Lifeboat Foundation

Mercedes-Benz is the first automaker to get permission from California regulators to sell or lease vehicles with Level 3 (hands-off and eyes-off) self driving tech on designated roads, Reuters has reported. The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a permit for the company’s Drive Pilot system, provided it’s used under certain conditions and on specific roads. Mercedes-Benz previous received a similar certification in Nevada.

Drive Pilot will allow Mercedes-Benz drivers to takes their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel, then do other non-driving activities like watching videos and texting. If the rules for use are followed, Mercedes (and not the driver) will be legally responsible for any accident that happens.

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Tesla is preparing to ramp up 4,680 battery cell production in Fremont, California. The company recently signed a lease for a new manufacturing facility for essential battery technology that will likely be used for 4,680 cell production.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Business Times that Tesla signed a lease with the industrial real estate investment trust Prologis on a 210,000 sq.ft advanced manufacturing facility. One source shared that the facility would support Tesla’s 4,680 battery cell production.

In Q3 2022, Tesla tripled its 4,680 cell production compared to the previous quarter. Elon Musk and the rest of the Tesla board discussed ramping 4,680 productions at the third quarter earnings call last year.

Volvo’s new small electric SUV delivers luxury, range, and speed for a very reasonable price. Take a dive into the affordable EV that arrives in 2024.

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MIT aeroengineers are creating a 1-megawatt electrical motor that is a stepping stone toward electrifying commercial airliners. Pictured are some industrial concepts for hybrid-electric aircraft.

BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) — BYD announced on Friday a new brand of electric vehicles (EV) ranging from off-road to sports cars as the company looks to meet more diversified consumer demand.

The new brand is called Fang Cheng Bao, which translates from Chinese literally as “Formula” and “Leopard”. The Chinese EV giant is expected to launch the first model this year — an SUV identified for now internally as SF, BYD said in a statement.

BYD, with its Dynasty and Ocean series of pure electric and plug-in hybrid models mostly priced under 300,000 yuan ($42,140.16), has been out selling Volkswagen-branded cars in China since November.

In May, 11,865 new passenger plug-in cars were registered in Norway (up 21% year-over-year), which is about 88.9% of the total volume.

A new airplane seat concept that allows wheelchair users to stay in their own chair throughout a flight was revealed this week by a subsidiary of US airline Delta, a move welcomed as a “huge step” by potential customers.

“Unbelievably excited,” is how power wheelchair user and avid traveler Cory Lee described his reaction after a working prototype of the design was demonstrated by Delta Flight Products (DFP) at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany, a symposium spotlighting airplane cabin innovations.

DFP’s concept seamlessly converts to and from a traditional airplane seat. The built-in seat folds up to allow a wheelchair to be docked into place. The seat would be installed into pre-existing aircraft seat track systems, so would not involve any structural change to the airplane.

The Honda Riding Assist is an electric vehicle that has a low center-of-gravity and a very low seat height. In a global debut at CES, Honda unveiled the Honda Riding Assist motorcycle, which leverages our robotics technology to create a self-balancing motorcycle that greatly reduces the possibility of failing over while the motorcycle is at rest.

source/image: Alpha SQUAD official.

A team of Washington State University (WSU) researchers is working with ZEVA Aero, a Tacoma-based start-up, and testing components to create a single-passenger, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, taking us one step closer to turning that dream into reality.