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV generated over 15,000 orders within 20 days of its release in...
This Flying Car Costs $599K—and It’s Now Street Legal in Holland
We’ve all had the experience of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic with nothing but miles of red taillights ahead, wishing we could somehow break away from the pack and zoom off to our destination traffic-free....
This Tiny Electric Car Is Selling Like Hot Cakes in China
Though far too many sectors of the economy have suffered enormous losses during the coronavirus pandemic, a few are doing alright. One of those is car sales. It’s sort of counter-intuitive—because with everything closed,...
How Drones and Aerial Vehicles Could Change Cities
Drones, personal flying vehicles, and air taxis may be part of our everyday life in the very near future. Drones and air taxis will create new means of mobility and transport routes. Drones will...
New Record-Crushing Battery Lasts 1.2 Million Miles in Electric Cars
Electric cars had their biggest year ever in 2019. As of the end of the year, 2.5 percent of the world’s total cars were electric. It’s a small percentage, but represents significant growth for...
Volvo Will Add Lidar for ‘Eyes-Off-the-Road’ Self-Driving Cars on Highways
It’s 2020. Why can’t we binge Netflix as our cars drive us down the highway? Well, we've made progress, but not at the pace once promised. While some cars offer automated driving modes, you’re...
Linking Self-Driving Cars to Traffic Signals Might Help Pedestrians Give Them the Green Light
Automated vehicles don’t have human operators to communicate their driving intentions to pedestrians at intersections. My team’s research on pedestrians’ perceptions of safety shows their trust of traffic lights tends to override their fear...
This Electric Tiny Car Can Be Rented for the Price of an Electric Scooter
On any given day, in any given city, the roads are packed with cars, motorcycles, scooters, and bikes. It’s been like that for decades. Recently, though, there's been a Cambrian explosion of alt transportation—electric...
Elon Musk’s Boring Company Finishes First Tunnel for 155mph Vegas Loop
Last month I attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas. I had a list of all the tech I wanted to see, talk to someone about, or try for myself, and I spent...
What Needs to Happen to Get to the Flying Car Future
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, one of the world’s largest helicopter manufacturers will showcase what a city might look like with high-volume aerial transit options. Bell is showing off a connected city concept...
How Selfish Are You? It Matters for MIT’s New Self-Driving Algorithm
Our personalities impact almost everything we do, from the career path we choose to the way we interact with others to how we spend our free time.
But what about the way we drive—could personality...
Within 10 Years, We’ll Travel by Hyperloop, Rockets, and Avatars
What’s faster than autonomous vehicles and flying cars?
Try Hyperloop, rocket travel, and robotic avatars. Hyperloop is currently working towards 670 mph (1080 kph) passenger pods, capable of zipping us from Los Angeles to downtown...
As Cars Become Increasingly Driverless, People Are Already Seeking Analog Motoring Experiences
According to those in the industry, and researchers too, driverless cars will totally revolutionize the way we think about individual transport. They will change the way we work and rest. They could herald the...
5 Coming Breakthroughs in Energy and Transportation
The energy and transportation industries are being aggressively disrupted by converging exponential technologies.
In just five days, the sun provides Earth with an energy supply exceeding all proven reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas....
Electric Cars Are Estimated to Be Cheaper Than Regular Cars by 2022
Electric cars have developed a reputation as the ultimate status symbol of the champagne environmentalist, but that could be very close to changing. New research from BloombergNEF says they could be cheaper than combustion-engine...
China’s Electric Buses Save More Diesel Than All Electric Cars Combined
Tesla and other electric cars are great for the environment. However, they pale in comparison to electric buses. According to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), electric buses will save an astounding...
Where Is Amazon Headed With Its Self-Driving Car Initiatives?
The list of companies pursuing self-driving vehicles keeps on growing. On it, you find many companies that might initially come as a surprise—including Amazon.
Amazon’s statement about its recent investment in self-driving vehicle startup Aurora...
Programming Self-Driving Cars Makes People Less Selfish
Self-driving cars are just around the corner, but working out the rules that should govern them is proving tricky. Should they mimic often self-interested human decision making, or be programmed to consider the greater...
