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Monday, October 9, 2017

Elon Musk Offers to Rebuild Puerto Rico’s Power Grid Using Solar

As reported by The Verge: A casual comment on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk about rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power grid using solar technology is being treated seriously by the storm-ravaged island’s top elected officials.

 On Twitter, Musk said that his technology, which powers several smaller islands, could be scaled up to work for Puerto Rico. The island’s governor promptly responded: “Let’s talk.”

Tesla recently absorbed one of Musk’s other companies, SolarCity, which manufactures residential solar roofs and energy storage units. The company has been exploring ways to scale up its battery storage projects. A Twitter bet between Musk and an Australian software entrepreneur ultimately led to plans for the world’s largest lithium-ion battery facility in South Australia. The plant, which will cost $50 million, could provide electricity to more than 30,000 homes.
Musk has been known to offhandedly propose huge projects on Twitter, and occasionally he’s been known to follow through. His idea to speed up the tunnel boring process resulted in the creation of a new company and the green light to dig a two-mile tunnel under Los Angeles.

 So the question is whether Musk will follow up with Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello about his offer to rebuild the island’s power grid. And if so, what would a Tesla-backed solar power project on the still-recovering island look like. The company says it has powered small islands, such as Ta'u in American Samoa. There, it installed a solar grid which can power the entire island and store enough electricity for three days without any sun. (The Verge reached out to Musk with some follow-up questions, and we’ll update this story if we hear back.)

 The company is also working with residents on Kauai in the Hawaiian islands to find better ways to produce and — most importantly — store solar energy, so that it can reliably power homes on days when the sun may not be shining. In March, Tesla cut the ribbon on a grid-scale battery installation on the island, a key test of the viability of energy storage in making renewable energy a more reliable part of the grid.

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Saturday, September 23, 2017

Mercedes-Benz Will Spend $1 Billion to Build Electric Vehicles in the US

As reported by The Verge: Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, plans to offer electrified versions of all of its cars by 2022 under the new EQ sub-brand. And now the company has announced that many of those will be built in the United States.

 To do this, Daimler is pouring $1 billion into the 20-year-old factory the company runs just outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A 1-million-square-foot expansion will be added, with construction starting in 2018 and vehicle production expected to start in the early 2020s. Daimler is still hashing out details with the local governments, but the move is expected to create about 600 new jobs. Until now, the company had only built electric vehicles in its home country, according to Automotive News.

 The Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama mostly builds SUVs, so the company will focus on producing the electrified versions of those vehicles. And it’s important to remember here that “electrified” doesn’t necessarily mean “all-electric.” While some vehicles built at the Tuscaloosa plant will likely be all-electric, “electrified” refers to anything that uses an electric motor, meaning hybrids are included in that term as well.

 Mercedes will also build batteries in another new addition to the facility. That will give the company valuable proximity to the vehicle production line, but also could help it compete with Tesla in another new section of the energy market that it’s been testing lately: home batteries.

 Daimler is not the first major automaker to make a big push for electric vehicles. Ford announced a $4.5 billion investment into EV production back in 2015, Volkswagen announced a similar effort one year later while under pressure for its emissions scandal, and many other automakers have since followed suit as countries around the world move to ban or reduce the number of cars powered by fossil fuels. But there’s a long way to go to reach that goal. Combined, electric and hybrid vehicles made up just under 3 percent of cars sold in the US in 2016.

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Friday, September 22, 2017

Uber Just Lost its London Taxi License

As reported by Engadget: In a surprise announcement today, Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that it will not reissue Uber's private hire licence within the city. In a statement, the regulator said that the company's operations were not "fit and proper" and that has just a week (until September 30th) until its licence runs out. Uber will appeal the decision, which will allow its drivers to stay on the road until a final ruling is passed.

According to Transport for London, Uber's policies regarding the reporting of serious criminal offences, how it obtains medical certificates and performs driver checks did not meet its standards. It also noted Uber's use of its "Greyball" software, which allowed the company to evade authorities all over the world by tagging known officials and serving up dummy versions of the app that were populated with ghost cars.

"3.5 million Londoners who use our app, and more than 40,000 licensed drivers who rely on Uber to make a living, will be astounded by this decision," said Tom Elvidge, General Manager of Uber in London. "By wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport."

Uber denies TfL's claim that the company utilized Greyball in London: "We have always followed TfL rules on reporting serious incidents and have a dedicated team who work closely with the Metropolitan Police. As we have already told TfL, an independent review has found that 'greyball' has never been used or considered in the UK for the purposes cited by TfL."

"Drivers who use Uber are licensed by Transport for London and have been through the same enhanced DBS background checks as black cab drivers. Our pioneering technology has gone further to enhance safety with every trip tracked and recorded by GPS," Eldridge added. "Uber operates in more than 600 cities around the world, including more than 40 towns and cities here in the UK. This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers."

The decision comes after officials decided to extend Uber's licence by just four months back in May. It wanted time to decide whether Uber warranted another five year extension as it faced criticism from politicians and established taxi trades. At the same time, it also proposed a significant hike in operator fees for private hire companies, like Uber, across the capital.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan supports TfL's decision, stating that any private hire company operating in London "needs to play by the rules":
Uber considers its 40,000+ drivers as independent contractors, not employees. Its drivers disagree. With help from the GMB union, they won an employment tribunal case in October 2016 that made them entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the National Minimum Wage. In recent months, the company attempted to silence its critics by partnering with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE)to offer sickness and injury cover, jury cover and occupational accident cover.

Uber's rivals are delighted at the news. Some have gone as far to celebrate by slashing the cost of their own services:
For now, Uber will continue to operate within the capital. As per the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, companies have the right to appeal a decision within 21 days. Uber noted in its statement that it will fight TfL in the courts, which would enable drivers to operate in London until a final judgement is passed, which could be many months away.


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Thursday, September 21, 2017

An Electric Bus Just Broke the World Record for Distance Traveled on a Single Charge

As reported by Futurism: When California-based automaker Proterra took one of their all-electric Catalyst E2 Max buses to the Navistar Proving Grounds in Indiana, the vehicle managed to cover 1,772.2 kilometers (1,101.2 miles) before its battery pack ran out of power, breaking the record for the longest distance traveled by an electric vehicle on a single charge.
The 40-foot bus was outfitted with a 660 kWh battery pack for the trial — the equivalent of 11 Chevy Bolts — and according to the company, it could be back at full capacity in just an hour using Proterra’s high-speed charging system.

The previous record for distance on a single charge was set by the Schluckspecht E, an experimental electric vehicle.
“For our heavy-duty electric bus to break the previous world record of 1,013.76 miles, which was set by a light-duty passenger EV 46 times lighter than the Catalyst E2 max, is a major feat,” Proterra’s chief commercial officer Matt Horton said in a news release. “This record achievement is a testament to Proterra’s purpose-built electric bus design, energy-dense batteries, and efficient drivetrain.”

Starting Line
While cars have been a major point of emphasis when it comes to electric vehicles, all kinds of transportation are being modified to remove their reliance on fossil fuels.

Electric semi trucks have the potential to revolutionize the haulage industry, the U.K. postal service is already using electric vans, and the world’s first all-electric luxury yacht was just unveiled earlier this month.

The effect these electric vehicles could have on the environment is well-documented. However, the technology also provides other distinct advantages over traditional options.
Electric buses offer up a lower cost-per-mile than their gas-powered equivalents, and electric drive chains have fewer moving parts, which should mean that repairs are less frequent and maintenance costs are reduced. Companies like Proterra no doubt hope these benefits will lead to their rapid adoption.

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Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Starlink: Elon Musk, SpaceX's Internet Satellite Company Has A Name, Logo

As reported by IBTimes: Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been working with the Federal Communications Commission to further the company’s goal of bringing a satellite constellation to space to further the reach of the internet. Representatives from the company met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in March to discuss that venture further.

 Now it seems the company has gotten as far as naming the venture and filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Filings from August show that Space Exploration Technologies filed three standard character marks with the office for the name Starlink.
Those marks were a service mark, trademark, and a trademark service mark (this filing is a combination of the previous two.) The reason for filing more than one is so that the products as well as the services provided by the company will be protected under the law.

 The service mark filing which protects the services of Starlink gives a description of what the company will provide as services, including “Satellite communication and transmission services; wireless broadband communication services; transmission of data, voice and video via satellite,” among other similar services.

 The trademark gives details about the actual products Starlink is looking to protect, and the description in that application refers to “Satellites for scientific and commercial purposes; equipment for receiving, processing, and transmitting voice, video, data and information via telecommunications and wireless signals.”
The proposal for the non-geostationary satellite system that SpaceX and now, Starlink, is looking to create was filed in November 2016. It details a constellation network that would be made up of more than 4,400 satellites. The plan lays out the launch of 1,600 at first followed by an additional 2,800 plus satellites.

 The goal of such an extensive network is to allow for “full and continuous global coverage” that would bring wireless internet to users all around the world and even those possibly traveling, or stationed, in space. This would be achieved by angling the satellites and placing them at specific heights so that all of the latitudes on Earth could be covered.

 The plan even details the re-entry process for satellites as they age out of their expected lifespans. The original proposal set a 2019 goal for the initial launch of the satellites.

 The company ViaSat Inc. which is working to create a similar network filed petition in June against SpaceX saying that the company's satellites will interfere with the current satellites that are in place. Despite the pushback SpaceX has gone ahead with the trademark filings.

 Google may have helped with some of the Internet satellite funding.

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Monday, September 18, 2017

Ford Was Behind the 'Self-Driving' Tests where a Man Was Dressed Like a Car Seat

As reported by The Verge: In early August, the transportation reporter at Arlington, Virginia’s NBC affiliate filmed a video as he approached a Ford Transit van that appeared to be piloted by a man dressed up as the front seat of a car. Despite the fact that the man’s hands were clearly poking out of the costume, and the reporter’s earnest prompt of “I’m with the news, dude,” there were no apparent answers. The video went appropriately viral, and only then was it uncovered that this wasn’t just a goof, it was a test being performed by Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute. Now, it turns out, Ford was in on it, too.

 A post on Ford’s Self-Driven blog details how the company, which has been funding the project over at VTTI, was using this ruse to learn about how pedestrians and other drivers will respond to self-driving cars. A main focus of the project is the mysterious light bar that stretches across the van’s windshield. While some guessed it was a LIDAR sensor, or some other such self-driving tech, Ford and VTTI are using it to experiment with how to communicate an autonomous car’s intentions to the people around it.

So far, Ford has come up with a simple set of animations: when the lights blink fast, it’s a sign that the van is about to accelerate away from a stop. A slower pulsing is used to convey that the car is yielding to other traffic. A solid white stripe indicates it is operating autonomously. Ford says it chose a string of white lights because the use of colored lights is regulated differently around the world, and it didn’t want to favor one language over the rest.

 The problem with that setup, obviously, is that very few people know how to interpret those symbols just yet. But Ford has plenty of time to figure it out. While Tesla is constantly pushing its semi-autonomous Autopilot software, and luxury competitors like Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz are polishing up similar features, Ford is taking a much more conservative approach to self-driving technology. The company plans to have a fully self-driving car hit the road in 2021, but is less obviously aggressive about Level 2 or Level 3 autonomy, where a human still can author some control over the car. Ford is ostensibly more focused on complete autonomy, either limited to a certain area (Level 4) or not (Level 5).

Which brings us all the way back to the man in the car seat costume. By taking the slow lane with self-driving cars, Ford has more time for market research and testing the ideas it comes up with. So much, in fact, that there’s now a pattern of weirdness emerging, like a self-driving pizza delivery car, or dressing a man up as part of the vehicle’s furniture.

 We know that Ford cares deeply enough about its technological chops (or the perception of those bona fides) that it dumped $1 billion into a previously unknown AI company and even pushed out its smiley CEO in favor of one with deeper ties to Silicon Valley. I don’t know if disguising a man as a seat helps the company look as edgy as it hopes to be, but it feels safe to say this only scratches the surface of what Ford is willing to do to prove that out.

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