Lifeboat Foundation

A new Google Maps feature to find your parked car just went live on Android and iOS.

Yesterday I wrote about a poll conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan that found people were interested in flying cars if they were autonomous, shared and electric. As soon as I posted that, I found an email in my inbox saying that ChargePoint and Uber Elevate, among others at the recent conference on flying vehicles, had partnered to prepare for just that exact scenario.

ChargePoint announced the Express Plus charging platform at CES 2017, which allows for faster, more powerful charging and modularity. That means that owners of the stations can expand their charging options as they need to — which includes charging electric flying cars. The latest estimates say that it will take a minimum of 300 kW to charge a flying car 25 percent in 5 minutes, or 25–90 percent in 15 minutes. ChargePoint’s Express Plus stations can deliver up to 400 kW per port right now, so operators could add a station for flying vehicles in the future without ripping out infrastructure that’s already in place.

ChargePoint already knows that charging quickly generates a lot of heat, which is why it developed liquid-cooled hoses for its Express Plus stations. But charging a flying vehicle would likely require extended cooling, even around the battery pack itself during fast charging. The vehicle needs to be able to ascend to altitude within about 90 seconds, and the batteries need to be cool enough to take that strain.

Continue reading “ChargePoint is ready for flying EVs” »

Watch as paint melts off this airplane.

This flying vehicle can make decisions on its own.

Read more

Elon Musk was on stage at the 2017 TED Conference in Vancouver on Friday, and he revealed some of his tunnel work and aspirations, but he also talked about a few ongoing Tesla projects he’s referenced before. The multi-CEO showed a shadowy image that gives us our first look at what his forthcoming electric Semi Truck will look like, and also let drop the suggestion that Tesla will likely announce four new global Gigafactory locations sometime this year.

Elon Musk teased semi-truck at TED talk. pic.twitter.com/sY0w7KSsTx

Cars will be lowered into the tunnel from the roads on what Musk calls a car “skate.”

N” After upending the taxi market with its ride-hailing service, Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] is now aiming for the skies with its flying taxis.

The company expects to deploy its flying taxis in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dubai by 2020, Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden said at the Uber Elevate Summit in Dallas on Tuesday.

Uber’s flying taxis will be small, electric aircraft that take off and land vertically, or VTOLs, with zero emissions and quiet enough to operate in cities.

Continue reading “Uber looks to soar with flying taxis by 2020” »