Lifeboat Foundation

When he’s not busy with his day job as professor of computer and automotive engineering at Weber State University, [John Kelly] is a prolific producer of educational videos. We found his video tracing out the 22+ meters of high voltage cabling in a Tesla Model S (below the break) quite interesting. [John] does warn that his videos are highly detailed and may not be for everyone:

This is not the Disney Channel. If you are looking to be entertained, this is not the channel for you.

Continue reading “Exploring Tesla Model S High Voltage Cabling” »

Russia’s first newly manufactured Tupolev Tu-160M strategic missile carrier made its first flight on 12 January. The flight – performed at the airfield of the Kazan Aviation Plant – took place at an altitude of 600 meters and lasted about 30 minutes. The crew of test pilots of Tupolev PJSC performed maneuvers to check the stability and controllability of the aircraft in the air. It comes under the umbrella of the United Aircraft Corporation, UAC, part of the state-owned Rostec entity.

The program for the reproduction of Tu-160 aircraft in the modernized form of the Tu-160M is a part of a state contract between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and Tupolev. As a part of the program, the design documentation for the Tu-160M aircraft was completely digitized in a short time, the technology for vacuum welding of titanium products was restored, the production of aircraft airframe units was resumed. Also, new cooperation was formed from advanced industrial enterprises in the field of metallurgy, aircraft manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and instrument making.

The team has restored the full production cycle of the Tu-160, but in the M modification, using modernized engines, modernized aircraft control systems, navigation systems, weapons control systems. The modernization of the Kazan Aviation Plant played an important role in restoring the production of unique aircraft. The aircraft retains its appearance but is created on a completely new technological base using digital technologies.

A new biologically inspired battery membrane has enabled a battery with five times the capacity of the industry-standard lithium ion design to run for the thousand-plus cycles needed to power an electric car.

A network of aramid nanofibers, recycled from Kevlar, can enable lithium-sulfur batteries to overcome their Achilles heel of cycle life—the number of times it can be charged and discharged—a University of Michigan team has shown.

“There are a number of reports claiming several hundred cycles for lithium-sulfur batteries, but it is achieved at the expense of other parameters—capacity, charging rate, resilience and safety. The challenge nowadays is to make a battery that increases the cycling rate from the former 10 cycles to hundreds of cycles and satisfies multiple other requirements including cost,” said Nicholas Kotov, the Irving Langmuir Distinguished University Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, who led the research.

Designed and built by LEGO creator Mr. Platinum using 2,800 LEGO Technic pieces, this absolutely delightful mini replica of the DMC DeLorean from Back To The Future comes complete with a detailed exterior as well as interior, functioning doors, glowing lights, and a Bluetooth controller that lets you remotely drive the little car around!

The video above is a mashup of scenes from the original Back To The Future movie showing the DeLorean’s reveal, combined with video snippets of Mr. Platinum’s highly detailed build. The LEGO DeLorean is a stunning MOC (My Own Creation) that boasts of functioning headlights and taillights, glowing pipes around the car’s periphery as well as on the inside, motorized doors that open on command to reveal the detailed interiors, and for good measure, repositionable tires that become horizontal to resemble the car flying through space and time. If there ever was a near-perfect LEGO DeLorean build, this 2800-brick masterpiece is clearly it.

Designer: Mr. Platinum

The flying car company, funded entirely by Larry Page, has been testing for several months now at a secret lake location. I had the cool opportunity to see them in action a while back, but could not talk about it until now.

The vehicle has a floating pontoon that is excluded from the 250 lb. weight of the vehicle in the regulations for ultralight aircraft because it is “safety equipment”. This regulation covers lightweight craft that are excluded from FAA certification and pilot license requirements. Clever! kittyhawk.aero/.

The startup thinks that aerial commuting is inevitable within the next 10 years.

New test flight footage shows that we are in the midst of the flying car revolution, propelled by new eVTOL designs that are taking to the skies with increasing frequency.

Continue reading “A UK Startup Released Test Flight Footage of Its Prototype Flying Car” »

A 19-year-old said he’s found flaws in a piece of third-party software that appears to be used by a relatively small number of owners of Tesla Inc. cars that could allow hackers to remotely control some of the vehicles’ functions.

Italian design outfit Lazzarini Design Studio is known for its larger-than-life concepts that give us a deep dive of transportation in the future. Their new concept design breaks all the confined barriers of propulsion on water and in the air, taking things to the next level with the Air Yacht.

This compressed helium-powered flying yacht (yes, an airborne yacht!) is targeted towards private owners who will stop at nothing, and push the envelope of adventure – laden in luxury and style. The mega yacht (or should I say a big catamaran) measuring 492 feet will be a revolution in the aviation industry with its twin airships filled with helium. These gigantic airships will be connected via a central carbon deck measuring 33 feet wide consisting of a master cabin, living area, and a large dining section. The outer edges of the airship have five en suite staterooms each, so taking along best buddies for the adventure of their lifetime is certain.

Tesla has signed a new deal to source nickel for battery cell production from an upcoming new mine in the United States. It’s a landmark deal to start sourcing the critical battery material in the US and help boost upcoming new mining projects.

Over the last few years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been pushing for nickel producers to boost production as he expects the resource could become a bottleneck for battery production.

The company gets its nickel overseas. Vale, the Brazilian mining giant, is Tesla’s main nickel supplier, and the company has recently done a big deal to secure nickel supply from New Caledonia. But, North American production of nickel is limited, and Tesla is not sourcing locally.