When rain begins to fall and a driver says, “Hey Mercedes, is adaptive cruise control on?”—the car doesn’t just reply. It reassures, adjusts, and nudges the driver to keep their hands on the wheel. Welcome to the age of conversational mobility, where natural dialogue with your car is becoming as routine as checking the weather… Continue reading Automakers Race to Add Voice AI to Connected Vehicles
Author: IEEE_Spectrum
Walmart Will Test a Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck in Chile
Latin America’s first green hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck has hit the road in Chile, marking a milestone for the country’s decarbonization efforts. The semi-trailer truck will begin a year-long testing phase in September 2025, loading up at Walmart Chile’s Quilicura Distribution Center and carrying out operations and deliveries throughout the greater Santiago metropolitan area. Data… Continue reading Walmart Will Test a Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck in Chile
BMW Answers Sustainability Skeptics With “Neue Klasse” of EV
While the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency grabs headlines today, kneecapping electric cars and emissions rules, a different kind of bottom-line skeptical take shouldn’t be overlooked: Are electric vehicles, in fact, as sustainable as consumers think? For BMW, a new EV model line to be announced this fall will answer that question with a Yes. For… Continue reading BMW Answers Sustainability Skeptics With “Neue Klasse” of EV
A Quantum Gravimeter for GPS Backup
A novel quantum sensor that measures gravity changes by detecting variations in the travel time of falling atoms has been tested in a first of its kind experiment aboard an Australian naval ship. The sensor—a dual gravimeter—has been developed by Australian company Q-CTRL and could reach the market in late 2026. During the tests onboard… Continue reading A Quantum Gravimeter for GPS Backup
Trinova Leans Into a Three-Wheel, Tilting Motorcycle
Life, says Markus Scholten, is not a car commercial: All weirdly empty streets and fantasy mountain adventures, drivers and passengers having a ball, often backed by a nostalgic boomer soundtrack. For Scholten, real life is what any Los Angeleno knows all too well: hours stuck in soul-crushing traffic, Monday through Friday, with only podcasts to… Continue reading Trinova Leans Into a Three-Wheel, Tilting Motorcycle
Mobile BESS Powers Remote Heavy Equipment
In June, a fuel delivery to a Johns Hopkins Hospital campus went terribly awry, spilling 2,000 gallons of diesel into Baltimore’s harbor. As the Maryland capital raced to contain the mess, responders discovered a problem: They didn’t have access to reliable power at the waterfront site. Usually in these kinds of situations, responders bring in… Continue reading Mobile BESS Powers Remote Heavy Equipment
Faster, Safer Cars Come Into Focus With New Optical Network Tech
Madrid-based fabless semiconductor company KD and Fremont, Calif.–based embedded camera maker Leopard Imaging have launched a significant upgrade to cameras for vehicle vision systems. It’s the first system for automotive applications with an Ethernet networking backbone to break the 10-gigabit-per-second transmission speed barrier. 10 Gb/s is 10,000 times as fast as the widely used 1-megabit-per-second… Continue reading Faster, Safer Cars Come Into Focus With New Optical Network Tech
Chinese Robotaxis Are Gunning for Global Domination
This post originally appeared on Recode China AI. When Tesla rolled out its much-anticipated pilot robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, last month—a fleet of 10 to 20 Model Y SUVs with “robotaxi” stickers and minor modifications—the tech and automotive worlds paused in awe. But thousands of miles away, executives at China’s leading autonomous driving firms… Continue reading Chinese Robotaxis Are Gunning for Global Domination
AI Cameras Change Driver Behavior at Intersections
In cities across the United States, an ambitious goal is gaining traction: Vision Zero, the strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero has already cut road deaths there by 50 percent from 2010 levels. Now, technology companies like Stop for Kids and Obvio.ai are… Continue reading AI Cameras Change Driver Behavior at Intersections
GM’s Home-Grown LMR Battery Opens New Front in EV Competition
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries were a made-in-America innovation, but China ended up cornering the market on what became the world’s leading solution in low-cost EV batteries. Now, following a decade of development, General Motors has announced a battery breakthrough that might help American manufacturers reclaim some high ground: LMR, or lithium manganese-rich batteries. Kushal… Continue reading GM’s Home-Grown LMR Battery Opens New Front in EV Competition