Ever since Return of the Jedi premiered in 1983, people have been imagining the day when they, like the film’s protagonist Luke Skywalker, would get to ride speeder bikes that zip across the landscape while hovering just a few meters above the ground. In the intervening years, there have been numerous claims made by companies… Continue reading Why Haven’t Hoverbikes Taken Off?
Author: IEEE_Spectrum
Startups Say India Is Ideal for Testing Self-Driving Cars
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick famously said, after experiencing New Delhi’s chaotic roads, that India will be the last place in the world to get self-driving cars. But a handful of startups think the country could be the perfect testbed for creating autonomous vehicles that can handle anything. A recent video from Bhopal-based startup Swaayatt… Continue reading Startups Say India Is Ideal for Testing Self-Driving Cars
Smart Roads Get Better Eyesight
This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Smart roads with advanced vehicle sensing capabilities could be the linchpin of future intelligent transportation systems and could even help extend driverless cars‘ perceptual range. A new approach that fuses camera and radar data can now track vehicles precisely… Continue reading Smart Roads Get Better Eyesight
50 by 20: Wireless EV Charging Hits Key Benchmark
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee recently announced that they have set a record for wireless EV charging. Their system’s magnetic coils have reached a 100-kilowatt power level. In tests in their lab, the researchers reported their system’s transmitter supplied enough energy to a receiver mounted on the underside of a Hyundai Kona… Continue reading 50 by 20: Wireless EV Charging Hits Key Benchmark
Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N Accelerates Performance Tech
Some people will tell you EVs are always more fun-to-drive than internal combustion cars. But performance and racing engineers know that’s not really true. Otherworldly acceleration aside, most EVs suffer from a distinct lack of old-school driving engagement: Numb electric steering, no stirring sounds or gears to shift, and excess weight that dulls handling. Throw… Continue reading Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N Accelerates Performance Tech
Hydrogen Is Coming to the Rescue
A consortium of U.S. federal agencies has pooled their funds and wide array of expertise to reinvent the emergency vehicle. The hybrid electric box truck they’ve come up with is carbon neutral. And in the aftermath of a natural disaster like a tornado or wildfire, the vehicle, called H2Rescue, can supply electric power and potable… Continue reading Hydrogen Is Coming to the Rescue
German EV Motor Could Break Supply-Chain Deadlock
Among the countless challenges of decarbonizing transportation, one of the most compelling involves electric motors. In laboratories all over the world, researchers are now chasing a breakthrough that could kick into high gear the transition to electric transportation: a rugged, compact, powerful electric motor that has high power density and the ability to withstand high… Continue reading German EV Motor Could Break Supply-Chain Deadlock
E-Bikes Are Growing Up, Finding Jobs, Still Having Fun
Since Tesla seized the world’s imagination, EVs have been cast as lead rebels in the transportation revolution. Then e-bikes whirred into the war against climate change. In 2024, a maturing industry is broadening its design ambitions and engineering sophistication. Manufacturers are expanding into traditional riding categories and creating new ones: Fat-tire bikes and lightweight commuters.… Continue reading E-Bikes Are Growing Up, Finding Jobs, Still Having Fun
Unico’s Battery Testing Enters a Competitive Industry
As EV production and, with it, battery production accelerate over the next decade, so too will the demand for rigorous EV battery testing. But producing a battery that will stand up to the task of powering an electric vehicle for years under different weather conditions and unpredictable usage patterns is no mean feat. Battery manufacturers… Continue reading Unico’s Battery Testing Enters a Competitive Industry
AI Takes On India’s Most Congested City
In just 30 years, the South Indian city of Bengaluru has gone from a sleepy retirement town to the capital of the country’s burgeoning technology sector. But such rapid development has left it with some of the most congested roads in the world. Now, a former chip engineer has been drafted in to act as… Continue reading AI Takes On India’s Most Congested City