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Archive for the ‘Elon Musk’ category: Page 248

Jun 7, 2017

Hyundai’s new electric bus has 180 miles of range and fully charges in an hour

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, transportation

After a lot of speculation, Korean automaker Hyundai finally pulled the wraps off of its first mass-produced electric bus this week. It’s called the Elec City. It has a range of 180 miles, thanks to a 256kWh battery pack, according to Hyundai. A report from the Yonhap news agency says the bus can also be fully charged in just over an hour. The company plans to launch the bus in 2018.

While that’s more than double what had been rumored for Hyundai, it’s still a far cry from the massive 660kWh capacity of the Catalyst E2, the newest bus from American manufacturer Proterra. The Catalyst E2 supposedly gets 350 miles of street driving on a single charge, and maybe more with some highway driving mixed in. Plus, Proterra’s new bus will hit the road in 2017.

It’s not clear if Hyundai would ever bring its bus to North America, but if it did, Proterra wouldn’t be the only competition. Chinese manufacturer BYD has sold buses in California. Canadian company GreenPower has a small foothold as well. Tesla CEO Elon Musk even flirted with the idea, though it appears that the project could be on hold while he works on tunneling under Los Angeles. Adoption rates could go up as electric buses get better and cheaper, too. Despite the fact that they’re about twice as expensive as their diesel counterparts in the early going, a recent study from Columbia University estimates that they could save cities money over the long haul.

Continue reading “Hyundai’s new electric bus has 180 miles of range and fully charges in an hour” »

Jun 6, 2017

Elon Musk says robots will beat humans at everything by 2030

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI

The performance of humans’ puny brains will be outmatched by computers within just 13 years, billionaire Elon Musk has claimed.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder said that artificial intelligence will beat us at just about everything by 2030.

He made the comments on Twitter, where he was responding to a new study which claims our race will be overtaken by 2060.

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Jun 6, 2017

The Spacesuit Designed For A New Generation

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Clement Balavoine might just be what Elon Musk ordered. The Frenchman is still only 25 years old, passionate about design, traveled the (fashion) world and gravitates towards his own Mars experience with his new company Neuro. In his own words, he wants to create a label that reflects the future of the industry.

SpaceX on the other hand, is looking for innovation on so many levels on their ongoing mission to establish our first Mars colony. To get there, Elon Musk proposed the so-called Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) that combines our latest rocket technology with a space-carrier able to ship at least 100 but hopefully close to 200 passengers on each flight.

Of course, getting to Mars is an adventure that needs problem-solving skills and technology that we might not even think of yet. To better be safe than sorry, Balavoine’s new kind of spacesuit comes in handy, destined to protect our pioneering crew from bone loss, muscle atrophy and, hopefully, radiation.

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Jun 2, 2017

Reaction: Trump Decision to Withdraw from Paris Accord

Posted by in categories: business, climatology, Elon Musk, environmental, geopolitics, government, policy

One of the missions of Lifeboat Foundation has always been to contemplate the protection of our fragile Spaceship-Earth and to contemplate a day when we may need to migrate from this tiny stage. Yesterday, that day may have been moved a lot closer. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday, I had a fantasy. One that I passionately hoped would become reality. Minutes before Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, I began to daydream…

  • I dreamt that Trump might listen to his top science advisors and his daughter
  • I dreamt that he might not gamble our existence on his minority opinion that humans cannot help rescue the environment.
  • I dreamt that he would recognize that clean energy jobs trump legacy coal mining
  • I dreamt that he would avoid export tariffs for failing to respect international norms
  • I dreamt that he would stop pandering to Yahoos and stand for something worthy and undeniable

No such luck! The USA has lost its Mojo—at least while it is led by a man with no grasp of science, history, morals or a global perspective. As Trump begun to speak, I was sucked into a cruel nightmare. But this nightmare is reality. It’s the reality of a buffoon representing you and me in our nation’s highest office.

Question: Time for a thought experiment. Can you guess the answer?…

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Jun 2, 2017

No more planes? Hyperloop test facility unveiled in Netherlands

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, transportation

A Hyperloop test facility has been unveiled in the Netherlands, bringing Elon Musk’s vision of transporting pods of people through a tube at incredibly high speeds one step closer to fruition.

The test facility, a 30-meter-long (100ft), 3.2-meter-diameter (10.5ft) steel tube, is located at Delft Technical University.

“In this facility we will test all systems that don’t require high speeds,” said Tim Houter, CEO of Hardt Global Mobility, which is working on the project with construction company BAM, as quoted by Reuters.

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Jun 2, 2017

Tomorrow’s Robots Will Train in Simulators, Just Like Today’s Troops

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, physics, robotics/AI, transportation

Several firms are working on training environments like Star Trek’s Holodeck, but for machines.

When future robots enter the world, they won’t have a learning curve.

Artificial intelligence researchers are creating tools to help teach the robots that will assemble our gadgets in factories, or do chores around our home, before they ever step (or roll) into the real world. These simulators, most recently announced by Nvidia as a project called Isaac’s Lab but also pioneered by Alphabet’s DeepMind and Elon Musk’s OpenAI, are 3D spaces that have physics just like reality, with virtual objects that act the same way as their physical counterparts.

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May 31, 2017

The New Kids in Space Take Off

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space

Private companies enter the conquest of space. Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos are some of the examples of the “New Space” era.

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May 21, 2017

Jeff Bezos sets Blue Origin’s sights on building a city on the moon

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk may have his heart set on building a city on Mars, but Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space vision looks closer to home. He’s gazing at the moon.

“I think we should build a permanent human settlement on one of the poles of the moon,” Bezos said today during a Q&A with kids at Seattle’s Museum of Flight. “It’s time to go back to the moon, but this time to stay.”

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May 17, 2017

SpaceX’s Elon Musk’s bold ambition to colonize Mars

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

SpaceX’s Elon Musk wants to send men and women on a one-way trip to Mars.

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May 17, 2017

Elon Musk Finally Confirms What The Boring Tunnels He’s Making Are Actually For

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, transportation

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QXrlRhYriN0

The Rand Corporations 1960’s plans for an underground hypersonic tube train transport system. The plan back then was from NYC to LA in about 20 minutes.


We now have an idea of just what Elon Musk’s Boring Company is going to be for. Yes, it’s to solve traffic, but it looks like it isn’t meant just to be your usual tunnel for cars. In a new update today, the company asserts that it’s actually building a tunnel that can also run the Hyperloop.

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