Author: IEEE_Spectrum

Concept Car Tech Makes Wheels Wise to Wellbeing

Concept cars used to be all about looking under the hood. More and more, they’re about looking inside the microchips, and the cool features, services, and competitive edge they can provide. The latest is the H1st Vision, a car so software-driven that its creators barely nodded to its electric powertrain or Renault-based chassis. Those creators… Continue reading Concept Car Tech Makes Wheels Wise to Wellbeing

EV Chargers for All!

When IEEE Spectrum’s editor in chief, Harry Goldstein, needed to replace his 2008 Honda Fit in October 2020, he thought seriously about buying an electric vehicle. Two obstacles stood in his way. One was affordability. Even without a son soon to be entering college, the premium prices of EVs were a turnoff. The other challenge… Continue reading EV Chargers for All!

MIT Unveils a Megawatt Motor for Electric Aircraft

Aviation aims to slash some of its substantial carbon emissions by electrifying aircraft, but the industry’s stringent weight restrictions make this difficult. Building electric motors that match the power-to-weight ratios of jet engines has proven especially challenging, so most efforts have been restricted to smaller aircraft. A new compact lightweight design for a megawatt-scale motor… Continue reading MIT Unveils a Megawatt Motor for Electric Aircraft

Hydrogen Fuel Cells Find Their Groove

Grooves in the kind of hydrogen fuel cells most likely to power vehicles may boost the performance of the devices by up to 50 percent, a new study finds. A fuel cell converts the chemical energy stored in fuels such as hydrogen into electricity. It works by reacting the fuel with oxygen or another oxidizing… Continue reading Hydrogen Fuel Cells Find Their Groove

EV Startups, Running Out of Juice

Imagine an automotive marketplace where one company can build an electric car for US$10,000 less than Ford, the company that merely invented the assembly line and mass production. That company is of course Tesla, as Ford CEO Jim Farley humbly acknowledged in his recent, public pas de deux with Elon Musk. Now Tesla is looking… Continue reading EV Startups, Running Out of Juice

Rimac Nevera EV Sets 23 World Speed Records

A few decades ago, any car with 400 horsepower—say, a 1992 Dodge Viper—came across as 1992-era Arnold Schwarzenegger strong. The McLaren F1’s 620 hp seemed like something from another universe, as did its US $1 million price tag. Today, attainable internal combustion engine cars like the Corvette Z06 or BMW M5 routinely top 600 hp,… Continue reading Rimac Nevera EV Sets 23 World Speed Records

New Anodes Help Lithium-ion Batteries Charge Faster

This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Researchers have created a new lithium-ion battery design that allows for better flow of electrons through its anode, dramatically improving the battery’s capacity and halving the amount of time it takes to charge. The advancement is described in a… Continue reading New Anodes Help Lithium-ion Batteries Charge Faster

Big Players, Bigger Bets on eVTOLs and Air Taxis

The aviation business is nothing new for Ohio. The state is a major supplier for Airbus and Boeing and is home to around 150 airports. Back in 2003, the House even passed a resolution acknowledging the role of Dayton in America’s aviation history—noting that the Wright brothers were from the city. But now, Ohio is… Continue reading Big Players, Bigger Bets on eVTOLs and Air Taxis

A Former Pilot On Why Autonomous Vehicles Are So Risky

In October 2021, Missy Cummings left her engineering professorship at Duke University to join the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a temporary position as a senior safety advisor. It wasn’t long before Elon Musk tweeted an attack: “Objectively, her track record is extremely biased against Tesla.” He was referring to Cummings’s criticism of… Continue reading A Former Pilot On Why Autonomous Vehicles Are So Risky