Race cars and race bikes have a lot in common. Beyond the obvious similarities in shapes and colors, the cutting-edge technology, high-performance handling characteristics, and complete integration of engineering, research, and design all combine to deliver world-class performances on road and track. Lamborghini and BMC are two companies known for forging their own identities and […]
Automotive/Transportation
Researchers: We May Have Found a Fabled Sunstone
A rough, whitish block recovered from an Elizabethan shipwreck may be a sunstone, the fabled crystal believed by some to have helped Vikings and other medieval seafarers navigate the high seas, researchers say. In a paper published earlier this week, a Franco-British group argued that the Alderney Crystal — a chunk of Icelandic calcite found […]
How to Predict the Progress of Technology
Researchers at MIT and the Santa Fe Institute have found that some widely used formulas for predicting how rapidly technology will advance — notably, Moore’s Law and Wright’s Law — offer superior approximations of the pace of technological progress. The new research is the first to directly compare the different approaches in a quantitative way, […]
Car Tech: Toyota i-Road Concept
CNET’s Antuan Goodwin previews the Toyota i-Road concept, a tandem two-seater that runs on electric power and uniquely maneuvers using all three of its wheels. For more information visit www.cnet.com.
Croatian Micro-Car to Electrify Mass Market
Croatian engineering company Dok-Ing has announced plans to start serial production of its electric three-seat microcar. The company believes urban commuters will find the vehicle ideal for low-cost, environmentally-friendly motoring. Jim Drury reports.
Biomass Analysis Tool Is Faster, More Precise
A screening tool from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) eases and greatly quickens one of the thorniest tasks in the biofuels industry: determining cell wall chemistry to find plants with ideal genes. NREL’s new High-Throughput Analytical Pyrolysis tool (HTAP) can thoroughly analyze hundreds of biomass samples a day and give […]
The 3D-Printed Car of the Future
We’ve already seen all kinds of 3D-printed items, from jewelry, to guitars, and even football cleats. Now, we might soon have an almost entirely 3D-printed car in the Urbee 2. The hybrid car, created by engineer Jim Kor, is designed to be light, cheap, easy to reproduce and very efficient. It’s made entirely of 3D-printed […]
Ex-BP Rig Supervisor Testifies at Gulf Spill Trial
A retired BP employee who supervised drilling operations on the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico says he never felt pressure to sacrifice safety to save money, even though the project was behind schedule and over budget. Former BP PLC well site leader Ronnie Sepulvado testified Wednesday at a federal trial designed to […]
Dynamic Robot Manipulation
Boston Dynamics is developing the control and actuation techniques needed for dynamic manipulation. BigDog handles heavy objects. The goal is to use the strength of the legs and torso to help power motions of the arm. This sort of dynamic, whole-body approach to manipulation is used routinely by human athletes and will enhance the performance […]
First Sinkhole Photo After ‘Freak Geological Incident’
A backhoe chipped away Monday at the remains of a house where a sinkhole opened up and swallowed a man, but there was little certainty as to what would come next for the site of the freak geological incident. See all the photos here. Though thousands of sinkholes erupt in Florida each year, most are […]