After more than 5 years of engineering and testing and use in all 2020/2021 full vehicle rebuilds, we are now proud to offer electric platforms which are designed to transform four gasoline and diesel vehicle formats each with numerous makes, models and size configurations. Final specifications and full list of available model sizes will be available prior to manufacturing.
Category Archives: Technology
Future Science: ‘Artificial Intelligence Everywhere’
Imagine a robot trained to think, respond, and behave using you as a model. Now imagine it assuming one of your roles in life, at home or perhaps at work. Would you trust it to do the right thing in a morally fraught situation?
That’s a question worth pondering as artificial intelligence increasingly becomes part of our everyday lives, from helping us navigate city streets to selecting a movie or song we might enjoy — services that have gotten more use in this era of social distancing. It’s playing an even larger cultural role with its use in systems for elections, policing, and health care.
Automotive: ‘Aptera’ Launches First Solar Electric Vehicle (sEV)
Aptera Motors has introduced the first solar electric vehicle (sEV) that requires no charging for most daily use and boasts a range of up to 1,000 miles per full charge, shattering industry performance achievements to date. Aptera leverages breakthroughs in lightweight structures, low-drag aerodynamics and cooling, material science, and manufacturing processes to deliver the most efficient vehicle ever made available to consumers. Aptera’s Never Charge is built into every vehicle and is designed to harvest enough sunlight to travel over 11,000 miles per year in most regions.
Learn more about Aptera: https://www.aptera.us
Transportation: ‘Covid-19 And The Bike Boom’ (Video)
Bikes have been a hot ticket item during the Covid pandemic as more people look for recreational activities and outdoor transportation. With more bikes and other forms of micromobility on the road, transportation experts say the moment is prime for a transit upheaval in the United States. Here’s how the Covid bike boom could change the way Americans get to work and around major cities.
Online Shopping: ‘How Amazon Drone Delivery Will Look & Work’ (Video)
It’s well over a decade since Amazon launched its Prime delivery service; in fact it was 2007 when the company first introduced us to unlimited next-day shipping on what was at the time almost a million products.
But in 13 years, we have seen little change. That is, until recently. Many areas now offer same-day delivery, but behind closed doors Amazon had been working on an ambitious plan to realise almost instant delivery. The goal? Just 30 minutes, from the click of the ‘order now’ button to the tangible products, in our hands.
Every delivery company can agree that the final mile or so of a product’s journey is the most expensive. As it leaves a shipping container, and steps away from the lorry’s vessel, it enters the smallest vehicle yet – vans, and sometimes cars. Rather than carrying millions of products, a driver can now only carry a few dozen. Employing thousands of drivers comes at incredible cost to shipping companies.
Commerce: ‘Will Digital Payments Replace Cash?’
Is cash still king? The coronavirus pandemic may cause a drastic decline in cash usage due to the risk of contamination. The unprecedented surge in the demand for contactless payment has also shown outstanding performances for major companies offering cashless payment methods, like Apple, Square and Paypal. Could covid-19 signal the end of cash in the United States and can the U.S. really function without physical currency?
Car Technology: Hyundai Introduces ‘Electric-Only Platform’ For 2021 (Video)
Hyundai says it will introduce an electric vehicle-only platform early next year that will use its own battery technology to cut production time and costs.
Net-Zero Tech: ‘Buildings Producing More Energy Than They Use’ (Video)
What if our buildings produced more energy than they used? From the United States to Hong Kong, these projects prove it can be done.
A zero-energy building (ZE), also known as a zero net energy (ZNE) building, net-zero energy building (NZEB), net zero building is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site,[1][2] or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels.
Smartphone Apps: ‘The Rise Of Google Maps’ (Video)
Google Maps has taken on competitors like MapQuest, Yahoo and Apple. But after a decade of investing, collecting data and billions of images through Street View, Google has over a billion monthly users. It updated tens of thousands of times a day and has mapped more than 220 countries and territories. Here’s a look at how Google came to dominate maps.
Tech: ‘2021 Toyota Mirai’ – Enhanced Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Car (Video)
The 2021 Toyota Mirai is the second generation of zero emission hydrogen fuel cell electric sedan.
One of the principal aims for the new 2021 Mirai has been to give the car a stronger emotional appeal, making it a car that people will be attracted to by its looks and the way it drives, as well its eco-performance. The new GA-L platform and Toyota’s advances in FCEV technologies have made this possible. Toyota’s new fuel cell stack and fuel cell power converter (FCPC) have been developed specifically for use with the GA-L platform.
The designers have been able to bring all the elements together in the stack frame (including the water pumps, intercooler, air conditioning and air compressors and the hydrogen recirculation pump) with each part made smaller and lighter, while at the same time improving performance. The stack case itself has been made smaller by using Friction Stir Welding, reducing the gap between the fuel cell and casing.
The new Mirai is equipped with lithium-ion high-voltage battery in place of the current model’s nickel-metal hydride unit. Although smaller in size, it is more energy-dense, giving higher output and superior environmental performance. Containing 84 cells, it has a 310.8 rated voltage compared to 244.8, and a 4.0 Ah capacity, versus 6.5 Ah. Overall weight has been reduced from 46.9 to 44.6 kg. The output has improved from 25.5 kW x 10 seconds to 31.5 kW x 10 seconds.
The battery’s smaller dimensions have allowed it to be positioned behind the rear seats, avoiding intrusion in the load compartment. An optimised air-cooling path has been designed, with discreet inlets either side of the rear seats. The environmental benefit of driving the Toyota Mirai go beyond zero emissions to “negative emissions” – the car effectively cleans the air as it moves. A Toyota innovation, a catalyst-type filter is incorporated in the air intake.
As air is drawn into the vehicle to supply the fuel cell, an electric charge on the non-woven fabric filter element captures microscopic particles of pollutants, including sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (NOx) and PM 2.5 particulates. The system is effective in removing 90 to 100% of particles between 0 and 2.5 microns in diameter from the air as it passes into the fuel cell system.
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